Tap Water Test Results

[kindeke]

Hi,

I had my tap water tested at the store and these are the results ( and their finding, in case anyone would beg to differ

Ammonia 0.25ppm : Safe - test monthly

Nitrite : 0ppm - Safe - test monthly

Nitrate : 0ppm - Safe - test montly

PH : 7.5 - Alkaline - ideal for live bearers and goldfish



Recommendation : Ammonia levels seem to be up a little bit, try cutting down on amount of food given.



What do think? I want to start a fishless cycle as soon as I can find a cabinet that will fit in the awkward alcove, is not spit ugly like most of the high street one, and will take 140 kg of weight without collapsing onto my carpet ( and the downstairs neighbour...)

Thanks

 

[Miss Wiggle]

well it seems like PAH are coming at this from the wrong angle as from their recommendations they think this is tank water and you have fish in.


it's not good to have trace ammonia in your tap water but plenty of people don't and don't have any problems so don't worry too much over it, just something to be aware of that's all.

if you've 0 nitrate in your tap water then that's a good thing, not everyone does and it should be kept as low as possible so starting out with 0 is always good.

pH will be fine for a wide variety of fish, did you get them to test the KH as well?

Do you have your own test kit? you'll need one for fishless cycling really.

As for attractive stands, just go to a furniture shop, so long as it's not cheapy cheap ikea stuff you should be fine.

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, agreed with Miss Wiggle.

kindeke, welcome to the forum and congrats to you on a good kind of start in finding this forum and both having your water tested prior to purchases and in signing up here and starting to ask questions --- this all puts you in the unsually good position that you can get help here before having the problems we see for so many beginners.

As long as you just take the test results from your tap water visit to the LFS, you are fine. As MW says, the point of view of the report obviously was aimed at a tank with fish in it and it right away, if that were the case, would raise warning flags from members here. Just like a LFS to type up a report that casually says "test monthly". This may be fine for an experienced hobbiest with a mature stable tank but it is bad advice for beginners to hear because usually they've had no chance yet to understand that good test kits are needed and new tanks will need a lot of testing for quite some time before they are ready and the new fishkeeper begins to understand what is important and what is not.

As a possible complete beginner, a person seeking their first water test at a LFS might really be in need of learning about the "Nitrogen Cycle", of learning about "Fishless Cycling", of learning about good "Water Change" techniques, lots and lots of stuff, but almost none of it to be found anywhere inside that LFS!

Anyway, kindeke, if any of that sounds like it applies to you I urge you to start having a read of the pinned topics at the top of this forum. And keep up the questions and wonderful, experienced people like Miss Wiggle, Colin_T, Oldman47, BackToTropical, rabbut, pastabake and all sorts of other crazy sounding names will pop up with great advice. I know because I've been learning lots from all of them.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[redevilman]

Yes, agreed with Miss Wiggle.

kindeke, welcome to the forum and congrats to you on a good kind of start in finding this forum and both having your water tested prior to purchases and in signing up here and starting to ask questions --- this all puts you in the unsually good position that you can get help here before having the problems we see for so many beginners.

As long as you just take the test results from your tap water visit to the LFS, you are fine. As MW says, the point of view of the report obviously was aimed at a tank with fish in it and it right away, if that were the case, would raise warning flags from members here. Just like a LFS to type up a report that casually says "test monthly". This may be fine for an experienced hobbiest with a mature stable tank but it is bad advice for beginners to hear because usually they've had no chance yet to understand that good test kits are needed and new tanks will need a lot of testing for quite some time before they are ready and the new fishkeeper begins to understand what is important and what is not.

As a possible complete beginner, a person seeking their first water test at a LFS might really be in need of learning about the "Nitrogen Cycle", of learning about "Fishless Cycling", of learning about good "Water Change" techniques, lots and lots of stuff, but almost none of it to be found anywhere inside that LFS!

Anyway, kindeke, if any of that sounds like it applies to you I urge you to start having a read of the pinned topics at the top of this forum. And keep up the questions and wonderful, experienced people like Miss Wiggle, Colin_T, Oldman47, BackToTropical, rabbut, pastabake and all sorts of other crazy sounding names will pop up with great advice. I know because I've been learning lots from all of them.

