Water problems

[Blahblahblah]

Hi, I am very new to the Aquarium world and am having problems with my water. I have a 29 gallon tank and my level's are off bad and I've tried all kinds of chemical. I used tap water with Tetra Aquasafe. We had a bad problem with brown algae so we took out 10 gallons and scraped the glass clean. Now our levels are out of wak. My NItrites are 10.0 My Hardness is 150, Alkalinity 300 and my PH is 8.4. I keep adding the AquaSafe conditioner and was told to get some PH reducer. I've put it in 4 times now and have had no changes. Now my Corydoras Melini's are hiding in what we now call the death rock. Can anyone help or give me some advice Please?!

 

[acewiza]

The only good thing about water conditioning issues is the first step to remedy is almost always the same - change it. I'd recommend testing the tap water you're starting with.

 

[Stacey W.]

The brown algae are diatoms and it's usually in a newly setup tank. It'll go away on it's own. Your nitrites are high because your tank is not cycled. Your hardness and alkalinity are slightly high and your ph is definitely high. Make sure you test your tapwater and tank water too with an api liquid master test kit. Then get back to me and I'll try to help you. Do not use ph up or down it's a waste of money.

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[Blahblahblah]

I don't understand how it can hard when I have a water softener. I have done a parcel change of about 8-10 gals twice now. The testing strips I use are Tetra EasyStrips for the tank. I went to my local Meijer store to get some of their Reverse Osmosis water but found that I would need my own jugs. I've been trying to save mine. Its been about 2 weeks since our last water change. I take it we will need to do another ? I just recently lost 2 fish and need to replace them soon. Ones a Sunburst Platy and the other is a Red wag platy. I will pick up the test kit today and get back with you. Thank you very much for the offer of help.

 

[Caliban07]

Is there any way you can bypass the softener? They are no good for aquariums. Also RO water is no good for freshwater aquariums aquariums either unless you supplement the RO with minerals or you are cutting hard tap water. Water softeners replace the main constituents of hard water (calcium and magnesium ions) with sodium ions at a rate of about 3-1. So although you are removing the hard water ions you are increasing salinity of total dissolved solids (TDS) concentration. Large fluctuations in TDS can have a negative affect on fish in the long run.

Also you tank is not cycled which is probably causing 90% of your problems at present.


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[fishliker]

Please correct me if I am wrong and in over my head here... But since there are already fish in the tank, how about getting a master testing kit, checking ammonia, nitrites and pH every day and doing 40 percent water changes every day until tank gets cycled? Dose extra prime every day to neutralize ammonia. Use no chemicals, and certainly add no new fish until the tank is cycled and stable, which may be 4 weeks or more.

As for the high pH, I don't know what to do. Just trying to help.


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[Blahblahblah]

What does cycled mean ?

 

[2xEcho]

What does cycled mean ?

The Nitrogen Cycle - The Free Freshwater and Saltwater Aquarium Encyclopedia Anyone Can Edit - The Aquarium Wiki

This will help explain.

Did you set up your tank and then put the fish in on the same day or shortly after?

Also, +1 on getting the API master test kit. I had test strips when I was cycling my tank and the results for pH and hardness were more than a little off when compared with the master test kit.

Do you have plants in the tank? They help with the overall health of fish in a tank.

 

[Blahblahblah]

I got the tank on Sunday December 27th and started it up. Then put fish in on Wednesday the 30th. In 2 weeks the water got real cloudy. The first water change was 30 days. Then Ammonia got real high and was told to put Ammonia loc in. Got the ammonia under control, then here comes the brown algae. I took it as long as I could ( it got bad! We have white and red gravel and it look terrible) so 2 weeks after the first water change we did another and scraped the glass. Its been 2 weeks since then. I do not have any live plants. I don't know anything about fish tanks let alone about putting plants in one (lol). Now I'm confused about the water I should use for my water changes. OK, I now have the API Freshwater Master test kit.

 

[Blahblahblah]

PH- 7.6
High PH-8.0
Nitrates- 5.0
Nitrites-5.0
Ammonia- 0

 

[ArtistGardener]

The brown diatoms will go away eventually; in the meantime, get on a schedule of at least 25% water changes weekly--50% is often needed when things are out of whack. Your cold water should not be going through your softener and should be fine. You can either let it sit for a day or two to become room temperature before using it (go slowly if it is way lower than your tank temperature) or mix in a small amount of hot water. The softener only makes the calcium and carbonates remain in solution so they don't build up on surfaces--it does not reduce the true pH or alkalinity of the water. I have very hard/high pH water and my tanks do fine. I use cold water that hasn't gone through the softener mixed with hot that has.

As far as your fish, 30 days after setting up with fish in an uncycled tank before a water change would have resulted in extremely high levels of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. If cycling a tank with fish in, one needs to make massive water changes every few days. It is a pain but it works. While your tank is probably cycled now, your fish most likely suffered some gill damage during that time. That could account for their ill health. It is a common beginner's mistake.

I hope you can bounce back and enjoy your hobby. Tanks require weekly maintenance, but the rewards are worth it. Good luck!

 

[fishliker]

Ok. If Stacy or no one else helps you I will try. I cycle the old fashion way I guess. A lot of people on these sites use tetra Safe Start but I have never used it. Plants are nice but that's a whole other subject and not the time. Right now you are trying to save your fish.

