Water problems

[Chevy muddin 78]

Ok guys I've had my 55 gallon tank set up for about a month now and the water was fine when we set it up the water was fine I checked everything with the API freshwater kit and its been fine and about a week ago the ammonia and ph was high so we vaccumed gravel and got ammo lock to decrese it and ph minus the ammonia was going down but not ph so we went and got neutral regulator for ph and ammonia the ammonia seems to be under control but ph is still high and the nitrite and nitrates are high so is there anyway we can lower this stuff we have done 3 20% water changes within a week any suggestions?

 

[Rare]

When you say the pH was high...What is high & what was it at before? Also, why are you trying to drop the pH down? You have fish in your tank now? Let us start there

 

[Chevy muddin 78]

When you say the pH was high...What is high & what was it at before? Also, why are you trying to drop the pH down? You have fish in your tank now? Let us start there

The ph is dark blue like above 7.4 and has been there for a while and nitrates and nitrites are going up

 

[okapizebra]

So are there fish in the tank currently and is the tank cycled?

Forget adding ammolock or the ph chemicals. The only chemical you need is a good quality water conditioner/dechlorinator, such as seachem prime. Adding a bunch of chemicals will only complicate the problem.

Unless your pH drops drastically, like 6.5 or below, I would not be concerned with your pH. 7.4 is perfectly fine, fish are highly adaptable to pH and will proper acclimation to your tank, they will be able to thrive in most pHs.

The best way to lower nitrites and ammonia, which ideally should be zero in a fully cycled aquarium, is to do 50% water changes. Nitrates are fine as long as they are below 40 ppm.

 

[Chevy muddin 78]

So are there fish in the tank currently and is the tank cycled?

Forget adding ammolock or the ph chemicals. The only chemical you need is a good quality water conditioner/dechlorinator, such as seachem prime. Adding a bunch of chemicals will only complicate the problem.

Unless your pH drops drastically, like 6.5 or below, I would not be concerned with your pH. 7.4 is perfectly fine, fish are highly adaptable to pH and will proper acclimation to your tank, they will be able to thrive in most pHs.

The best way to lower nitrites and ammonia, which ideally should be zero in a fully cycled aquarium, is to do 50% water changes. Nitrates are fine as long as they are below 40 ppm.

By cycled u mean... And the nitrates and nitrites are really high like way above safe and yes fish are in the tank

 

[okapizebra]

Cycled meaning you have an established colony of beneficial bacteria to change the unwanted ammonia and nitrites into nitrates. Are you familiar with the nitrogen cycle? Basically ammonia is fish waste which is toxic to your fish. Bacteria will form in your filter pad mainly and also on other surfaces in your tank. They will convert the ammonia to nitrites, which are also harmful to your fish. Then more colonies of bacteria will develop that will convert the nitrites to nitrates, a far less harmful compound. If your tank is fully cycled, you should be seeing 0 ammonia and nitrites, and a significant amount of nitrates, which ideally should be less than 40 ppm. If you are testing and seeing more than .25ppm of ammonia or nitrites, then I suggest doing at least a 50% water change immediately. Anything higher than .25ppm is toxic to your fish and can lead to illness and death.

 

[Chevy muddin 78]

Cycled meaning you have an established colony of beneficial bacteria to change the unwanted ammonia and nitrites into nitrates. Are you familiar with the nitrogen cycle? Basically ammonia is fish waste which is toxic to your fish. Bacteria will form in your filter pad mainly and also on other surfaces in your tank. They will convert the ammonia to nitrites, which are also harmful to your fish. Then more colonies of bacteria will develop that will convert the nitrites to nitrates, a far less harmful compound. If your tank is fully cycled, you should be seeing 0 ammonia and nitrites, and a significant amount of nitrates, which ideally should be less than 40 ppm. If you are testing and seeing more than .25ppm of ammonia or nitrites, then I suggest doing at least a 50% water change immediately. Anything higher than .25ppm is toxic to your fish and can lead to illness and death.

When we started the tank we got it up and running about a week after starting it I am very new at all this aquarium stuff and don't kno much at all when I was at work my girlfriend told me the ammonia was low like .25 and the nitrates and nitrites were very high almost at top of charts. so what your saying is that if the ammonia gets too high it causes the nitrates and nitrites to form and keep growing so I need to make sure I keep ammonia in check?

 

[Rare]

Read this to get a better understanding of it since you have fish. Any other questions post them here

Fish-in Cycling: Step over into the dark side - Aquarium Advice

 

[okapizebra]

You do need to keep ammonia in check, but once the bacteria develop there will still be ammonia, it'll just already have been processed by the bacteria and you won't read it on your test. That's good. Once your tank is cycled you will no longer have to worry about ammonia or nitrites. The bacteria will automatically process them and you will only see the end product, nitrates, which are fine in higher levels.

So as long as you see more than .25ppm of ammonia or nitrites, you should do a 50% water change or more to get those levels down. Eventually, you'll stop seeing any ammonia or nitrites present at all and a single weekly partial water change should be sufficient to keep you water in check.

Sorry if I'm a little confusing. Rare's link is a great resource to understand what I'm trying to say better.

 

[Chevy muddin 78]

You do need to keep ammonia in check, but once the bacteria develop there will still be ammonia, it'll just already have been processed by the bacteria and you won't read it on your test. That's good. Once your tank is cycled you will no longer have to worry about ammonia or nitrites. The bacteria will automatically process them and you will only see the end product, nitrates, which are fine in higher levels.

So as long as you see more than .25ppm of ammonia or nitrites, you should do a 50% water change or more to get those levels down. Eventually, you'll stop seeing any ammonia or nitrites present at all and a single weekly partial water change should be sufficient to keep you water in check.

Sorry if I'm a little confusing. Rare's link is a great resource to understand what I'm trying to say better.

Ok thanks guys ill look into the link and see what I can do to have healthy fish thanks a lot

 

[okapizebra]

Don't hesitate to ask any questions you may have!

 

[Chevy muddin 78]

Don't hesitate to ask any questions you may have!

Will do man thanks

 

[okapizebra]

Actually, it's woman, not man.

 

[Chevy muddin 78]

Actually, it's woman, not man.

Oh sorry ma'am and ok I got the seachem prime today and added it to tank the ammonia is at 0 but my nitrite and nitrates are still very high should I add more or wht should I do?

 

[DUPRASAQUARIA]

Continue to do water changes about 20-40% every second day until levels begin to stay in check. Don't change everyday if your tank is not cycled you will only prolong the issues by not allowing the bacterial to build to the level required by your bio load.

 

[okapizebra]

I'd do daily 50% water changes until you see no more nitrites. Contrary to popular belief, there is little bacteria at all in the water column. Most of it will be in the substrate and in the filter media, so large water changes will NOT affect your bacteria colonies at all. You need to keep doing them to help from harming your fish- nitrites are very toxic and harmful to your fish.

 

[dmolavi]

Prime can also help knock down nitrItes in an emergency. Read the label, but I think it says up to 5 times the normal dose.

 

[Chevy muddin 78]

Thanks guys ill keep on with the water changes and post if I have another question thanks all