my perameters

[Gypsyqueen]

my nitrate is 80
my nitrite is kinda .5 according to my chart
my water is very hard
I have low alkalinity
my ph is around 6.2

these stats are in my established tank.
any suggestions? And I have limited funds until next thursday.
I have a bottle of Prime that I use to start my tanks with, and I put it in my water when I do changes. I haven't done a change in about a week.

Any quick cheap fixes you all know would be beneficial, because I want to do this right! Thanks!
Gypsy

 

[Pufferpunk]

Sounds like you need to up your water changes & clean the gravel. I recommend 50% weekly water changes to keep the nitrates down (& other toxins).

 

[Jchillin]

What kind of tests kits are you using (strips/re-agents). That nitrate reading seems really high for an established tank and the presence of nitrite should not be present in an established tank.

Do the PWC and gravel vac (lightly, not heavy).

 

[Pufferpunk]

Serious gravel cleaning is no problem. The bacteria is heldfast & will not come off the surfaces of the gravel.

 

[Jchillin]

Serious gravel cleaning is no problem. The bacteria is heldfast & will not come off the surfaces of the gravel.

Did you notice the conflict in parameters Pufferpunk? If the tank isn't really cycled yet, there may not be enough bacteria to sustain heavy vacuuming.

 

[Pufferpunk]

With hard water, the pH can only be that low if the water changes aren't being done properly. She said the tank was established.

How long has the tank been set up?
Any new additions lately?
What is your water change schedule?

 

[Gypsyqueen]

I've just started really making the effort to do it right
My last gravel vaccum/water change was a week ago.
the tank has been in it's current location for a few months, and it's had fish for a little more than a year....four cories, two mystery snails and four neons....the snails reproduce quite a bit, so there's bound to be fifty or so little babies crawling around somewhere.

 

[Pufferpunk]

Snails, eh? If they don't get enough food, they will die & pollute the tank, causing ammonia, nitrItes & nitrAtes. Also will lower the pH. I'd find a fish to eat those peaky nails, like a few small loaches. How big is the tank? I'd do a few more 50% water changes in the next couple of days, until you get the nitrItes down to 0 & nitrAtes <20.

 

[Gypsyqueen]

I did a water change today and put Prime in it. Everything stabilised, except my water is still really hard. the water change was somewhere at 50 percent. My tank is a ten gallono. My two mystery snails are the size of golfballs, and I thought adding loaches might hurt the bigger snails. what do you think?

 

[Pufferpunk]

I didn't realize there were snails you were wanting to keep. Then you're going to have to pick all the babies out all the time, that's all. Are you giving algae wafers, etc. to your snails? Hard water is no problem for most fish--they can adjust. Keep doing daily water changes, until your parameters are as I listed above.