Could somebody please review my water quality stats?

[ahelmes71]

I checked my 55 gal for the first time in quite awhile today with my "TetraTest Laborett." This is probably not the most scientific set up out there, but is likely better than those test strips. It has the little test vials and bottles of various reagents.

Here's what I came up with:

Ammonia: 0 mg/l (is that even possible?)
Nitrites: < 0.3 mgl
General Hardness: 21
Carbonate Hardness: 3
Ph: Somewhere between 7.5 and 8? (Those color charts they provide can sure be subtle to distinguish between with the mere human eye)

According to the little CO2 calculation table in the kit, it looks like I am in the low range on that, probably around 2 - 3 mg/l. I have not been supplementing the tank with any Co2. It also appears from the chart that if I could somehow reduce my tank's ph, it would increase the Co2 in the tank? How does that work?

Do any of you more experienced aquarium chemists have any comments on these stats? Is 21 an unusually high number for General Hardness?

Thanks.

 

[Scouser]

I checked my 55 gal for the first time in quite awhile today with my "TetraTest Laborett." This is probably not the most scientific set up out there, but is likely better than those test strips. It has the little test vials and bottles of various reagents.

Here's what I came up with:

Ammonia: 0 mg/l (is that even possible?)
Nitrites: < 0.3 mgl
General Hardness: 21
Carbonate Hardness: 3
Ph: Somewhere between 7.5 and 8? (Those color charts they provide can sure be subtle to distinguish between with the mere human eye)

According to the little CO2 calculation table in the kit, it looks like I am in the low range on that, probably around 2 - 3 mg/l. I have not been supplementing the tank with any Co2. It also appears from the chart that if I could somehow reduce my tank's ph, it would increase the Co2 in the tank? How does that work?

Do any of you more experienced aquarium chemists have any comments on these stats? Is 21 an unusually high number for General Hardness?

Thanks.

Gauging from what you provided I assume the tank is cycling?

No ammo but trItes means you are around halfway there i believe, just need them to change to trAtes then you're golden.

Not overly sure on the other Q's but I'm tired so excuse me on that lol...

 

[aqua_chem]

According to the little CO2 calculation table in the kit, it looks like I am in the low range on that, probably around 2 - 3 mg/l. I have not been supplementing the tank with any Co2. It also appears from the chart that if I could somehow reduce my tank's ph, it would increase the Co2 in the tank? How does that work?

Do any of you more experienced aquarium chemists have any comments on these stats? Is 21 an unusually high number for General Hardness?

Thanks.

21 GH is quite hard, but I've personally found GH to be a rather useless metric, as TDS is what's really important. Is that going to be an issue for any of the fish you want?


The CO2/KH/pH chart is derived from the assumption that the carbonate buffer system is the only buffer at work in your tank. If you lower it by artificial means (pH down, peat, etc, but not including CO2), then you invalidate the assumptions of the chart. In all reality, there are already organic acids and other buffers in your tank, which makes the chart pretty flaky to start with.

 

[ahelmes71]

Actually this tank has been up and running for quite some time and is stocked with fish and plants. It is not "cycling" as the earlier poster asked.

I haven't had any problems with the fish or plants so I guess it is working okay for now.

 

[Scouser]

Actually this tank has been up and running for quite some time and is stocked with fish and plants. It is not "cycling" as the earlier poster asked.

I haven't had any problems with the fish or plants so I guess it is working okay for now.

Well I'd do something about the nitrites pretty sharpish then!

 

[aqua_chem]

If it's an established tank, it'll take care of itself. The fact that there's no ammonia means that the problem, whatever it is, is probably on its way out.

 

[stingrays4]

Hi you could ask your local fish shop to do a test and see what they come up with? This is why i tend not to test the water if the fish are ok and everything looks ok then why test? Just my opinion? But i do own a test kit and i will test if i believe anything is wrong and i will ALWAYS test when cycling a tank

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Do you happen to know your nitrates as well? I didn't see it mentioned anywhere.

 

[Scouser]

Do you happen to know your nitrates as well? I didn't see it mentioned anywhere.

Which is exactly why I posted about the trItes.

If it was cycled surely you would test for trAtes?

 

[BBradbury]

Tank Water Testing

Hello a...

I think I can save you a little worry concerning your water chemistry readings. Since your tank has been running for quite a while, I'm guessing probably months, then you don't need to worry about the chemistry of your tank water, just change a minimum of half the water every week and replace it with treated tap water of a similar temperature.

Large, weekly water changes means pollutants have no time to build up before the next change. So, there's really no point in testing the water, you know the chemistry is stable.

I've followed this routine for a long time and don't test the water in any of my tanks, but I'm a "water change fanatic".

B

 

[Hobgob]

Actually this tank has been up and running for quite some time and is stocked with fish and plants. It is not "cycling" as the earlier poster asked.

I haven't had any problems with the fish or plants so I guess it is working okay for now.

How long has the tank been set up and did you do a fishless cycle or a fish in? Since there are nitrites in the tank. Dd you just add any fish? Sometimes when you add to many fish the chemistry gets out of wack because there is to much waste for your bacteria to deal with so it slowly builds back up.

 

[ahelmes71]

Guess I should clarify: I didn't run the test because of any ongoing problem in the tank. I have just had the kit sitting around for awhile and decided to check the water conditions just for the heck of it. The tank has actually been operating continuously for over four years.

Please note that I did not mean to say I have Nitrites of 0.3 mg/l. The chemical reagent test only says I have them in amounts "Less than 0.3 mg/l" That is the lowest reading the test is able to provide, so it's quite possible there is no Nitrite problem in the tank. Sorry for the confusion.