What Do These Readings Mean?

[fishmad135]

I got a Nano Tank from my parents for christmas, Yesterday i have placed pieces of old mature media into the new filter, and in the main tank i have placed some rocks from my older tanks.

Today i went out with my dad and spent £30.99 on a API Freshwater Master Test Kit, I have just run some tests for Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate. The test have come out:

0.25ppm Ammonia
0.25ppm Nitrite
5.0ppm Nitrate

I wasnt sure about the results so read the instructions and carried out the tests again, the results were the same as the earlier tests.

Is this good or bad? I'm not to sure what I am ment to be doing..


By the way, I dont know if this kwill affect my results but the water the tank is filled with is from a mature tank..?

 

[KittyKat]

You are meant to finish cycling it. Results indicate some bacterial presence, but not enough. How much ammonia are you adding?

 

[fishmad135]

Thats the thing, I havent added any ammonia, and there arent any fish in the tank..? Thats why I am confused about there being Nitrates etc in the water... could it be from the fish tank water i added?

I went to my local boots and shopping store but there was no ammonia in stock at either, other than ammonia products with other cleaning agents in which i obviously cant use..

Im really quite confused..!

 

[KittyKat]

It could have come from the water (from tap, or if it contained any small bits of food from the other fish tank) or decor (if it had any crap or bits of food, etc attached to it), or almost anything else you could have put into the fish tank.

 

[fishmad135]

Right

Sorry about all the questions but, what would you do if this was your tank.?

 

[AstonN24vantage]

well if you can't find any ammonia (nobody murder me in my sleep for this) i would add a very hardy fish and that should cycle it better. if you added enough media though, you could of course just wait and you'll be doing a fishless cycle. how big is your tank?

 

[Aqua Tom]

Buy some Ammonia & do a fishless cycle. My signature has links to Ammonia suppliers.

 

[fishmad135]

AstonN24vantage - My tank is a rather small nano - about 2 gallons.. I was planning on using it as a shrimp tank.. but i could always add one or two danios from an older tank for a few days if that would be okay?

Aqua Tom - I looked in my local boots store today and they do not have any ammonia instock but they said they could get some by next sunday.. I couldnt get my parents to take me to any other places because they are busy decorating the house...


Thanks, Imogen.

 

[AstonN24vantage]

AstonN24vantage - My tank is a rather small nano - about 2 gallons.. I was planning on using it as a shrimp tank.. but i could always add one or two danios from an older tank for a few days if that would be okay?

sure! but what kind of danio?

 

[fishmad135]

I have a healthy shoal of zebra danios in an already cycled community tank, I could transfer 2 or 3 into the nano for a bit.?

 

[waterdrop]

It's unfortunate that the order of events has unfolded incorrectly. The mature media should not have gone over until the household ammonia source was secured and already circulating.

I would, however, consider using fishfood (a small pinch, ground really finely) in an attempt to get some ammonia (beyond the 0.25 concentration you already have) for the interim period until the household ammonia has arrived at the Boots store.

Disturbing your danios has three problems: breaking the shoal will disturb those left and the 2 used in a 2G will be larger than would be ideal for fish-in cycling. The 2G will not have enough swimming room for the danios, and finally, the old tank water, being already at the 0.25 limit for gill damage would need changing probably quite frequently to keep them from sustaining damage. (It may be that they are somehow not currently in a properly cycled situation though, and that is of concern too. There may be large gravel-clean-water-changes needed for their existing tank if we are seeing the new API stats from that tank up above.)

~~waterdrop~~

 

[KittyKat]

Sorry about all the questions but, what would you do if this was your tank.?

Dump the filter back in the other tank (running two parallel), secure source of ammonia (you can order it online for collection from a Boots store), put it in the new tank and "cycle".

 

[Mogs26]

Try your local cheapo/pound stretchers shop. They often have ammonia, for just over £1

 

[fishmad135]

Wow. This is terribly dissappointing

I cannot place the filter in the other tank as it is built into the nano tank.

eekk.. this is going badly wrong..

 

[KittyKat]

Pop the sponges back in the other tank then, if they won't fit into the old filter, hang them in a stocking near the inlet.