~~waterdrop~~

Welcome to the forum kindeke. Waterdrop is so modest. I think if truth be told Waterdrop can be added to the list of people willing an able to help.SURE HAS HELPED ME ALOT

 

[rabbut]

Got to love PAH. 0.25mg/l of ammonia should ring alarm bells in a tank that has fish in The water quality isn't too bad, but could be better. The ammonia should be something to be aware of. Little and often should be the motto for your waterchange regime

In a tank containing fish, you need zero ammonia, nitrite and nitrate should in your case be no more than 40ppm. You aim to keep nitrate no more than 40ppm above that of your tap water

All the best
Rabbut

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, agreed with Miss Wiggle.

kindeke, welcome to the forum and congrats to you on a good kind of start in finding this forum and both having your water tested prior to purchases and in signing up here and starting to ask questions --- this all puts you in the unsually good position that you can get help here before having the problems we see for so many beginners.

As long as you just take the test results from your tap water visit to the LFS, you are fine. As MW says, the point of view of the report obviously was aimed at a tank with fish in it and it right away, if that were the case, would raise warning flags from members here. Just like a LFS to type up a report that casually says "test monthly". This may be fine for an experienced hobbiest with a mature stable tank but it is bad advice for beginners to hear because usually they've had no chance yet to understand that good test kits are needed and new tanks will need a lot of testing for quite some time before they are ready and the new fishkeeper begins to understand what is important and what is not.

As a possible complete beginner, a person seeking their first water test at a LFS might really be in need of learning about the "Nitrogen Cycle", of learning about "Fishless Cycling", of learning about good "Water Change" techniques, lots and lots of stuff, but almost none of it to be found anywhere inside that LFS!

Anyway, kindeke, if any of that sounds like it applies to you I urge you to start having a read of the pinned topics at the top of this forum. And keep up the questions and wonderful, experienced people like Miss Wiggle, Colin_T, Oldman47, BackToTropical, rabbut, pastabake and all sorts of other crazy sounding names will pop up with great advice. I know because I've been learning lots from all of them.

~~waterdrop~~

Welcome to the forum kindeke. Waterdrop is so modest. I think if truth be told Waterdrop can be added to the list of people willing an able to help.SURE HAS HELPED ME ALOT

Thanks for the compliment redevilman, I do really enjoy trying to help people, esp. newcomers working on waterchem. But I really like to stick to the truth and the reason I mentioned those (and there are many other members like them) is that they and others like them are truly experienced in the modern hobby (since the 1980's or so), have had a lot of tanks and/or been very active in it. I, on the other hand am a weird mix, kind of a "backtotropical" because I did the hobby a lot in the 60's,70's (and I did try hard and read a lot of books then and had a lot of tanks and did breeding and stuff), I'm also kind of an "oldman" as you can see from the dates and also cause I have kids (guaranteed to age you in more ways than one!) but I'm also mostly a "newbie" to the new fishkeeping that I'll call "modern" and because of that I've become quite fascinated by the new changes and practical science of it. So I just have been enjoying being a bit of a "scribe", gathering, thinking about and repeating the things I learn on TFF. There's always a danger in repeating info that is not coming from your own experience, so in my case I try to let people know that that is often the situation, and try to refer to myself as an "enthusiastic newcomer!"

~~waterdrop~~
edit: ps: rabbut, lol, took me forever to realise that PAH is PetsAtHome - I guess the UK equiv of PetSmart in US or something...

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Got to love PAH. 0.25mg/l of ammonia should ring alarm bells in a tank that has fish in

yup i thought that, never mind though! tank doesn't have fish in and will be cycled before getting them so the trace ammonia shouldn't creae an issue.

But I really like to stick to the truth and the reason I mentioned those (and there are many other members like them) is that they and others like them are truly experienced in the modern hobby (since the 1980's or so), have had a lot of tanks and/or been very active in it.

lol......... i can't say i had fishkeeping experience in the 80's.... was born in 82. My dad always had tanks but I don't think i really helped him out all that effectivley

 

[kindeke]

Yes, agreed with Miss Wiggle.

kindeke, welcome to the forum and congrats to you on a good kind of start in finding this forum and both having your water tested prior to purchases and in signing up here and starting to ask questions --- this all puts you in the unsually good position that you can get help here before having the problems we see for so many beginners.

