Water Readings

[scottjames1uk]

My tank is now 3 1/2 weeks old. I started the cycle fishless for 3 days then added 6 small platy. I left them for a week and then the api strip test said my water was in the 'ok' region. I then added steadily more fish. I now have (which i added gradually and are all small fish at the moment)

6 platy
2 small loach
2 flying fox
6 mollies
4 angel fish
1 silver shark

This is in a 90 litre tank with 5 live aquatic plants. I also have an air stone running in the background and an external filter. When i took a sample water to my local shop i was horrified to see that my levels were high. I really didnt know this as the strips said it was ok. I have been doing 10 litre water changes daily then yesterday i found a new aquatic shop near where i live and i explained what had happened. What he suggested was to take water from his tanks to replace mine and hopefully this should help. (im not sure if this was a good idea but the levels have dropped slightly) . when i didn the water change i vacumed all the gravel also. The fish are all fine and swimming about happily. The guy yesterday suggested not feeding them for a few days or very minimal as this could make it worse. The other thing i did was changed my filter from internal to external 1 1/2 weeks into having the tank but i did put all the old filter media into the external filter. I have also added some stress zyme plus that another aquarium store that tested my water reccomended.

THURSDAY
PH 7.6
HIGH RANGE PH 7.4
AMMONIA 1.0 ppm
NITRITE 0.5
NITRATE 10 ppm

(THE ABOVE ARE ALL APPROXIMATE AS SOME OF THE READINGS WERE IN BETWEEN COLOURS)

I hope i can get some help on this one and not be bombarded with people having a go at me. I wish i had bought a api test kit to start with as now i have one and they are great,


Thanks

Scott

 

[Little_Nemo]

Hopefully one of the more wiser of the members (Waterdrop, Skins, Oldman) will see this soon and advise you. But it seems your ammonia level is quite high. Its not being helped by the ammount of fish you have in there. 3 1/2 weeks is not long enough for there to be a significant amount of 'good' bacteria.

 

[scottjames1uk]

Hopefully one of the more wiser of the members (Waterdrop, Skins, Oldman) will see this soon and advise you. But it seems your ammonia level is quite high. Its not being helped by the ammount of fish you have in there. 3 1/2 weeks is not long enough for there to be a significant amount of 'good' bacteria.

Hi

I know this now but as i said i went along with the strips. The water is clear though so hopefully that is a plus point. The stresszyme i was told will help with the bacteria

 

[fluttermoth]

Hi Scott; welcome to the forum.

You're in what we call s 'fish-in' cycle. Keep testing the water and any time you get any reading for ammonia or nitrte do a big water change (probably at least 50%, but you can do larger ones or multiple water changes in a row) until it is as near to zero as you can get it.

You need to look at re-homing some of your fish; the angels need to be in a tank that is at least 15", and preferably 18", from top to bottom and the silver shark can get to 14" from nose to tail and really needs to be in a shoal.

 

[scottjames1uk]

Thanks for the reply.
I was going to leave this water in for a day or so as its the water from local shop that was in his tank. Is this a good idea? When i bought the shark i did tell them the size of my tank and what i had and also would it be ok alone and they said it would be fine. As for the angel fish they are only small at the moment but will look at rehoming them soon. Whenever i bought fish i have always told them its a new tank and also the dimensions of the tank. I am learning fast that not all shops tell the truth!!!

 

[fluttermoth]

I'm afraid the water that the shop guy gave you won't be doing much to help; the good bacteria live in the filters; there are almost none free in the water. Ammonia is highly toxic to fish; you need to be doing some water changes right now to get it down.

It's a great shame that shops either don't know any better or actually lie to sell things; it's an ongoing gripe of fishkeepers everywhere

 

[Little_Nemo]

Hopefully one of the more wiser of the members (Waterdrop, Skins, Oldman) will see this soon and advise you. But it seems your ammonia level is quite high. Its not being helped by the ammount of fish you have in there. 3 1/2 weeks is not long enough for there to be a significant amount of 'good' bacteria.

Hi

I know this now but as i said i went along with the strips. The water is clear though so hopefully that is a plus point. The stresszyme i was told will help with the bacteria

We all make mistakes, even I did at some point, still am infact haha!
Strips are not really very reliable, you'll find that the API test kit will become your new best friend - I love using mine

 

[KittyKat]

50% water changes with warm, dechlorinated water until ammonia and nitrite are below 0.25ppm. Then feed every other say as much as all fish can finish in 30 seconds without any leftovers.

Then, think about your stocking: it is not suitable for an aquarium that size. Option: take unsuitable fish back to the shop.
* 6 platy - ok
* 2 small loach - which species? if suitable, many should be kept in groups so find out if this applies to yours
* 2 flying fox - too large
* 6 mollies - ok
* 4 angel fish - in my opinion, too large
* 1 silver shark - too large, schooling

A more suitable stock would be
* 10 5cm schooling fish
* pair cichlids
* 1-3 gourami (depending on species) or 1 Betta
* 6 small loaches

 

[Skins]

Its a shame you did not see through your fishless cycle, but hay never mind. Like has already been said you are now in what we call a fish-in cycle which on average takes 4-6 weeks to complete. Keeping on top of your water parameters for this period of time will be paramount for the well being of your current stock which like Fluttermoth has said is going to get very over crowded. If you can return the fish in question to your local fish shop this will be a lot less stress for you and the fish, it will also take a lot of pressure off your current bioload(fish poo, un-eaten food, any rotting down plant life)which needs to be processed by the beneficial bacterias you are trying to grow(colonise)in your filters media. Its these beneficial bacterias that you will be building up and strenghening over the next 4-6 weeks to a level where you get no readings(0ppm)of toxins(ammonia/nitrIte)in your waters chemistry. Its also good practice to keep feeding to a minimum when cycling, once a day for a period of 2-3 minutes and any left over food to be removed if possible. At the bottom of this post in my signature there is a link(fish-in cycle)which will be very handy for you to fall back on in the coming weeks.

Keep us all posted, Keith.

P.S Yes, there will be a lot of water changes but hang in there it will be so rewarding come the end.

 

[scottjames1uk]

Last night i had a bit of an ammonia spike i think. It was late but i did a 50% water change, Below are the readings from this morning, Any advice welcome








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[guppi]

You need to do another water change, soon as possible.

 

[scottjames1uk]

Just done another 50% water change and filled up drum for next change. I will need to get some more dechlorinator now as i have ran out.

 

[KittyKat]

Last night i had a bit of an ammonia spike i think. It was late but i did a 50% water change, Below are the readings from this morning, Any advice welcome

Ammonia shows 1.0 ppm, nitrite between 0.25 ppm and 0.5 ppm. Do water changes until both are below 0.25 ppm. Yes, this is why fish-in cycling sucks. Yes, most people who do fish-in and care about the welfare of their animals end up doing 50% water changes at least once per day and often more regularly.

The only thing you can do to help is feel every other day as much as fish can eat in 30 seconds or less.

I would not be surprised if this cycle takes at least another 2-3 weeks.

 

[BIG BAD BARRY]

You have had good advice already.
Test daily. You dont need to test for nitrate daily as the level is low and will drop with water changes.

 

[scottjames1uk]

Thanks for all your replies. It looks like i was given bad advice when first buying my tank and not had the 'cycle' explained to me properly and the reason it does what it does. I have learnt a hell of a lot this past few weeks and this forum is great. I have found a small aquarium store nearby that gives pretty good advice and he has given me a little bit of filter media for my filter which should also help. All my fish seem happy and all swimming around. I Did the water change this morning as advised on this forum and have 5 gallon ready to go in the next change i do.