Tap Water Test

[Wrams]

I have just done a tapwater test and have the following results.

Amonia is 0.25ppm

Nitrite is 0

Nitrate is 5.0

PH is 7.6

Now here is my tank water test.

Amonia is 0.25ppm

Nitrite is 0

Nitrate is 5.0

PH is 7.6

24g Tank. Is this reading ok? I know Amonia should be Zero so i will do a water change if advised to.
Also how often do you guys do a water change and gravel sweep? How often would you clean your filters (Once a Month)? If us newbies can have a bit of your info it would help us establish a clean and healthy enviroment for our fish. Thanks Guys and Gals

 

[kj23502]

Since your tap water contains ammonia it won't do any good to do a wc, unless the amount of ammonia in your tank gets above the amount in your tap water. How longs your tank been setup? I'd think that a mature tank should be able to process any ammonia from a wc quickly.

What kind of filter do you have? I do a wc about every 2 weeks. But I have a 125 usg tank with only about 17 or so juvie fish in there (biggest are 2" long). Depends on what your stocking is on when you do a wc.

 

[JenCliBee]

not entiely sure wot ur asking when it comes 2 are the readings ok , how did u cycle ur tank and how long 4? water changes will be nessasery 2 get the ammonia level down. but if thats the level u have in tap water then it will be left 2 the bacteria 2 break it down.

most of us would do a water change weekly and do a gravel vac and wash the filters sponges in the tank water at the same time if u have a external filter u may go for a few weeks without having 2 clean them.


jen

 

[OldMan47]

Your tank water and tap water are identical. Are there any fish in the tank? How long has it been set up? Have you started to do a nitrogen cycle yet? Note: Just running the filter on an empty tank is not cycling the tank, it is a waste of time.

 

[Wrams]

Since your tap water contains ammonia it won't do any good to do a wc, unless the amount of ammonia in your tank gets above the amount in your tap water. How longs your tank been setup? I'd think that a mature tank should be able to process any ammonia from a wc quickly.

What kind of filter do you have? I do a wc about every 2 weeks. But I have a 125 usg tank with only about 17 or so juvie fish in there (biggest are 2" long). Depends on what your stocking is on when you do a wc.

I have had my tank for approximately 4 months and done a few 50% water changes due to very high GH and PH at first which worked. The fish i have in my tank are 6 guppies 1 gourami 2 common plecos and 2 silver mollys. Also i have just bought myself a new filter a Fluval 105 which is running now, next to my Fluval Plus 2 internal filter. The water is cloudy but not to much (Milky). I think i covered everything.

Your tank water and tap water are identical. Are there any fish in the tank? How long has it been set up? Have you started to do a nitrogen cycle yet? Note: Just running the filter on an empty tank is not cycling the tank, it is a waste of time.

I have fish in the tank and the tank has been running for about 4 months.

How do i do a Nitrogen Cycle?

 

[kj23502]

The cloudiness could be a bacterial bloom. That's a good thing. It could be your good filter bacteria trying to catch up w/the ammonia.

A nitrogen cycle is the process where ammonia processing bacteria turn ammonia into nitrite and then the nitrite processing bacteria will grow and turn the nitrite into nitrate. We do water changes to get rid of nitrates since freshwater tanks can't process them unless they HEAVILY planted.

Ammonia is the most dangerous and burns the fish.

Nitrite is not as bad as ammonia, but still really bad. It suffocates the fish.

Nitrates aren't bad unless they get really high. Most people try to keep them below 40ppm


Ammonia and Nitrite should be kept a .25ppm or below when there are fish in the tank. This is acomplished by testing the water and doing water changes when necesary.

Ideally in an established tank, ammonia and nitrite should always be 0. Sometimes it will spike if too many fish are added or a filter is cleaned to well. I've heard of reports of water going a little haywire when people add a new filter to a tank also(even with the existing one still on there).

 

[Wrams]

The cloudiness could be a bacterial bloom. That's a good thing. It could be your good filter bacteria trying to catch up w/the ammonia.

A nitrogen cycle is the process where ammonia processing bacteria turn ammonia into nitrite and then the nitrite processing bacteria will grow and turn the nitrite into nitrate. We do water changes to get rid of nitrates since freshwater tanks can't process them unless they HEAVILY planted.

Ammonia is the most dangerous and burns the fish.

Nitrite is not as bad as ammonia, but still really bad. It suffocates the fish.

Nitrates aren't bad unless they get really high. Most people try to keep them below 40ppm


Ammonia and Nitrite should be kept a .25ppm or below when there are fish in the tank. This is acomplished by testing the water and doing water changes when necesary.

Ideally in an established tank, ammonia and nitrite should always be 0. Sometimes it will spike if too many fish are added or a filter is cleaned to well. I've heard of reports of water going a little haywire when people add a new filter to a tank also(even with the existing one still on there).

So basically i need to keep a very close eye on it now the new filter is in place?

 

[kj23502]

yea, i would and see how everything goes. The ammonia should disappear pretty quick, I would think. Then you might get a tad nitrite spike or you might not. Just keep an eye out and test everyday for a few weeks or however long it takes. Then when a tank gets established, it's ok to test weekly unless something changes in your tank. Adding new fish...moving filters around or anything that could disrupt the tanks natural balance.



When you do get around to cleaning your filters don't EVER clean both at the same time. That could potentially wipe out your entire bacteria colony and spell disaster for your fish.

 

[OldMan47]

Since you have been set up with fish in for months, the cycle has happened whether or not you actively monitored it. A factor that you may not have considered, since you did not actively cycle, is that the bacterias needed to process ammonia develop in your filter over time. If you turn around and wash the filter media in tap water or throw away the old filter media, you get to start building the good bacteria all over again.
The only really safe way to deal with ammonia at your point in the cycle is to do a partial water change whenever the ammonia reading gets higher in the tank than it is in the tap. You should also be doing a partial water change every week to avoid any build up of other poisons in the tank water. When you clean the filter, make sure you wash out the filter media in used tank water and put it back together. Do not replace the media in the filter or you will lose that part of your biological filter. Since your water hasn't gone completely bad, there must be some biological filtration going on. To build that into an effective biological filter takes time and not destroying progress that is being made by throwing it away.

 

[Wrams]

I have just noticed in the instruction book that it says leave the test for 5 minutes before reading the results I have done that and the results are different....opps!

Here are the results:

Amonia 0.50

Nitrite 0.25

Nitrate 5.0

PH 7.6

So after all that the amonia is higher and so is the Nitrite. This can be very frustrating at times.

 

[kj23502]

Do a water change

It does get frustrating, but it's a great relief when you've accomplished your goal and know all your hard work paid off.

 

[Wrams]

What complete or 50%?


Thank you everyone for your help. are on me...LOL

 

[kj23502]

50% is good!

 

[Wrams]

50% is good!

All done and its cleared it up abit. I have a Fluval 105 external filtration unit which is supposed to process 600 litres per hour i think it is. But, it doesn't seem to be clearing the tank...Its been on a few hours and i thought i would of started to notice a difference.

 

[kj23502]

If it's a bacteria bloom it will clear on it's own w/time.