Water test kits? How to?

[AlmonyMatt]

I did all of the tests. Now I followed all the instructions and this is what I got.

 

[AlmonyMatt]

I never got a reading like that from the nitrates before. That Im worried about

 

[AlmonyMatt]

I want help to get my tank where it needs to be not people telling me just quit a hobby I enjoy

 

[AlmonyMatt]

Sorry. This one didn't show

 

[AlmonyMatt]

Anyone?

 

[mistersprinkles]

We've told you everything we can with the information you're providing. Your pH is fine now but I don't like how you got there. Using the cichlid buffer by seachem that I suggested would have been a much smarter way of getting your pH and hardness up.

You have high ammonia, but you also have nigh nitrate and no nitrite. So your tank is cycled, but somehow you've gotten a large ammonia spike. No way to know what you did wrong without more information.

Again, it'd be wise to rehome the fish you have until you get the tank under control. They could develop bloat, for example, due to stress from the ammonia, and then you'd have the expense of epsom salt and metronidazole on your hands.

Take the fish out, rehome them, and get your ammonia under control. Then dose 4ppm of ammonia from a bottle and keep it at 4ppm until all the ammonia is converted to nitrite then nitrate. This will help your bacterial population get large enough to properly support fish.

Are you doing anything ridiculous like emptying out your aquarium to clean it? Are you changing the gravel all the time? Do you clean out your entire filter at once?

 

[AlmonyMatt]

I did add fish very quickly. I added 4 then a week later 10. That was probably my problem. I just don't understand how I can do a 50% WC then another 50% a hour later and still have high evens of ammonia. I barely feed the fish lately. I give them 1 pellet per fish in the tank once a day. What else do you need to know

 

[Ian086]

I asked already but I'll ask again, what brand of test kit are you using? Are you sure they are not expired? To read the test, stand under the whitest light possible (or sunlight) and hold the test tube against the white backed card that came with the test kit that has the colors on it.

What exactly does it say on the test kit you're using (ie, API High range pH test kit, etc)

Take a picture of your completed test next to the color chart and post it. Might help.

The test kit(s) came with instructions. Have you read them? (ie, you have to shake bottle 2 of the nitrate kit for 30 seconds, then shake the test tube for 60 seconds, etc)

If you want to offer help, offer help. DON'T keep bashing the OP for making mistakes or not understanding why their tank is in trouble. He/she is here to get help, not a lecture

I want help to get my tank where it needs to be not people telling me just quit a hobby I enjoy

Don't be put off. By asking for help, you are showing passion and a will to learn. They are the backbone of a good aquarist. Have a read of this and it should help you out....
I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?! - Aquarium Advice

 

[AlmonyMatt]

Thanks for the backup and that was a very helpful link. I have been doing a lot of water changes and will start to increase them again. Now, when I do a 40% or more water change I notice the fish gasping for air and that's when I lost a fish last time I did that. They act fine till then. Normal or am I doing something wrong. I add the declorinator to the new water before adding to the tank and match temps

 

[mistersprinkles]

If you want to offer help, offer help. DON'T keep bashing the OP for making mistakes or not understanding why their tank is in trouble. He/she is here to get help, not a lecture

Only "bad" thing I said was "I asked already but I'll ask again" and even that is really pretty benign IMO.
Can you explain to me how explaining how to read a test kit and asking if the OP had read the instructions is bashing them? Because I just don't see it. I think you're being, with all due respect, overly-sensitive on someone else's behalf, whom I seriously don't believe I've offended at this point. Nor have I tried to.

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Msalmony- can you tell me what kind of filter you're using and what media you have in it? Have you cleaned all the media at once and the inside of the filter (could cause ammonia spike) or have you changed the gravel/sand out or otherwise done anything that could have upset your beneficial bacteria?

As to your fish freaking out when you do a water change- it's possible you have a high level of dissolved gasses in your water, or something else which is irritating the fish. You could try letting the water "age" in a large plastic container, then adding it to your tank. You would want a heater for this container, so that the water was the same temperature as your aquarium when you used it. This may ease the stress caused by water changes.

Also, this may be a silly question, but have you directly tested your tap water for ammonia? Some people get ammonia in their tap water.

 

[AlmonyMatt]

It's just I don't want to part with fish that cost a lot of money. Sorry. I just want advice so I can learn

 

[mistersprinkles]

By not answering questions, though, you're not helping yourself. Please answer the following questions.

1 Can you tell me what kind of filter you're using and what media you have in it?

2 Have you cleaned all the media at once and the inside of the filter (could cause ammonia spike) or

3 have you changed the gravel/sand out or otherwise done anything that could have upset your beneficial bacteria?

4 Have you tested your tap water directly for ammonia?

You have to help me help you...

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As far as not wanting to part with fish you payed money for, you may be better off doing that than having to shell out big bucks for enough metronidazole to treat their food and the water for 10 days or so if they come down with bloat due to the stress.

Losing fish, and essentially flushing money down the toilet is an unfortunate and ugly part of the hobby that everybody deals with.

 

[AlmonyMatt]

Only "bad" thing I said was "I asked already but I'll ask again" and even that is really pretty benign IMO.
Can you explain to me how explaining how to read a test kit and asking if the OP had read the instructions is bashing them? Because I just don't see it. I think you're being, with all due respect, overly-sensitive on someone else's behalf, whom I seriously don't believe I've offended at this point. Nor have I tried to.

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Msalmony- can you tell me what kind of filter you're using and what media you have in it? Have you cleaned all the media at once and the inside of the filter (could cause ammonia spike) or have you changed the gravel/sand out or otherwise done anything that could have upset your beneficial bacteria?

