The tes results are in...help me analize them please...

[tropicfishman]

hey guys I finally got all my test kits in today, This is what turned out:

PH : 6.8 ( what I usually have anyways )

Ammonia : 0 ppm

Nitrite : 0 ppm

Nitrate : 10 ppm

Phosphates : over 10 ppm ( it was way darker than the blue indicator on the comparison card )

GH : 143.2 ppm 8DKH

KH : 71.6 ppm 4 DKH

Its a 10 gallon thats been setup for a while, I was wondering why my phosphates are so high and if my nitrates are ok?

My fish include : 2 tiger barbs, a red tailed shark, a black molly and a betta ( believe it or not they all live in harmony ) Thanks for any help

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

Phosphates can come in the water, or in the food, typical with cheaper foods or over feeding.

Try getting soe phosphate removing media, HBH makes some pads that are supposed to work well. Also, I'ld test your tap water for high phosphates.

Other then that, the tests look good.

 

[tropicfishman]

cool, thats great to hear, I knew the ph, ammonia, nitrites were all good since there was none, what kind of range do you want for nitrates though? and when it comes to the water hardness test, when it says a fish prefers a water hardness of 4 or something, is it referring to the DKH part? I'm new at testing for these things, I used to only test my ph until i founf out about all this nitrogen cycle stuff about a year ago lol

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

Yes, most fih profiles list hardness in dKH or dGH.. not in ppm, if it does list it, it will be in brackets. a KH of 4 and GH of 8 is great for most fish, I think Chichlids prefer a harder water, but most fish will do well in that water.

Nitrates of 10-20 are good, esp. for planted tanks. you can get away with up to 40 or so, but below 10 in a planted tank can cause algae nightmares..

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Since I'm not a plant guru, I may be way off. But would using a phosphate remover pad be wise in a planted tank? Plants feed off of Nitrates and phosphate.

 

[brant]

Yeah I think phosphates are required in aplanted tank but at much lower levels from what I was told to aim for .5- 1 ppm phosphates at high consantration can cause chemical burns at least thats what I was told. I use phosgaurd from seachem in my tank and at every test it is always at .5 ppm and a third of a cup lasts me 2-3 weeks before I start to see a rise. Also if useing AP test kit it is important to check test rite after the 3 minutes are up just letting it sit an extra min. or 2 really changes the color.