Some More Readings For You

[stucolls]

Ok so as some of you may be aware I have no water treatment at the moment so am trying to hold off a water change until I get some unless my levelsa are so bad it will be better to treat with non treated tap water so here are my readings.

Main tank 30 hours ago
Temp 24
PH 7.4
Ammo 0.25
No2 0.50
No3 10

and now
Temp 27
Ph 7.4
Ammo 0.25
No2 1.0
No3 20

any recommendations on this tank?
now for the fry tank housing my Red tail black shark.....

31st July readings
Temp 24
Ph 7.4
Ammo 1.0
No2 1.0
No3 10

and now
Temp 26
Ph 7.4
Ammo 0.50
No2 2.0
No3 5

and my tap water is ph 7.6 with not a trace of anything else in it and my local water company add only a small amount of chlorine.

So how far off being cycled am I with those readings and can I hold off another day until I get some dechlor or should I do something right now, obviously I dont want to lose any fish.
Many thanks and severe apologies for the long winded post.

Stu

 

[murphyk32]

lol its 6:30 here but i guess this tends to be largly a UK site doesnt it

 

[fishwatcher]

Something doesn't sound quite right. I would think the nitrates should go up every few days, not down, if your tank is cycling. Usually the nitrates will really start to show up as the nitrites are going down, not the other way around.
I'm sorry this isn't much help... hopefully someone else will come on soon.

 

[Aphotic Phoenix]

Hrmm...well to be honest I don't want to tell you to do a water change at the possible risk of chlorine screwing things up, although some people do water changes with untreated water and have no problems. >< That will in fact have to be your judgment call. I would highly recommend that if you cannot get water conditioner right away to start filling up any large clean (i.e. chemical free) containers you have with water to start allowing chlorine to gas off. Also, watch the fish for any discoloration in the gills which could indicate a growing reaction to the Ammonia and Nitrites in the tank.

 

[backtotropical]

.......or boil some tap water, let it cool and hey presto!!

 

[stucolls]

Oh yeah forgot about boiling, will boil some up and let it cool off.

So do you think that my figurs (nitrates are coming down not up because I messed up the cycling and its kinda half cycled??

 

[raptorrex]

Oh yeah forgot about boiling, will boil some up and let it cool off.

So do you think that my figurs (nitrates are coming down not up because I messed up the cycling and its kinda half cycled??

i would take advice before adding boiled water to your tank. the water company's are saying it is unsafe to drink even after boiling, i see no reason to think it would be any safer for fish than us. you may also consider using mineral or still water bought from the shop, to do your water changes. though rain water may well be your best hope.

as for dechlorination leaving the water standing after a good stir will remove any chlorine, 6 to 12 hours should do it.

 

[backtotropical]

i would take advice before adding boiled water to your tank. the water company's are saying it is unsafe to drink even after boiling, i see no reason to think it would be any safer for fish than us. you may also consider using mineral or still water bought from the shop, to do your water changes. though rain water may well be your best hope.

This obviously applies if you are affected by the current flooding. I, for instance, have been lucky enough not to be affected and so, for me, boiling water is a very viable option. I don't know if you have been affected Stucolls??

 

[stucolls]

Not at all fortunately, we dont tend to flood too much down here, its more sea than rivers so we are fairly safe (touch wood)
I managed to buy a little bottle of kingfish treatment so im ok now lol

But does anyone have any theories on my readings as there semmed to be some confusion over them earlier on this thread.

Thanks all

 

[Aphotic Phoenix]

The only thing that looks "weird" is the small drop in Nitrates in the second tank...but to be honest I had guessed that to be a slight easy to do testing error...such as the meniscus not being taken in consideration for in one test, or a bottle not being shaken throughly enough.

Looks like the bacteria responsible for Ammonia consumption are getting there, but the Nitrite bacteria have yet to catch up. I had small swings (less than .25 ppm) in Ammonia without showing extra Nitrites (i.e. they were fully converted) for 1-2 weeks after main part of the cycling was done.