cant get even levels

[AaronBurr]

hello all,

I am doing my first planted tank. I planted some Water sprites, Anubias, and a micro grass. My substrate is Seed starting mix miracle grow soil (With gravel on top). The tank is currently lightly planted and does not have any fish.

I wanted to see how the tank reacted before i put any fish in. its been two weeks and i am still not seeing my levels balance. I keep getting random ammonia spikes and a very high ph.

suggestions as to how to help my tank levels even out?

current levels:

ph - 8
ammonia - .25 ppm
nitrite - .25 ppm
nitrate - 30 ppm

Thanks in advance!

 

[Smcoyle87]

I think it's the Mircale Grow, if not, your tank just hasn't cycled yet.

 

[BBradbury]

Hello Aaron...

Your choice of substrate is likely non organic, so you're getting the ammonia readings from the dissolved Miracle Gro. This is similar to cycling a tank with fish. The waste products dissolve in the water and the result is a build up of ammonia. An ideal environment for aquarium plants, but a bit toxic for fish.

I would treat this an opportunity to grow the bacteria needed to use the forms of nitrogen in the tank water. Test the water daily and when you have a trace of ammonia or nitrites in the water, change out 25 percent and replace that with pure, treated tap water. Don't remove more than 25 percent. You want to leave some nitrogen for the benefit of the growing bacteria.

When several daily tests show no traces of the above toxins, the tank is cycled. The process takes roughly 30 days.

B

 

[aqua_chem]

How old is this tank?


Your soil choice is very odd. We use organic potting soil/mix because it has no additives. Your starter might have additive beyond the normal ammonium nitrate/phosphates that are changing your pH and could potentially be detrimental to tank inhabitants. Your gravel cap is likely also contributing to this, as its not really sealing the substrate as sand or a finer particle substrate would do.

 

[AaronBurr]

Thank you both. I am concerned it is the soil as well. I'm happy to hear if I just give it time and keep doing the water changes it should even out naturally.

Once mu levels are even I was going to add my fish as well as some MTS to help prevent pockets of gas in my substrate. I've heard they are pretty hardy. Do you think I should add the MTS now? Or wait until the tank levels?

Thanks again. I appreciate all the advice.

 

[AaronBurr]

aqua_chem My tank is about 2 weeks old. So relatively new.

Stores around me didn't have organic potting mix, and after talking to the gardening expert, he said the miracle grow was the closest they had to an organic mix. It did have some of the white ball things and I did my best to remove them before putting the soil in my tank. But yes, I am concerned the soil is the issue.

Do you agree with BBradbury that given time and regular water changes the additives will dissipate? Or do I need to start from scratch? Like I said, I've never done a planted tank before so any advice is appreciated.

 

[aqua_chem]

Without knowing what the additives are, it's hard to say. I would worry about things they add for moisture control, etc. Do you have the bag that it came in to see if they list what it contains? Given the age of your tank, your readings are actually quite normal.

The organic potting mix we use is usually quite available. I got mine from a local hardware store, but I think Walmart carries it as well.

Edit: to answer your question, if it only contains fertilizer additives, I wouldn't worry about it. It's the white balls and other stuff that gives me the willies.

 

[AaronBurr]

The soil contains the following ingredients and concentrations.

sphagnum peat moss, perlite, wetting agent, fertilizer

total nitrogern .05
ammoniacal nitrogen .03
nitrate nitrogen .02
available phosphate .05
soluble potash .05
iron .10
water soluble iron .001

In your experience, do any of the ingredient or the chemical concentrations cause problems in the tank?

 

[aqua_chem]

Hmmm, the wetting agent is basically a type of soap. It can be harmful to plant and animal, potentially bacteria as well.

Found this on a soil science website:

In tests on barley shoots grown hydroponically (that is, in a nutrient solution rather than in soil), a wetting agent concentration of 300 parts per million (ppm) in the solution caused a reduction of about 70 percent in the dry weight of the shoots.

I can't outright say that it'll be bad, but I probably wouldn't trust it if it were me.