Water Test

[ponyo]

I had the water in my tank tested today in the lfs and the results are

ammonia between 0.25 - 0.50
nitrite 0.25
nitrate 5.0 - 10

do I need to do a water change and how often should I do a change to get the levels down?

 

[CezzaXV]

Are you cycling? Is it a fishless cycle or fish in?

Or am I talking gibberish to you? (not a problem, but the response will be a bit more complicated than just yes or no).

 

[The Taffy Apple]

I had the water in my tank tested today in the lfs and the results are

ammonia between 0.25 - 0.50
nitrite 0.25
nitrate 5.0 - 10

do I need to do a water change and how often should I do a change to get the levels down?

If you are reading these answers and have fish in your tank, pop downstairs and do a 80% water change, then reply.

But as Cezza says, maybe your haven't inlcuded whether you are cycling your tank or not.

Terry.

 

[ponyo]

There's 2 platys in there (I didn't know about cycling before I bought them)
The filter I have came with the tank which had been set up with other fish for maybe 6months
I'll do a water change now.
What should I do in the next few weeks? daily water changes?

 

[CezzaXV]

Am I right in interpreting this to mean you have a filter that was set up for 6 months in a previous tank but it new to you?

If so, given those readings it sounds like there's no bacteria in there and you'll have to start from scratch. Do some reading on fish in cycling.

 

[ponyo]

Am I right in interpreting this to mean you have a filter that was set up for 6 months in a previous tank but it new to you?

yes. It was really filthy though and the water coming out of it was black so I squeezed it out in old tank water (not clean tap water) so do you think I've lost the bacteria by doing that?

 

[The Taffy Apple]

Am I right in interpreting this to mean you have a filter that was set up for 6 months in a previous tank but it new to you?

yes. It was really filthy though and the water coming out of it was black so I squeezed it out in old tank water (not clean tap water) so do you think I've lost the bacteria by doing that?

Yes and no really. there is very, very little of the useful bacteria we need in the water in either the tank and/or the filter so there probably would have been extremely little or nothing at all transfered across.
The beneficial bacteria that was in your filter for these '6 months prior' have probably died off, but the reasons wont be clear as to why or how until you can provide sufficient description of what your set-up is...

But yes, in the meantime you need to do daily water changes to keep your 2 Platys alive. Other than that you re-home them and complete a 'fishless' cycle... that's what i chose to do and i have two healthy tanks because of it.

Terry.

PS- get yourself your own test kit for your tank. API Master kits on Ebay are £20-25 are usually suggested on here.

 

[ponyo]

thanks for the advice. I'll order a test kit today.
Since the filter doesn't seem to have any bacteria on it and I'm starting a fish in cycle from the beginning, which filter do you suggest I use?

I've got:

Marina S15 (this is the one that I've been using since Saturday when I got the new tank)
Clear Seal Mini
Trixie Aqua Pro M-380

The tank's 60l. If I use the Marina should I buy new cartridges for it or keep the ones that are in there already?

 

[cynic]

I feel your pain i was there very recently, your own test kit is vital i got suckerd by two different LFS.

I can also speak from the position of someone who also got sold cartridges. You don't need or want them the plain old sponge is fine and will last for ages with just a squeese in the tank water you take out for your water change. Apparently the water is really good for houseplants and such no chlorine etc.

You won't see the bacteria on it, you have to test the water to know its there.

 

[HayzH]

thanks for the advice. I'll order a test kit today.
Since the filter doesn't seem to have any bacteria on it and I'm starting a fish in cycle from the beginning, which filter do you suggest I use?

I've got:

Marina S15 (this is the one that I've been using since Saturday when I got the new tank)
Clear Seal Mini
Trixie Aqua Pro M-380

The tank's 60l. If I use the Marina should I buy new cartridges for it or keep the ones that are in there already?

i always recommend fluval U2 or up..as i have no experience of others or technical figures. i would stick with the one you have for now..see how it fairs...it may cycle quicker?? do water changes till the Ammonia and Nitrite says 0... test daily...feed minimal as decaying food makes ammonia too.
good luck

 

[CezzaXV]

I've got the Marina s15 and it seems to do the job well enough. I don't know about the other filters so I'd recommend researching the ones you've got and going with the most powerful.

 

[ponyo]

I've got the Marina s15 and it seems to do the job well enough. I don't know about the other filters so I'd recommend researching the ones you've got and going with the most powerful.

do you use the cartridges that come with it or something else. I'm not keen on the Marina but it's probably the most powerful out of the 3 that I've got. I'd would prefer to use one of the other filters that I've got and would like to have the option of transferring the filter media if I ever want to change filters which I won't be able to do with the cartridges. Would it be ok to put one of sponges from my other filter into the Marina one alongside 2 cartridegs then I can swap over if I choose to change filter?

 

[CezzaXV]

If you ever did want to change filters, it shouldn't be a problem to just cut out the plastic outer and transfer the rest to a new filter. I do use the cartridges that came with it and no problems yet.

One of the problems I can see is that the water theoretically only needs to pass through one cartridge to exit the filter, but having said that, while there are different cartridges you can get I don't personally think there's much difference (there's one I've got that claims to reduce ammonia, but I think that's a load of rubbish as I've not seen any different in my cycle to what you'd expect so far). This can be a problem if you wanted to get a bit more involved with different types of filter media (it forces water from back to front rather than bottom to top), but it does the job. There is a little bit of space in the back if you wanted to put some extra stuff in there (mine is currently stuffed with some mature media), and you could put some carbon in there for absorbing meds and the like later if you needed to.

I see no problem with putting your own sponges or whatever inside the filter, as long as you rig it so that water HAS to pass through it to exit the filter.

I think what I'm trying to get at is it's a good, basic option. Probably not as advanced as some people would prefer as you can't go nuts with different filter media, but I've been runnning it for my cycle and it's not doing bad so far. I did a water change and removed my gravel and put sand in last night. Despite washing the sand out, my water became so cloudy when I put it in you could only just see the heater light. Now, less than 24 hours later, it's almost completely cleared.

I also like that you have easy access to it for maintenance and whatever else you might want to do to a filter.

 

[ponyo]

I've decided to use the Marina filter but just got a few more questions. Am I right in thinking that the Marina has 2 different types of cartridge - one that absorbs ammonia and a carbon one?
All 3 in my filter look the same and because I bought them already used don't know which ones they are. Is there any visible difference between the 2 different cartridges so i know what I've go in there? Will the bacteria grow on ammonia absorbing cartridge or just the carbon one?
Sorry for loads of questions, just want to get it all right this time after making so many mistakes so far

 

[CezzaXV]

The one that has the lighter grey plastic around it is the one that is supposed to absorb ammonia, but to be honest I'm doubtful as to whether there's any actual difference. I see no reason why bacteria wouldn't grow on all three cartridges. In any case, I've got two of the "normal" ones and one of the supposedly ammonia absorbing ones and my cycle is going exactly how you'd expect it to be going.

Don't worry about asking questions, questions are good! Asking lots of them is the sign of someone who's willing to learn