As to your fish freaking out when you do a water change- it's possible you have a high level of dissolved gasses in your water, or something else which is irritating the fish. You could try letting the water "age" in a large plastic container, then adding it to your tank. You would want a heater for this container, so that the water was the same temperature as your aquarium when you used it. This may ease the stress caused by water changes.

Also, this may be a silly question, but have you directly tested your tap water for ammonia? Some people get ammonia in their tap water.

I use a Fluval 305 and a TopFin60 HOB filter. I did make the mistake of vacuuming all the gravel all at once a few times.

I have not checked the tap water but I can. I got the Fluval filter used and it already had good bacteria in it. I haven't changed anything in that yet.

 

[Ian086]

Only "bad" thing I said was "I asked already but I'll ask again" and even that is really pretty benign IMO.
Can you explain to me how explaining how to read a test kit and asking if the OP had read the instructions is bashing them? Because I just don't see it. If my comments bother you, don't read them. That might ease your frustration.

Trust me I am not frustrated, but it does annoy me when someone who is in trouble and is asking for help, ends up feeling bad. The advice you offered was not the issue, the way you deliver it was. The OP is trying to get help. He/she is obviously new and judging by the reply I quoted from, feels like they are getting lectured too. This is a friendly forum with members that are/should be willing to help. We all have the same in common, a passion for fish. There is a way to reply to a thread/post without making the OP feel like crap.
You may not have intended it to come across the way it did but obviously the OP feels the same as I do. I am not going to get into a personal argument with you or trade insults, I have better things to do with my time. I have every right to read or reply to ANY thread on this forum, as we all do....

 

[mistersprinkles]

I use a Fluval 305 and a TopFin60 HOB filter. I did make the mistake of vacuuming all the gravel all at once a few times.

I have not checked the tap water but I can. I got the Fluval filter used and it already had good bacteria in it. I haven't changed anything in that yet.

I'm not a fan of the top fin but the 305 will handle all the biological filtration you'll need for that tank.

Vaccuuming all your gravel is not a terrible thing to do at all, in fact, it's recommended. Vaccuuming gravel will not remove much beneficial bacteria from the gravel. Maybe 2%. I was more referring to if you had changed out all your gravel or made some other massive change to your tank that could be causing this.

I think the next step is for you to test your tap water directly for ammonia. Also, you should check the pH straight out of the tap as well as testing the pH once the water has been sitting (ie, in a bucket) for 24 hours.

If you want to keep altering the parameters of your water, in order to keep African cichlids, as opposed to keeping fish that are appropriate for a pH in the low 6's, I strongly suggest you get that seachem malawi/victoria buffer. It will not only alter your pH, it will also increase your gH and kH, both of which are important.

pH up (what you used) does nothing to address water hardness. It just increases pH. It's not a smart thing to use long term. The buffer I suggested is.

Just buy the buffer, get a set of measuring teaspoons (1/4, 1/2, full) and measure out how much buffer it takes to get a 5 gallon bucket up to about pH 8 and kH 7-10 (you'll need a kH test kit).

Then, every time you add a bucket of fresh tap water to your tank, dose that bucket with the correct amount of the buffer, and your fish will always be in the same water.

The advice you offered was not the issue, the way you deliver it was.

If you don't tell me more specifically what you think I said wrong, I will continue to be at a loss in terms of understanding what you're referring to. IMO I didn't say anything wrong, and unless somebody points out something specifically that was wrong with what I said, I can't understand where you're coming from.

 

[AlmonyMatt]

I did go buy a 8.2 Lake malawi Buffer. Only one the fish store had. But I have been using that during water changes.

What do you suggest, I have a bucket just under 3Gallon. Should I go get a 5G bucket. But if I do get that how could I get the water back into the tank from the bucket without dumping it in?

 

[mistersprinkles]

What do you suggest, I have a bucket just under 3Gallon. Should I go get a 5G bucket. But if I do get that how could I get the water back into the tank from the bucket without dumping it in?

I don't understand the question. You're going to be dumping it in.
Water changes are straight forward- remove water into buckets, dump out into toilet or bath-tub, fill buckets with tap water, dechlorinate, and then add and mix buffer, then pour into tank.

 

[AlmonyMatt]

I tested my tap water. And here the results

Ammonia-1ppm
Nitrite-0ppm
Nitrate-160ppm

What can I do to make this all better so I can make good water changes

 

[mistersprinkles]

I tested my tap water. And here the results

Ammonia-1ppm
Nitrite-0ppm
Nitrate-160ppm

What can I do to make this all better so I can make good water changes

You have 160ppm of nitrate in your tap water? I've never heard of tap water that high. That's quite high ammonia as well. I would say that if these are accurate results, you should not use this water with your fish, nor should you drink the water yourself.

160ppm is really past the 'unsafe' line for any fish. I think your only choice here is to invest in a reverse osmosis unit (RO/DI). It'll be beneficial both for yourself and your fish.

You'll need to use a product called R/O right to remineralize the water, as pure water with no TDS (total dissolved solids) is not good for fish. If you're keeping African cichlids you should also use a buffer like Seachem Malawi/Victoria buffer which will increase the pH to 7.8-8.2 as well as increase the kH.

It's not complicated once you start doing it, but I highly suggest you get the RO/DI unit. Even if you don't want to keep your fish, you should do it, for your own health. Don't drink that water straight from tap.

I suggest you buy a TDS meter

http://www.bigalspets.com/handheld-tds-temp-meter-with-vinyl-case.html

and an RO/DI unit

http://www.bigalspets.com/pure-flo-ii-r-o-unit-with-pump-3-canister-50-gpd.html

And these:

http://www.bigalspets.com/malawi-victoria-buffer-1-2-kg.html

http://www.bigalspets.com/r-o-right-1-kg.html

 

[AlmonyMatt]

I'm sure I do the water tests right. I follow the instructions in the packet. But I will look into that.