As long as you just take the test results from your tap water visit to the LFS, you are fine. As MW says, the point of view of the report obviously was aimed at a tank with fish in it and it right away, if that were the case, would raise warning flags from members here. Just like a LFS to type up a report that casually says "test monthly". This may be fine for an experienced hobbiest with a mature stable tank but it is bad advice for beginners to hear because usually they've had no chance yet to understand that good test kits are needed and new tanks will need a lot of testing for quite some time before they are ready and the new fishkeeper begins to understand what is important and what is not.

As a possible complete beginner, a person seeking their first water test at a LFS might really be in need of learning about the "Nitrogen Cycle", of learning about "Fishless Cycling", of learning about good "Water Change" techniques, lots and lots of stuff, but almost none of it to be found anywhere inside that LFS!

Anyway, kindeke, if any of that sounds like it applies to you I urge you to start having a read of the pinned topics at the top of this forum. And keep up the questions and wonderful, experienced people like Miss Wiggle, Colin_T, Oldman47, BackToTropical, rabbut, pastabake and all sorts of other crazy sounding names will pop up with great advice. I know because I've been learning lots from all of them.

~~waterdrop~~

Thank you all for your reply.
I have bought a test kit (Tetra) but it hasn't arrived yet.

I'm taking it slow with this, and have read the fishless cycle article with great interest. The pet shop just tells you to cycle with hardy fish, but if that means that the animal is suffering just for the benefit of the future inhabitants of the tank, with possible ill effects for the rest of their lives, I'd rather have an empty tank for a few weeks!
I've plenty of time, waited for 30 years now to get my own fish tank so I can wait another few weeks.

First job is to make a cabinet for my tank, as the stand for my tank won't fit in the alcove, and I think I will get more satisfaction out of making one exactly the way I want it. I looked in some furniture stores online but there's isn't much about tha tis value for money.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Thank you all for your reply.
I have bought a test kit (Tetra) but it hasn't arrived yet.

I'm taking it slow with this, and have read the fishless cycle article with great interest. The pet shop just tells you to cycle with hardy fish, but if that means that the animal is suffering just for the benefit of the future inhabitants of the tank, with possible ill effects for the rest of their lives, I'd rather have an empty tank for a few weeks!
I've plenty of time, waited for 30 years now to get my own fish tank so I can wait another few weeks.

First job is to make a cabinet for my tank, as the stand for my tank won't fit in the alcove, and I think I will get more satisfaction out of making one exactly the way I want it. I looked in some furniture stores online but there's isn't much about tha tis value for money.

thats exactly the right attitue to take when you come into this hobby so kudos to you for going about it the right way. No one's gonna pretend fishless cycling is easy, it can take a while and be very frustrating sometimes, however if the alternative is to harm innocent animals.... well it's not a tough call to make for me at least!

If you're pretty handy then go for it with the stand. remember each litre of water weighs around 1kg, then you have the added weight of the glass, equipment, any substrate or decoration you use. So make it good and strong!!

 

[waterdrop]

And be careful with little alcoves to think about the space needed by your own hands and body and the equipment. You might want to mock up a rough cardboard dummy and see what it feels like to be reaching over to work on hoses that might run between the bottom cabinet and the back of the tank. Think how you will do these. Think whether anything needs to be able to come around the tank side/sides. Probably it will be fine, but its good to think it out.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[kindeke]

And be careful with little alcoves to think about the space needed by your own hands and body and the equipment. You might want to mock up a rough cardboard dummy and see what it feels like to be reaching over to work on hoses that might run between the bottom cabinet and the back of the tank. Think how you will do these. Think whether anything needs to be able to come around the tank side/sides. Probably it will be fine, but its good to think it out.

~~waterdrop~~

Hi,

The alcove is nearly 81 cm wide, so my tank fits in very snug. It's not very wide (30 cm) so if I don't put it too high up, I can reach all sides of it easily.
I will have no hoses running as the filter and pump is all integrated ( Rekord 96).
I'm thinking of making a top and a bottom frame from 2x3 planed sofwood, and a strut on each corner to connect them.
Then an extra 4 struts in between to make it sturdy.
I will then use timber sheets to do the sides, and make two doors for the front and some shelves inside.
if I keep the back open I can easily get to my plug at the back, which I will connect a 4 way switch to with automatic circuit breaker in case something happens to the heater as I don't want my fish to fry!

