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Update water levels

2K views 13 replies 7 participants last post by  MattD 
#1 ·
OK I tested again last ngiht to see where I am in the cycling process.

pH 6.0
Ammonia 8.0
Nitrite 0-0.25
Nitrate 30ppm

I haven't put anything at all in my tank for the past 4 days. Would the Stabalizer still be throwing the levels off? The fish seem fine but if my ammonia was really at 8.0 I'm sure everyone would be dead and my nitrites would not have come down from 2.0. I even tested it 2x thinking I screwed it up. Any advise? I'm confused!!
 
#3 ·
Put the cap back on always. Like I said, I did the test twice thinking I put too many drops of something in it. :dunno:
 
#4 ·
Well, sorry to tell you this but either your test kit is defective, expired, or you aren't doing the tests right. These levels you've been posting are too inconsistent, disproportionate, and awfully high/low to be accurate readings.

I'm not quite sure what advice to give other than possibly purchasing a new test kit. You could see if your test kit it working properly by checking already tested water at your lfs and comparing your results. :dunno:
 
#5 ·
how long is the test solution normally good for? The kit is less than a year old and I can't see Dr Foster and Smith selling old stuff. I'll pick up a new kit tonight and compair since I testing everything last night again and the levels are still the same. I'll let you know what happened tomorrow....
 
#8 ·
Test strips are horribly inaccurate. I bought brand new ones and tested them against the liquid regeant test kit and the results were terrible. I also confirmed the tests with my LFS. The test strips were off by at least 25% and in some cases didn't show anything when the reading was sky high or showed nitrate levels at 160ppm when it was actually only 20-30ppm.

As for the readings from your tests, I still think that the biological suppliments are causing it. I have not used them myself but know some that have tested them and while the fish were healthy through the cycle, the ammonia levels tested off the charts for the entire cycle. Ammonia and Ammonium are locked by the treatments but they are still read by some of the best tests. This leads to misleading readings and stressing out your fish even worse from doing multiple water changes to try and control a problem that might not even exist.

This is why I advocate never using chemicals unless you absolutely have to. More often than not they cause more problems than they are worth to simply try and save a couple weeks on cycling a new tank.

Calibrate you liquid regeant test kit. This can be done by mixing a known concentration of ammonia, nitrates and other chemicals to a known concentration.

I.E. Mix 2 parts ammonia to 1 million parts water and then test the water. The levels should test perfectly and if they don't you can tell how far off the test actually is. There is a resource for calibrating them but I have not been able to find it again. I will post it if I do.

1 uniform drop ammonia in 1 gallon water is approx. 17.13ppm ammonia
1 uniform drop ammonia in 5 gallons water is approx. 3.43 ppm ammonia
 
#9 ·
yea i found out the hard way that test stripes werent great i tested my pH and it was telling me (yes it talk to me lol joking) that the pH was right however my fish started to die and i found my pH was way off and when i tested the stripes it has the same reading as the tank when i had clearly changed the tanks pH.
 
#10 ·
New test, new results......

Nitrites 3.0
Nitrates 10
kH 0
gH 300
pH 6.0
Ammonia 6.0

I picked up test strips just to see what the differance between the strips and my master kit. Ammonia is reading the same on both kits, and it has come down since last week, and everything else is close. I'm going to try to find a lfs tomorrow that doesn't test with strips since they're going to get the same thing I did since we're using the same strips. My nitrites came up a bit also which makes me think that it's at least moving in the right direction.

I didn't want to use chemicals in the tank but I had to do something that day or I'd loose the fish I upgraded for! I bought bio-spria(?) and put that in about 4 days ago and the only other thing I've used is Stress Coat. I'm done with the other stuff if it's just going to screw everything up. Speaking of my little friends, Plecky and the 2 cories are doing fine. He's been coming out to play once the lights are of and he's also been nice enough to rearrange the tank to his liking! He has low spots in the sand where he sleeps and just kicks the sand around when it's not confortable for him. I think he likes his new bigger home!!! The cories have gone back to chasing themselves in the reflection up and down the walls.

I am concerned with my kH being so low. Doesn't the kH basically stabalize the pH? Also I have very hard water so what's the best thing to use to soften it? I want to put Apisto's in the tank once I'm ready and they like soft water with low pH. Oh, I was also told that the ammonia isn't killing the fish since my pH is so low. It's not as toxic with lower pH levels? If I bring the pH up to 7.0 with high ammonia then it would really affect the fish. Any input on this one?
 
#11 ·
Your cycle is doing well. Sounds like you have a good grasp on it.

You KH at 0 is a concern. It can lead to pH swings. Crushed coral or something with Carbonate in it will help that. Calcium carbonate is what I use to raise both my KH and GH.

As for your GH, that is about 15 degree GH which isn't that bad. I am actually extrememly suprised that your GH is so high and your KH is so low. Have seen it before but is still weird. I assume that the 300ppm GH is from your test strips right? Close enough either way but I wouldn't be too concerned about it. The only reason you would need to lower it is if the fish require softer water and most fish will adjust to your GH nicely. Just make sure to acclimate slowly just in case the LFS GH is a lot lower so you don't shock your fish.

I think that you can use either baking soda or baking powder, soda I think, to raise your KH but it will raise your GH also. 3dKH is considered the low side of safe for KH to help stabilize pH.

Also remember that large swings in KH and less so GH can actually be more harmful to your fish than pH swings. A small pH change suddenly will not be appreciated by the fish but small changes in GH and KH can be very detrimental, especially if the number are very low. Whatever you do to your KH, do it slowly. And remember to balance the water you are going to put in the tank before adding it if you are messing with the KH.
 
#12 ·
My gh, kh and ph are the only things that have been consistant for the past 5 weeks! I have a big piece of drift wood in there so I hope it will help out a bit also. I was going to put some almond leaves in the filter as well once I get some more money. I can't, um don't, want to add up what I've put into this tank already since I can think of several trips to the lfs that were $100 plus not to mention the little stuff here and there. I guess it's good it's taking so long since the apisto's I found are $40+ a pair! Thanks for everyone's input and I'll keep you updated.
 
#13 ·
Holly said:
My gh, kh and ph are the only things that have been consistant for the past 5 weeks! I have a big piece of drift wood in there so I hope it will help out a bit also. I was going to put some almond leaves in the filter as well once I get some more money.
Driftwood and almond leaves will lower your ph, not increase it. :?
 
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