Water Levels Questions

[logansmommy41306]

I tested my water today after I did a 25% water change. My levels are
Amonia- 0
Nitrate- 40
Nitrite- between 0 and .5
Hardness- 75
Alkalinity- 40
Ph- 7.2

I only have the test strips as thats all I can find here. Are these readings ok or do I need to do something? All my fish seem fine, but according to the chart on the strip container some levels are high. I dont know if it helps any but we have well water.
Thank you In advance

 

[theotheragentm]

Do another 25% water change now, assuming your water isn't adding nitrites and nitrates. If it is, you will have to use reverse osmosis to get better water to do water changes. To test your water, let it sit out for 24 hours and then test it like normal tank water to see what it reads. People will argue with me, but I don't trust strip tests. I prefer liquid test kits like Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Master Test Kit. The strips have given bad readings in the past from my experience and reading.

Your ammonia and nitrites should read 0. Your nitrates should be below 40. The lower you can keep your nitrates, the better. Do you have any live plants? Although people don't like it because it overtakes a tank pretty quickly and is hard to get rid of, Duckweed is great at aiding with the bioload in a tank. Java Moss grows relatively fast, but doesn't necessarily suck up a whole lot of bioload. Still it's an easy plant to care for and always helps.

 

[logansmommy41306]

Thank you theother.

I will do another waterchange as soon as my son goes to sleep. I dont have anymore live plants as the ones I had died. My LFS dont carry live plants, so the ones I had I got from walmart. They came in a little box that had like 8 bulbs that you plant in your tank. They are in the fish section. I will test my regular water tomorrow night.

Thank You Again

 

[theotheragentm]

If not in these forums, there are other forums, where people offer up plants for free. You just pay for the shipping. Easy plants are always abundant for giveaways.

 

[logansmommy41306]

Ok I did another 25% water change. This time my readings were

Amonia - 0
nitrate - between 20 & 40
Nitrite - 0
hardness - 75
Alkalinity - 80
Ph - 6.8

 

[theotheragentm]

That should be okay. Keep an eye on the levels. You may have to do a couple more water changes during the week. I wouldn't worry too much about pH, hardness, or alkalinity. Fish can adjust to quite a bit, especially livebearers, which can even breed quite successfully in a wide range. Keep us updated. Good luck.