The base footprint will be around 75cm wide, as the alcove is 81 but the skirting boards are in the way. For the top i will use a sheet of timber the same size of my tank.
The whole thing can then be varnished in the colour of my lounge furniture, and this should also help if i have any leaks or condensation.

What do you think?

 

[waterdrop]

The reason I mentioned hoses is that you can't be sure you will always necessarily be happy with the current filtration. If you were to add a cannister filter later you would indeed be worrying about hoses, but it sounds like you've got room for that.

Also, the problem with a heater frying fish comes from the thermostat that is integral to the heater getting stuck and unfortunately will have nothing to do with the power circuit breaker -- although fish equipment, like any other electrical stuff can benefit from power strips with varisters to possibly protect from lightning strikes. Luckily, the thing of thermostats getting stuck is almost never seen nowadays for good quality heaters I think - extremely rare I believe.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[OldMan47]

Kindeke, when you attaching the side covers to the 2x3 frame, don't forget that the tank can put some side to side forces on the stand. If you are leaving the back open and the front only has doors, there is nothing to take those forces and keep the stand from folding over toward one side. A small panel on the back, maybe just a few inches high, where the bottom shelf goes will not only keep things from falling off the back but can give you the brace you need in that direction.
Waterdrops advice about making sure you leave yourself good access for maintenance sounds very good to me. I forgot to do this on a stand that I built and it is a real pain now when I want to clean my filter. When I built my next stand, I kept it in mind and have been really enjoying working with that one. Another thing to be aware of is that the tank is mostly supported along the outside bottom edge. What that means for design is that the main supporting membres of the stand need to follow close to the edge of the tank so you don't really want the top to overhang the legs by much. Its a design consideration that can trip you up if you don't consider it because an overhang often looks better but isn't as strong.

 

[kindeke]

Kindeke, when you attaching the side covers to the 2x3 frame, don't forget that the tank can put some side to side forces on the stand. If you are leaving the back open and the front only has doors, there is nothing to take those forces and keep the stand from folding over toward one side. A small panel on the back, maybe just a few inches high, where the bottom shelf goes will not only keep things from falling off the back but can give you the brace you need in that direction.
Waterdrops advice about making sure you leave yourself good access for maintenance sounds very good to me. I forgot to do this on a stand that I built and it is a real pain now when I want to clean my filter. When I built my next stand, I kept it in mind and have been really enjoying working with that one. Another thing to be aware of is that the tank is mostly supported along the outside bottom edge. What that means for design is that the main supporting membres of the stand need to follow close to the edge of the tank so you don't really want the top to overhang the legs by much. Its a design consideration that can trip you up if you don't consider it because an overhang often looks better but isn't as strong.

Thank you all for your advice. I ended up doing it completely different :

As the tank is in an alcove, and I was worried about getting it level on the carpet, I bolted 2x3 supports to the wall on the back and sides of the alcove. I used 5 inch bolts with plugs for that. 4 for the back one(65 cm) and 2 for each side support(44cm).
Extra support was put in under each of these by placing vertical struts between the support and the floor.
On top of the support I used 18mm plywood
As the tank fits in the alcove very snug, its weight is supported by both bolted supports and the vertical struts, its weight evenly distributed by the plywood on top.
It has been up there and filled with water since yesterday afternoon and it hasn't come down so fingers crossed!

The tank sits flush to the wall on the shallow end of the alcove, and the total depth is 46 cm, so there is a gap at the back of about 15 cm, as the tank is 30 cm deep, which gives me space to put my lighting hood when I do water changes, and leaves space if I want to hang extra equipment of the back of the tank.

It's been a restless night for me, as I was very worried to wake up to a big bang and 30 gallons of water rushing through my flat, but is has been stable so far so idon't expect it to come crashing down now.

On the downside, the missus hates it...

Fishless cycle starts today! (if I can get hold of ammonia)

 

[waterdrop]

Pretty exciting to get your tank up after working hard on something like that! Fun seeing the water in it I'll bet. Make yourself a nice visible entry in your logbook as you will be looking back to see this date from time to time.

~~waterdrop~~