Testing my tank

[H3R3F1SHY]

Hey guys I'm new to the aquarium world and was wondering if there were any specs on the levels of ph ammonia nitrate that you should have in your tank?

 

[Crawdaddy]

For PH, it depends on the fish, some like the African cichlids like a higher PH, new worlds lower, but I'm not an expert on the new worlds, but I read a lot of posts here. As for ammonia and nitrites, you want 0.0.

 

[HUKIT]

Welcome to Aquarium Advice,

The water conditions should be as followed.

Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite. 0ppm
Nitrate. 0-20ppm
PH 6-8.5 is fine, just keep is stable

 

[H3R3F1SHY]

Thanks for the advice if I would need to lower the ammonia how would I do so safely

 

[Crawdaddy]

Have cycled the tank? Or did you get a tank, put some water and decor in it, and then add fish. Unfortunately, a lot of stores, especially the chain stores don't explain about cycling. There are one good articles on here about both fish in and fish less cycling. Cycling is the process of establishing beneficial bacteria in your filter. These BB are what convert he ammonia into nitrites, and then the nitrites into nitrates. Nitrates are removed by doing partial water changes. What are your parameters in the tank right now, how long has the tank been set up, and do you have fish in it.

 

[cbourg746]

Thanks for the advice if I would need to lower the ammonia how would I do so safely

Hate to be the guy to say this but.......are you up to date on the nitrogen cycle?

 

[H3R3F1SHY]

Ok well I got the the tank set up put water in it let it run for about 48 hours with no fish in it. Bought a af cichlid and a pletco let them sit in the bags in the tank for about 17 hours. Put some tank water in a clean bucket and mixed it with a little bit of the fishes water. Then put the fish into the aquarium without putting the bag water into the tank. It's been about 4 days with the fish in there . The readings I got for the tank were ph 7.7 ammonia .25 ppm nitrite 0ppm and nitrate 0ppm

 

[HUKIT]

Your at the beginning stage of the nitrogen cycle, here's a good link to a article on cycling with fish.

I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?! - Aquarium Advice

 

[Crawdaddy]

I hate to say it, but a normal fishless cycle for me takes a couple of weeks if you don't have any seed material. Since you have fish in it already, you need to keep your eye on the parameters, and do lots of water changes. I tried to find the article that helped me, but I couldn't. Ammonia and nitrites will poison your fish, so stay on top of it. Thankfully, once it cycles, it gets a little easier. If you don't have one yet, get a good test kit. Don't rely on strips. A lot of us here use the API master freshwater test kits. You can get them at most of your chain stores, and online.

 

[Crawdaddy]

Your at the beginning stage of the nitrogen cycle, here's a good link to a article on cycling with fish.

I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?! - Aquarium Advice

Thanks HUKIT, I tried to find it on the fly and couldn't.

 

[H3R3F1SHY]

Thanks for that thread it helped to break it down for me . And I did buy the API test kit today to get my readings. But when I go to cycle my water should I sit water aside a day or two to use for the cycling process or should I use water with dechlorinator in it?

 

[Crawdaddy]

Declorinator is fine. Letting it sit probably do nothing for he chlorine. I used stress coat in the past, but just switched to Prime. You don't use nearly as much.

 

[H3R3F1SHY]

Ok. are aqueon products ok? And could I get some gravel from a friends healthy fish tank to help the process

 

[HUKIT]

Ok. are aqueon products ok? And could I get some gravel from a friends healthy fish tank to help the process

I use Prime but any dechlorinator will do the job.

If you can get some media or gravel from a established tank and place that into your hang on filter or canister that will move the cycle much quicker with less stress on the fish.

 

[H3R3F1SHY]

Thanks for all the advice I really appreciate it I don't wanna see my cichlid die I'm trying to establish a healthy environment then move on to a bigger tank

 

[HUKIT]

Thanks for all the advice

No worries, maybe next time you could post some tank pictures

 

[H3R3F1SHY]

Yea of course . And just out of curiosity can you use distilled water ?

 

[HUKIT]

No, I have anywhere from 20-30 tanks running at any given time using tap water conditioned with Prime.

 

[H3R3F1SHY]

Here's my tank as of today

 

[HUKIT]

That's cool, I'd look into getting a black background to help finish it off. I'd also ditch the Keystone and step up to a real mans beer! Lol.