Finally got a test kit!

[saa5886]

I picked up an API test kit yesterday...freakin thing was $30! Anyway I took my measurements and heres what they are...
PH-7.5
Nitrite .25
Nitrate 5.0
Ammonia 2.0

I'm out of money now that I got this kit...soI'm stuck with doing water changes..as for chemicals, all I have is Prime and awater conditioner (aloe).

Just thought I would post that....

 

[Aquarium1]

Just thought I'd say, its $18 at walmart.com Walmart.com: Freshwater Master Test Kit: Fish with free site to store or $1 shipping to your house. Also, any ammonia level is poisonous to the fish, as are nitrates. Those ammonia levels are particularly deadly, do pwcs about 50% every to every other day so that you keep it under .5 ppm. If you can find some seed material from a healthy established tank (filter media, substrate, etc.), that would definitely help.

 

[saa5886]

I've been doing 25% water changes daily but it hasnt gone down....its strange because the water is only a week old for the entire tank...
I spoke to the owner of a LFS yesterday, she said I'm feeding them too much, causing more waste...
I feed them twice a day, but she said its fine to switch to once every other day...

 

[Aquarium1]

I would cut it down to once per day, and make sure you only feed what they can eat in 3 min. Also, good job on the daily pwcs but if 25% isn't working you should probably do 50%. Try not to distrub the gravel right now while doing this, just siphon out the water.

 

[Lowryder]

Just thought I'd say, its $18 at walmart.com Walmart.com: Freshwater Master Test Kit: Fish with free site to store or $1 shipping to your house. Also, any ammonia level is poisonous to the fish, as are nitrates. Those ammonia levels are particularly deadly, do pwcs about 50% every to every other day so that you keep it under .5 ppm. If you can find some seed material from a healthy established tank (filter media, substrate, etc.), that would definitely help.

Hate to disagree with you Aq1 but I would say 0.25 ammonia.

If you have a well established aquarium I would do 2 50% water changes in one day to remove most of the ammonia.

Are you cycling?

 

[Aquarium1]

Hate to disagree with you Aq1 but I would say 0.25 ammonia.

If you have a well established aquarium I would do 2 50% water changes in one day to remove most of the ammonia.

Are you cycling?

Oh, well yeah, that'd be best. She's cycling. Also saa, what is your stocking right now?

 

[saa5886]

3 mollies, a guppy, a CAE, and an albino cory cat

 

[mgamer20o0]

those are fine being fed once a day. you can even feed 5-6 times a week. have you tested your tap water?

 

[dkpate]

Yayy for the test kits! I had to get mine in a hurry too, and ended up paying $50....I feel your pain!
Like they said, keep doing pwc's but up them to 50%, and if you have to do them twice a day, that's okay. Also, since you are using Prime, it will remove some ammonia but you will still get readings for it. I don't know if it's on the back of the bottle or online, but it will tell you how much it does remove.

 

[saa5886]

I had gone to all my walmarts and none had it.. then I ended up at wet pets by steve and they did. they were awesome people with some amazing fish!

 

[Aquarium1]

They're online only lol but at least you're supporting an lfs. That's great that you found a good place

 

[saa5886]

online only? that wouldnt have helped me lol... ive needed the thing for 2 weeks now... plus the shipping cost would have added more to the price...and then the amount of time waiting for it to get here...

 

[dkpate]

It's nly $.97 shipping lol. Do you feel like a little mad scientist now? I sure did!

 

[Aquarium1]

or there's free site to store lol.

 

[saa5886]

thats great, but it woudnt have helped me immediately...
speaking of... i just did a 50% water change and my stats are exactly the same as theyve been... its starting to make me mad...

Ph-7.6
Nitrite .25
Nitrate 5.0
Ammonia 2.0

I dont understand how thats possible. Do you think the kit could be bad? How is it possible that after a 50% water change AND a 25% water change last night it could possibly be exactly the same?

 

[mommytron]

is there a lot of decaying food in the tank? if so, as it decays it will produce more and more ammonia. not to mention your fish are always adding to the ammonia. if you need to, go ahead and do 75% water change. or even as much water you can get out without your fish flopping around but as said before, don't disturb your gravel as it is building up the good bacteria.

oh and about getting the kit at walmart, if you have been looking for 2 weeks, you coulda got it shipped site to store (for free) or to your house (for a buck) and would have gotten it in less than two weeks. just sayin

 

[neilanh]

It is possible that the test kit is bad, but more likely the high levels of ammonia and nitrIte are probably just causing the kit to read all wacky.

Keep up with the water changes, try to get your ammonia level down below .5 and things should start reading better on your test kit.

 

[BeavisMom62]

Good for you for getting the test kit. I agree with what one poster said about feeling like a mad scientist. I did too when I first got mine. As has already been said, I would keep up with large water changes until the ammonia comes down. Even though you are cycling, in case there is lots of waste in the gravel decaying and causing the ammonia, I would do a good gravel vac as well. Most of the good bacteria is in the filter anyway. You are using the Prime with every water change, correct? You can increase the amount of Prime (I think it says how much on the bottle) to help with the ammonia.

Just keep it up. Good job so far.

 

[saa5886]

is there a lot of decaying food in the tank? if so, as it decays it will produce more and more ammonia. not to mention your fish are always adding to the ammonia. if you need to, go ahead and do 75% water change. or even as much water you can get out without your fish flopping around but as said before, don't disturb your gravel as it is building up the good bacteria.

oh and about getting the kit at walmart, if you have been looking for 2 weeks, you coulda got it shipped site to store (for free) or to your house (for a buck) and would have gotten it in less than two weeks. just sayin

You guys, I'm not an idiot. I know fully well how to do the math. I didnt have the money to purchase it back then. Now I did. I got it when I could ok???

 

[saa5886]

It is possible that the test kit is bad, but more likely the high levels of ammonia and nitrIte are probably just causing the kit to read all wacky.

Keep up with the water changes, try to get your ammonia level down below .5 and things should start reading better on your test kit.

Dont you think that by doing 25% water changes DAILY and a 50% water change just now that should be affecting it?

"Try to get my ammonia levels down below .5"....I KNOW THIS... This is why I bought the kit to begin with. This is why I have been doing DAILY water changes.. The KIT is whats supposed to TELL ME when its going down.