Water Testing Results...

[lisa2701]

Hi everyone,

I am totally new to tropical fish and I am trying to cycle my first ever tank.

Currently I have triops in the tank and I have squeezed the triops old filter sponges into the new tanks filter. Just so you know, the triops are 3 weeks old, and I knew absolutely nothing about tank cycling when I hatched them, so its not that I have deliberately used them to cycle the tank.

Anyway, using and API master water testing kit I have tested the water the last few days, up until now, I have had readings for ammonia only, and been doing large water changes every day to keep the water safe for the triops.

Today the results were:

Ammonia: 4
Nitrite: 0.25
Nitrate: 0

I done a 50% water change ( I am told this is the largest,safe, water change I can do for triops) and re tested the ammonia and nitrite, and both were EXACTLY the same as before the water - So two questions:

1) Why didn't the ammonia levels drop after the water change, I am worried about the health of the triops now? Yesterday after the water change the levels dropped dramatically. Should I do another water change today? Last one was a few hours ago, so perhaps it would be safe to do ANOTHER 50% given they have had about 4 hours to adjust?

2) What do the results mean? As in, what does the presence of Nitrite mean?

Thanks

L x

 

[balajake]

triops are shrimp right, i think they live for about 90 days ?. i don't know too much about them but 4ppm ammonia would require a 90% water change and then another huge water change straight after. nitrite is very toxic to fish and is lethal at a much lower level than ammonia, i usually follows a rise in ammonia. 0 for nitrates mean you have no good bacteria build up in your filter yet. you need to do big water changes or you will loose your triops regardless.


the reason for the results staying the same could be a combination of the water changes not being big enough, you might be overfeeding and the food is rotting in the tank, filter pads might be clogged up and need a rinse in some tank water, your gravel migh be holding abit of old food or poop and need a vacuum.

 

[lisa2701]

Thanks for the advice..

I can certainly give the sand and good hoovering, can clean the filter sponges etc, but I have have been told anything over a 50% water change is likely to kill the triops, which are indeed are a type of shrimp and yes live about 90 days, although I think 60 odd days is average for captivity (although could be wrong). So, should I do two 50% water changes a day, or do you think the benefits out weight the risks of loosing the triops to the ammonia to do a much larger change?

They appear to be eating all the food I give them within about an hour and a half, feeding too much?

 

[lisa2701]

So I decided that the risk of doing a big water change was surely far less than the risk of leaving the triops in such high ammonia levels and so I went ahead and removed the triops from the tank and done a 90+% water change. Over the next few hours I will slowly add the new tank water into the container that has the triops in and hopefully this will help acclimatise them to the new tank water (its no where near ideal but has to be better than just putting them straight in OR leaving them in the container which contains high ammonia levels over night) and then once they've had that i'll put them back into the tank.

New water readings:

Ammonia:0.5 (I know its still not perfect but its a lot better than it was and i'll do another BIG water change in the morning)
Nitrite: 0

Thoughts?