[fluffin]

...What are the ideal levels of Nitrite, Nitrate, pH and Ammonia in a 30L biOrb?

I have 7 lampie tetra, 4 guppies, 1 swordtail and 1 plep.

No living plants only three plastic ones as we had huge snail problems.

These are my water results immediately after a water change in which I changed 25% - we also treated for fin rot if that makes any difference and it was time to change some water anyway, the 8th day of treatment it said to syphon some water - :

Nitrite - 0.2
Nitrate - 20
Ammonia - 0
pH - 7.5

 

[FDStation152]

Well the pH can be in a pretty wide range without causing problems for your fish as long as it remains stable. Based on the kind of fish you have I'd say right around 7 would be ideal although if the fish arent dying I wouldn't reccoment adjusting from the 7.5. Ammonia and Nitrite should always be zero in any sized tank. Any other reading is extremely harmful to your fish and shows a problem with the cycling of the tank. I would continue to do water changes until the nitrite is no longer detectable. Not all at once mind you but I'd hop up to doing 1/3 of the water every day. Nitrates are tolerable to most species of fish to a very high level however they may stunt growth over time and can lead to algae blooms. Water changes and live plants will also bring that level down. Try to keep it under 20. Anything from 0-20 is gonna be fine. You say you had huge snail problems...does that mean you have managed to kill off the snails? If so did you remove the shells from the water? They will contribute towards a higher pH. How often do you do water changes?

 

[fluffin]

We keep finding snails and their shells regulary in the bowl which is highly irritating. My boyfriend managed to remove at least 50 in one session! We pick about 2/3 out every other day now. Some are in the filter which is good. We know snails in small number are sometimes useful but this was ridiculous.

We do water changes every 1.5/2 weeks. Is that too much or too little?

 

[FDStation152]

depends on the type of snail. malaysian trumpet snails are very useful...churn through the gravel scavenging for food...dont eat the plants. Something like a pond snail though I consider a menace even if theres only 1.

 

[squiggles1]

i wouldnt recommendtrying the get rid of all the snail problem chemicals either. i havent seen any that aren't really hard on everyone in the tank. i agree with the above with the ammonia and nitrite and nitrate readings. ammonia and nitrite should b zero. fish waste and extra food=ammonia which is bad for fishies. then ammonia turns to nitrite, bad for fishies, then nitrite turns to nitrate which you can get out with water changes. dont be surprised to see ur nitrate go up as ur nitrite goes down, definitly do 1/3 water changes to get it under control.

 

[FDStation152]

I also don't reccomend chemical removal of the snails for a variety of reasons.

1. Dead rotting snails will spike ammonia in the tank and cause major stress to the rest of the tank inhabitants.

2. Most of the snail removal chemicals use copper which can accumulate in the tank and make it uninhabitable to all forms of invertebrates and also adversely affect the fish.

3. If the shells aren't removed pH will eventually rise.

The best means of controlling them is to remove the ones you can see and limit the amount of food available to the ones you cant. Keep the gravel cleaner, cut down on feedings to the fish, etc