You need to measure your ammonia, nitrites and pH and make a little chart to write these down with dates. This is so you cabn see the trends over time. Any time you see ammonia or nitrites, do a 30-40 percent water change. Use tap water and be sure it is the same temperature as best you can. Be sure to put the appropriate dose of Prime in the tank for the water you are replacing BEFORE you put in the new water. If the tank is not cycled at all, you will be doing this daily for a month to 6,weeks. Once you see nitrites, the tank is starting to cycle, once they go down and you start seeing nitrate, and little to no ammonia and nitrites, then the tank is cycled. As I said, do not add any more fish until the tank is cycled. Do not listen to advice from people at the fish store.

I said do water change any time you have ammonia, I'd say any time it is above .25.

Oh, one thing you could do to speed things up is to find someone else's filter to take a piece and put it in with yours to get the good bacteria to grow faster. You might get some from a fish store, only thing is you have to be pretty sure they don't have any disease going on.

Good luck keep us posted.


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[Stacey W.]

PH- 7.6
High PH-8.0
Nitrates- 5.0
Nitrites-5.0
Ammonia- 0

Was that your tank water or tap water? If it's the tank water I have good news and bad news. The good news is that your tank is almost done cycling. The bad news is that it's not quite cycled yet (if that makes since). Fish are ok with a ph of 7.6-8 unless you want fish that like softer water. In that case you use reverse osmosis water (that's a whole nother can of worms). Otherwise, if it's your tank water then keep doing small partial water changes using a product call Prime water conditioner until your nitrites read 0. Then maintain it weekly by doing pwc's and test before every wc. Don't add fish til you know your tank is stable.

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[2xEcho]

Was that your tank water or tap water? If it's the tank water I have good news and bad news. The good news is that your tank is almost done cycling. The bad news is that it's not quite cycled yet (if that makes since). Fish are ok with a ph of 7.6-8 unless you want fish that like softer water. In that case you use reverse osmosis water (that's a whole nother can of worms). Otherwise, if it's your tank water then keep doing small partial water changes using a product call Prime water conditioner until your nitrites read 0. Then maintain it weekly by doing pwc's and test before every wc. Don't add fish til you know your tank is stable.

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Agreed. Nitrites are more harmful than ammonia, so definitely do partial water changes until the nitrites read 0. Keeping a log of water quality measurements can be very helpful, especially if fish start getting sick/dying or if you are planning on adding new fish. You can then identify what fish will do best with your water quality. Knowing the values of your tap water is also very important, especially when doing water changes.

Another few days (give or take) and your tank should be about cycled. You'll know when nitrites read 0. That doesn't mean to stop doing water changes though.

Hang in there, much to your credit for getting the good water test kit and taking the time to ask questions! You're almost there!

 

[Autumnsky]

Pretty much on target here in my signature there is a link with a wealth of info which even though you have some good info so far will make informative reading with links for additional articles wich should help a lot!!!

Hang in there, you have a new part time job which is water changing!!! But it will go to maintanence mode before you know it.

My most useful tip other than using Prime a (and testing your tap water periodically to see how much of any it change, a call to the water provider department and see if they always get their water from the same source or change it periodically, Like from a mud lake or a rock reservoir) is NEVER wash your filter pads/media with tap water as the chlorine and Chloramine will kill your BB, and do not change them to new ones unless it was falling apart.

If you have a HOB - hang on the back of tank filter, you probably have room for a second filter pad which will help with building the colony as large as possible (more surface area to grow more BB)

You can swish the filter in the bucket of pwc water. My recommendation also is to do cleaning on a rotating basis. Weekly ~25% pwc, then, one week clean filter pad, one week clean the glass if needed (I almost never need to do this one and leave it for the algae eaters so skip it), one week no extra cleaning, one week clean substate/vacuum, one week extra large pwc.

The reason is to not clean every surface and destroy too much BB at one time. So if you over feed and need to vac more often, (reduce feeding lol), you can change the maintenance schedule to what works for you (say needed larger weekly pwc for example).

Also how long is your tank light on each day? What is your light bulb or fixture? Is there a number with a K after it, a Kelvin or K rating? Example 5600K.

Some people find using a timer to be ideal, and a split photo (lights on) period. Morning for 4 hours and then when you all get home from work and want to watch the tank another 5-8 hours depending one algae issues.

Hoping you get to love your tank and enjoy it soon!!!

 

[Blahblahblah]

That is my Tank reading. Do I do the same steps to test my tap water ?

Plus, My tank is a TopFin brand all in one system. It came with everything you need. I have:
1 Gold Panda Molly ( had 2)
2 Sunburst Platy ( had 3)
1 Red Wag Platy (had 2)
4 I think they're Black Tetra's
3 Corydora melini ( bottom feeders)

 

[Stacey W.]

That is my Tank reading. Do I do the same steps to test my tap water ?

Plus, My tank is a TopFin brand all in one system. It came with everything you need. I have:
1 Gold Panda Molly ( had 2)
2 Sunburst Platy ( had 3)
1 Red Wag Platy (had 2)
4 I think they're Black Tetra's
3 Corydora melini ( bottom feeders)

Yes. Very good just need to do small water changes until nitrites read 0. Then be very vigilant thereafter. Don't get anymore fish as I said before and don't touch your sponges in your filter. Unless they get gunky you can swish them around in tank water.

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[Blahblahblah]

I don't have sponges ( what are they ?) My came with Filter Cartridges that says to change every 3-4 weeks.

 

[Blahblahblah]

We use to keep the light on all day and then off all night. Now I turn it on at 4pm and then off at 10pm. My lights are a string of LED white lights. I see no K anywhere. I see a 303C ?

 

[Blahblahblah]

I was incorrect when I tested my Ammonia level in my tank. Its 1.0