Test Results

[pongo]

 Good Afternoon.
Just done a water test and here are the results
PH 7.6
Ammonia 0.25
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 80
 
Hard water area. Its a 60L with 2 koi angels, 2 golden barbs and 2 dalmation mollies. I would probably say that the Ammonia needs to come a bit down so does the nitrate. Any ides how I can do this. Heard of things you can buy to do this does anyone have any recommendations. The test was done with API Freshwater Test Kit
Thanks

 

[fluttermoth]

Water changes are the best, easiest and cheapest way.
 
Don't forget that there are many other things that can build up (fish hormones) or become depleted (trace minerals) in our tanks that we can't or don't test for.
 
If you're seeing high levels of some things, like nitrate, then that's an indicator that your current water change regimen isn't enough.
 
Did you move your old filter media across when you moved the fish? If you did, then your ammonia reading is probably what we call a 'mini cycle', where some of the bacteria die back because of the move. They should soon recover, but do keep an eye on things and do a water change if you see it start to go up again.

 

[pongo]

Thanks for that.
Yes I did move the old filter across from the old tank so now have 2 filters in there, old one and new one. I was going to take the old one out after its been in there about 4 weeks or so or should I take it out sooner or leave it for longer?

 

[fluttermoth]

The best thing to do is add all the old media to the new filter. Cut it up if you have to, and fill in any gaps with new media.

 

[Ltygress]

Ammonia levels CAN sometimes spike for all sorts of reasons. The move to the new tank, fish stress, even adding new driftwood (because it increases the amount of organic waste/decay in the tank). Yes it's a toxic substance, but .25 probably isn't going to hurt very much. It sounds like you might be in a "mini-cycle" right now like fluttermoth said, which might be UNCOMFORTABLE for some fish, but overall still safe.

And I would leave the old filter for a full month, unless you do want to reuse the media. I never do because I'm afraid a loose piece is going to clog something up. I'm sure I'm just paranoid, but that's just how I do it. After the month is up, let the old filter run on something like a bucket (to keep bacteria oxygenated) while you give the tank 24 hours to "build up excess" ammonia or nitrite. Then test the water. If they are 0, the new filter is completely ready. If they are at anything other than 0, put the old filter back on for a bit.

 

[pongo]

Thanks peeps.
Will leave the filter in for a bit longer then do another test.

 

[fluttermoth]

You would, as I said, be better off moving the old media to the new filter.
 
There are two reasons for this.
 
The first is that your old filter will already be eating all the waste from your fish, This means there won't be any free food in the tank for any bacteria in the new filter to feed from.
 
The second is that the bacteria cling on quite strongly to the surfaces they live on. That means that there won't be any bacteria loose in the water column to start a new colony.