faucet water?

[pedikeens11]

Why is my faucet water healthier than my tank water?

So I've been testin my water levels for a week now and truly embarrassed to say what they are. I got fustrated and decided I would just test regular faucet water untreated with anything. Levels are perfect for fish to live in....

 

[Rare]

I'm a bit confused at what you mean perfect faucet water? What are you testing for?

 

[pedikeens11]

I purchased that api water testing kit ph, ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite...are all perfect in my faucet water...

 

[Rare]

Ah.....But it is not perfect for an aquarium/fish! Many of us will have 0ppm reading on our faucet water . That just means that the water is not cycled per say which is not good for your fish in the long run. Another words, your filter has the BB that will eat the ammonia & make nitrite, then nitrate you will end up with nitRate.

What you want to see in your tank is: 0-Ammonia 0-Nitrite & Nitrate-20ppm & under. Some go higher then that but I like mines under 10 & highest at 20ppm. That is why we do PWC every week to keep the nitrAte down & clean up their waste, but also add back many minerals.

Now, What are you test kit saying about your aquarium?

 

[Aquamandan]

I purchased that api water testing kit ph, ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite...are all perfect in my faucet water...

So what's the problem?

 

[pedikeens11]

My ammonia levels are in between 2.0ppm and 4.0ppm, nitrite .50ppm and 1.0ppm, nitrate has always been in between 10ppm and 40ppm, ph in between 7.4 and 7.8...

 

[Aquamandan]

My ammonia levels are in between 2.0ppm and 4.0ppm, nitrite .50ppm and 1.0ppm, nitrate has always been in between 10ppm and 40ppm, ph in between 7.4 and 7.8...

Then your tap water isn't perfect. Your city probably treats the water with chloramine. Get some "Prime" by Seachem. It takes care of ammonia, chlorine and chloramine. The stuff is very concentrated so be sure to read the directions carefully.

 

[Rare]

How long has your aquarium been up & running? What fish do you have & how many do you have? What size is your aquarium?

 

[pedikeens11]

Those are levels for in my tank. When I tested the levels for faucet water ammonia was 0 nitrite was 0 , nitrate was 40 and the ph was 7.8. Besides having the harsh chlorine and what not isn't that perfect for fish?

 

[Aquamandan]

Those are levels for in my tank. When I tested the levels for faucet water ammonia was 0 nitrite was 0 , nitrate was 40 and the ph was 7.8. Besides having the harsh chlorine and what not isn't that perfect for fish?

Ah sorry, I misunderstood. So you are saying your faucet water is perfect but when you measure the water in your aquarium, not so much . I must be a little slow tonight. Is your aquarium fully cycled?

 

[pedikeens11]

Its been running a month and a half without fish...just put 3 albino cory catfish, one red mickey, one sunburst wag platty, 2 gippies, and a black platy, 2 weeks ago.

 

[pedikeens11]

Lol yes and I cycled my tank for a month and a half.

 

[Rare]

A month and 1/2- what was your source for ammonia? I take it you tested it before adding fish?

 

[pedikeens11]

I was told to use a piece of raw shrimp in a clean pantiehose

 

[Rare]

The shrimp works ....But did you check your aquarium with the API before putting in your fish or after?

What I'm getting at is that you may not have had that many BB to hold the fish you have now & are going through a mini cycle. Best thing you can do now is PWC to keep all them lvls low.

What you are looking for again is, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite & a reading in nitRate. Aquamandan, suggested "Prime" by Seachem & so will I if you havent. What many of us here are using for our PWC

 

[pedikeens11]

Yeah I checked all my levels wich were 0 0 and 40 before I added any fish. I've done numerouse water changes the last week and have added prime. The amount of water I've changed is 1g one day and two days 2g both with prime. Am I feeding my fish too much?

 

[Alyxx]

Yeah I checked all my levels wich were 0 0 and 40 before I added any fish. I've done numerouse water changes the last week and have added prime. The amount of water I've changed is 1g one day and two days 2g both with prime. Am I feeding my fish too much?

How big is the tank? 1-2 gallons isn't much for a water change, unless this is a seriously small tank. You should change about 50% of the water whenever you detect ammonia or nitrate in the tank over maybe .5 ppm when you are cycling. And with the levels you are seeing I would do a few back to back changes until you can get down to safe levels.

Edit - I see in your profile that you have a 20 gallon. 1-2 gallon water changes won't really do anything to help. A 2 gallon water change is only 10% of your water volume, and will only drop your levels by 10%.

 

[jefferzbooboo]

Those are levels for in my tank. When I tested the levels for faucet water ammonia was 0 nitrite was 0 , nitrate was 40 and the ph was 7.8. Besides having the harsh chlorine and what not isn't that perfect for fish?

You want your nitrates down to 0. If it's coming out of the tap at 40 you may need to find a different water source.

 

[Rare]

You want your nitrates down to 0. If it's coming out of the tap at 40 you may need to find a different water source.

I missed that. Might need to get an RO system will be your best bet. Not sure how others are doing it when they have nitrate in their city water so we will see if someone will come in on that. I have no ammonia, nitrite or nitrate in our city water so I'm good to good for water change. 1g, 2g is not going to cut it. Every week you should do a 50% PWC. On my 130g I did it twice a week 80% & now only need to do it once a week.

 

[pedikeens11]

Alright I will def do a 50% wc tonight. What is a RO? And if I purchase water...what would be my best bet?