Sink water levels?

[Chasnkevin4ever]

I just tested my water coming from sink. I think this could be why my amm levels are high. Here's the levels
Ph 8-8.2
Amm 4.0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
Should I use RO water? Could this be causing the high amm?

 

[Fishguy2727]

Did you let it run for a minute or two or sample immediately? Are you sure your kit/test was accurate? You are unlikely to have 0 nitrate.

 

[Chasnkevin4ever]

Yes the water ran for a minute and I am using the API master kit everyone said they r the best. And this is big spring water lol the water company uses sewage and recycles it for our water. So the levels don't surprise me at all!

 

[Chasnkevin4ever]

Did you let it run for a minute or two or sample immediately? Are you sure your kit/test was accurate? You are unlikely to have 0 nitrate.

So my water just ran for like 30 to 45 minutes and the ammonia was still 4.0 so can I use my sink water and a used filter to cycle my tank?

 

[eco23]

Wow, that's extreme. Surprisingly there's no MCL for ammonia in drinking water. If that level is accurate, yes it works for cycling...but presents problems for large water changes in the future.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong...but doesn't Prime only detoxify up to a certain ppm? I seem to remember somewhere around 1ppm (I may be thinking no2).

While an established bio-filter will convert the ammonia, throwing 2ppm in the tank with a 50% pwc sounds sketchy. I'd do several small water changes per week as opposed to one large one once the tank is stocked so you're keeping the ammonia level added to the tank at a minimum.

 

[Chasnkevin4ever]

So when the cycle is done can I use distilled or RO when I do pwc so the ammonia goes down not up?

 

[eco23]

So when the cycle is done can I use distilled or RO when I do pwc so the ammonia goes down not up?

You can't use distilled or R/O water without reconstituting it with minerals. I would probably use the tap...but I'd do 3 small water changes a week instead of one large one. That will prevent the heavy doses of ammonia from being added to the tank and allow your bio-filter an opportunity to consume it within a short amount of time. I'd also make sure you're using a quality dechlorinator like Prime. With small enough water changes, Prime will neutralize the ammonia, rendering it non-toxic until it is converted by your beneficial bacteria.

Are you certain it's 4ppm? You're testing it at the 5 minute mark?

 

[Chasnkevin4ever]

You can't use distilled or R/O water without reconstituting it with minerals. I would probably use the tap...but I'd do 3 small water changes a week instead of one large one. That will prevent the heavy doses of ammonia from being added to the tank and allow your bio-filter an opportunity to consume it within a short amount of time. I'd also make sure you're using a quality dechlorinator like Prime. With small enough water changes, Prime will neutralize the ammonia, rendering it non-toxic until it is converted by your beneficial bacteria.

Are you certain it's 4ppm? You're testing it at the 5 minute mark?

Yes I'm positive that it's 4 ppm I checked it twice and yes it was the five minute mark. I thought it was weird to that's why I double checked it.

 

[Chasnkevin4ever]

You can't use distilled or R/O water without reconstituting it with minerals. I would probably use the tap...but I'd do 3 small water changes a week instead of one large one. That will prevent the heavy doses of ammonia from being added to the tank and allow your bio-filter an opportunity to consume it within a short amount of time. I'd also make sure you're using a quality dechlorinator like Prime. With small enough water changes, Prime will neutralize the ammonia, rendering it non-toxic until it is converted by your beneficial bacteria.

Are you certain it's 4ppm? You're testing it at the 5 minute mark?

Hey question is the Aqueon QuietFlow Power Filters any good?

 

[eco23]

Hey question is the Aqueon QuietFlow Power Filters any good?

I've never used one. The AquaClear HOB's seem to generally be considered the best in terms of space for different filter media, reliability and they're also very quiet. You can find them for very reasonable prices and are readily available at most stores. Just remember you always want to over-filter. The manufacturers overrate their filters, and you always want to go bigger than the recommended size. I can't remember the recommended gallons per hour, but I shoot for double filtration. So on a 50 gallon tank I'd put one on rated for 100.

 

[Chasnkevin4ever]

I've never used one. The AquaClear HOB's seem to generally be considered the best in terms of space for different filter media, reliability and they're also very quiet. You can find them for very reasonable prices and are readily available at most stores. Just remember you always want to over-filter. The manufacturers overrate their filters, and you always want to go bigger than the recommended size. I can't remember the recommended gallons per hour, but I shoot for double filtration. So on a 50 gallon tank I'd put one on rated for 100.

