Water Chemistry

[hardparts2]

I filled my new aquarium and treated the water for clorine and cloramines and let it run all night.Then tested this morning this is what I got
nitrate=30
nitrites=0
[acronym:447abb3078="General Hardness"]gh[/acronym:447abb3078]=300
[acronym:447abb3078="Carbonate Hardness"]kh[/acronym:447abb3078]=300
[acronym:447abb3078="power head or Measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions, depending on context"]ph[/acronym:447abb3078] = it was pink not on the chart
ammonia1.5
Does anyone know whats up with [acronym:447abb3078="power head or Measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions, depending on context"]ph[/acronym:447abb3078] or whats goin on where would nitrate and ammonia come from

[urville]

wow you drink that water?
not sure, my kit has high range and low range [acronym:8fa5ebef45="power head or Measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions, depending on context"]ph[/acronym:8fa5ebef45] test, depending on who amde your kit your either off the chart acid or off the chart [acronym:8fa5ebef45="Alkinity"]alk[/acronym:8fa5ebef45] from the sound of it.
[acronym:8fa5ebef45="General Hardness"]gh[/acronym:8fa5ebef45] and [acronym:8fa5ebef45="Carbonate Hardness"]kh[/acronym:8fa5ebef45] 300? i'm used to seeing these in degrees. who made your kit?
it's a fact some municipalties have terrible tap water conditions like much of so.cal. from what i hear.

but you'll be cycling for the nest 20-30 days unless you bio-spira - if available, or fishless cycle

[hardparts2]

Its jungle test strips its all I could get around here. I plan on doing a fish less cycle but I wanted the water adjusted for lake Malawi cichlids before I started the cycle

[Todd2]

So you have 30 [acronym:a791d444eb="Parts per Million"]ppm[/acronym:a791d444eb] nitrate and 1.5 [acronym:a791d444eb="Parts per Million"]ppm[/acronym:a791d444eb] ammonia out of the tap? Did you add anything to raise the [acronym:a791d444eb="power head or Measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions, depending on context"]ph[/acronym:a791d444eb] or increase the hardness? That could be the reason your water chemistry is out of wack. A stable [acronym:a791d444eb="power head or Measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions, depending on context"]ph[/acronym:a791d444eb] is better than a fluctuating [acronym:a791d444eb="power head or Measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions, depending on context"]ph[/acronym:a791d444eb]. The test kit could be bad. Take your water to the [acronym:a791d444eb="Local Fish Store"]lfs[/acronym:a791d444eb] and have them test it.

[urville]

yeah i hate to tell you but dip tests are poo.
look at www.thatfishplace.com you should find a good liquid kit for around 15.00

[Menagerie]

A lot of people like www.bigalsonline.com too.

[hardparts2]

I found a liquid [acronym:b1e1ae3bd0="power head or Measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions, depending on context"]ph[/acronym:b1e1ae3bd0] test kit and tested it it came out 8

[hardparts2]

and No I didnt add a thing

[urville]

ouch..., call your local water muncilipality and question them about that, you should be able to get a report on local water too. you may want to go and try grocery store spring water but even there it's kind of gamble. you could tring buying some [acronym:8b836ad4d6="Reverse osmosis"]RO[/acronym:8b836ad4d6] water maybe at the [acronym:8b836ad4d6="Local Fish Store"]lfs[/acronym:8b836ad4d6], but then you'll need to reconstitute it.
[acronym:8b836ad4d6="Reverse osmosis"]ro[/acronym:8b836ad4d6] is okay but it wastes water to make the highly purified water, and you have to dose reconstitution additives.
thats a real bummer. try asking the [acronym:8b836ad4d6="Local Fish Store"]lfs[/acronym:8b836ad4d6] how they deal with the water
are you even city water or well?

[TankGirl]

Forget about your pH for now - it is great for Africans and is not a real issue. Ammonia and nitrate from tap water certainly are, and that is where attention needs to be directed. Definitely look into being certain about these values before you do anything else. A little nitrate in a municipal water system is not terribly rare, but ammonia is BAD and is contaminated, and there would be a public notice about such a thing.