Tank Readings....

[millie1]

hi

i have done a massive water change today (over 50%) - the water looks clear and i know its not a true reading as i did it like 30 mins after i changed the water but the nitrite was down to 1 and the nitrate was less than half it was (same as this morning)


is it ok to do water changes like every hour and half today or is taht too much?? like 50% each time???
i got a proper ammonia test kit as well - not much in the tank at alll..?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

what exactly is the reading for ammonia?

unfortunately even 0.1ppm is bad news

 

[rabbut]

There is no problem with multiple waterchanges in a day. I don't think anything of doing them back-to-back when ammonia or nitrite spikes in a tank under my care. From 1ppm of nitrite, you will need either two 50% waterchanges or 1 75% to get the levels back to an acceptable level, assuming you have no nitrite in your tank water.

What are your tank and tap readings ATM?

Ammonia low, but nitrite high would inducate that you are in phase two of two for your cycle, and possibly over half way there already

All the best
Rabbut

 

[millie1]

thanks guys

will do a recent reading for everything for you tomorow



as for my next project - ive posted in my other post but... ive seen a 3 foot tank - is that big enough for silver sharks and acouple of fish???

thanks

 

[OldMan47]

Glad to hear that your ammonia is coming under control.
Yes, you can do a 50% water change and go back an hour later and do another. If your strips are showing progress on the nitrite front wth water changes, they are at least showing the trend if not the actual values. You are targeting less than 0.25 ppm of both ammonia and nitrites. When you can get to both numbers, ammonia and nitrites, you are changing enough water often enough for your fish to stop dying. Unless you can get your water below 0.10 ppm, the water changes won't even slow your cycle so don't worry about overdoing it.
Something you may be able to do is get P@H to do a test on a sample right after you do a test on the same water. At least you will have an idea what your reading on the strips really means.
The fact that you are seeing an ammonia response that showed up as more nitrites is encouraging. It means that the ammonia processing bacteria are starting to build up in your filter and now you just need to get the nitrite processors moving.

 

[rabbut]

Chester zoo apparently (according to a work colegue who visuited a few months ago) has some silver sharks as big as your planned tropical up-grade tank IMHO, any tank under 12 foot is cruel for silver sharks, so to answer your question, no, 3ft isn't big enough for silver shark. This said, in captivity silver shark usualy only get to about 18 inches, so most would consider a 6ft tank minimum, though I personally dissagree...

Acrilic tanks are recomended, as silver shark are known to swim through panes of glass. Acrilic will bend before it breaks, much more than glass will These fish are good jumpers, so a tight fitting and heavy lid is also required. Also, they are shy, needing a group of 6+ to do well. Again IMHO, these fish should not be availabe to run-of-the-mill hobbyists, as nobody (zoo's and public aquariums excluded) is likely to be able to care for these fish should they reach their full wild potential size...