So I got me a new 50 g tank today that's why I ask should I get a filter that's for more than 50 g like a filter that would be for a 70g? And I just boiled some of my sink water for about an hour and got the amm down to .50 so I'm filling up one of my five gallon jugs up and I will use the boiled water for my pwc, what do u think?

 

[Hholly]

Maybe you should call your water company and tell them how high it is from the tap. They may not be doing something right at the water treatment plant.

 

[Chasnkevin4ever]

Actually the water company sends out notices in ur water bill that says our water ain't drinkable and has a huge list of chemicals in the water. This town hasn't caught up with the rest of the world yet, seriously lol. So calling them would do no good cuz they know. So what would u suggest for my water changes? Should I boil, RO, distilled or ever once in a while use sink and RO together so some chemicals are going back into the tank? This is terrible, but whatever it takes!

 

[librarygirl]

Actually the water company sends out notices in ur water bill that says our water ain't drinkable and has a huge list of chemicals in the water. This town hasn't caught up with the rest of the world yet, seriously lol. So calling them would do no good cuz they know. So what would u suggest for my water changes? Should I boil, RO, distilled or ever once in a while use sink and RO together so some chemicals are going back into the tank? This is terrible, but whatever it takes!

Whatever method you choose you'd have to choose one and stick with it as fish are sensitive to sudden changes. The easiest would be as Eco suggested; a few small water changes per week. Once the tank is fully cycled your beneficial bacteria will consume the ammonia quickly and adding Prime as a dechlorinator will help detoxify the ammonia until the bacteria can consume it. I guess you could boil it and let it cool but for a larger tank it seems like a lot of hassle. Also as Eco said you can't just use R/O water as it's basically distilled water which has no minerals in it so you'd have to add something like Kent's RO Rite to the water which again is a lot of work and extra expense (RO filters can be pricey). You could do half tap and half RO but again you'd need an RO mechanism. As long as the tank is fully cycled before adding fish, smaller water changes 3x per week using Prime should be sufficient.

 

[Chasnkevin4ever]

Well I think my 20 gallon keeps recycling cuz there is to much ammonia. So I'm going to start boiling my water and use it for water changes. Im going to cycle my new 50 gallon with regular sink water until good bacteria has built up enough for my jack Dempsey to go into it. Once it's cycle my weekly water changes will be done with my boiled water so the bacteria can keep up with the amount of ammonia going in to it. I think I have it figured out so the waters not to clean but clean enough so it don't cycle again.

 

[Chasnkevin4ever]

I just checked my 20g for the ammonia and today it is down to .50
So it went from 1.0 yesterday to .50 today. So should I wait on the water change since it going down itself?

 

[eco23]

I just checked my 20g for the ammonia and today it is down to .50
So it went from 1.0 yesterday to .50 today. So should I wait on the water change since it going down itself?

I'm not sure which tank this is...but if it's cycled and stocked, I wouldn't do a pwc. You want to let the bio-filter consume the ammonia instead of adding more in right away. You could add in a dose of Prime (without the water change) just to ensure its neutralized and non-toxic.

I'm not sure of the efficiency at boiling ammonia out of water. My first instinct would say it's not super effective...but I'll let someone else weigh in on that.

 

[Chasnkevin4ever]

I'm not sure which tank this is...but if it's cycled and stocked, I wouldn't do a pwc. You want to let the bio-filter consume the ammonia instead of adding more in right away. You could add in a dose of Prime (without the water change) just to ensure its neutralized and non-toxic.

I'm not sure of the efficiency at boiling ammonia out of water. My first instinct would say it's not super effective...but I'll let someone else weigh in on that.

I'm pretty sure my 20g is fully cycled. And also I boiled some water yesterday and tested the amm in it. Straight from sink it's 4ppm and after I boil it .50 I think boiled is a little better.

 

[eco23]

The other concern you have is that your water has a high pH. Ammonia becomes more toxic when pH is elevated, so that makes it all the more important to keep the levels at an absolute minimum.

However, do NOT attempt to change your pH level. It almost always causes more harm than good. I personally would start shopping around for a reverse osmosis system. Try to find a good price, and if you decide to invest in one...make sure you get lots of information from other members on the site about its proper use before using it. There's different requirements for R/O or distilled water. You can't just add it in pure.

 

[Chasnkevin4ever]

Okay thanks.