Okay, Finally - Some API Master Kit Results...PLEASE Help Me Analyze

[Osage_Winter]

Alright. I finally got around to buying the API kit tonight, and took some readings, following the instructions EXACTLY as they were described...here are the results as my eyes saw them:

Ph: 7.5
High Range Ph: 8.2
Ammonia: Between 0 and 0.25
Nitrite: Between 0.25 and 0.50
Nitrate: Somewhere Between 40 and 80 ppm

Can someone help me analyze these? Seems to me, upon first glance at the color charts, that these results weren't that bad, considering that I haven't done a water change in a long time based on the kinds of fish I'm keeping (fancytails)...

But what do you make of these results? Should I do a water change ASAP based on these? Do I need to get some chemicals into the tank?

If anyone could assist with the results analysis, I would appreciate it...

 

[neilanh]

No chemicals.

It's apparent that your cycle is not complete, but those levels are not terribly high. Granted, any ammonia or nitrIte over 0.0 is a health hazard for fish, though. I'd do a PWC, try to get those levels down a bit, as well as lower your nitrAtes into the 20ish range.

 

[Osage_Winter]

No chemicals.

It's apparent that your cycle is not complete, but those levels are not terribly high. Granted, any ammonia or nitrIte over 0.0 is a health hazard for fish, though. I'd do a PWC, try to get those levels down a bit, as well as lower your nitrAtes into the 20ish range.

Thanks so much for the quick reply, neilanh...

Gee Whiz...how long is it going to take for my tank to cycle?? I have been up and running for months now -- probably since the summer -- and these levels still aren't stabilized?

Aren't the Nitrates supposed to be in the 40ish range?

At any rate, I will do a PWC and see what that does...

 

[taylorodw]

It seems like your tank is extremely close to a full cycle. If it has been a long time and ammonia/nitrite levels are that low, you are in great shape. Probably within a couple of weeks, you will have undetectable levels (ie, fully cycled).

Yes, nitrates we generally recommend to keep below 40 ppm. 60 or 80 is okay (not as bad as 0.25 ammonia, probably) but it's sort of like smoking cigarettes. Sure, 3 a day won't make you drop dead, but you'd be healthier at 0. 60-80ppm nitrate won't make your fish die, but it will impact their health to a degree.

Hope that helps. I need to do a PWC as well

 

[Osage_Winter]

It seems like your tank is extremely close to a full cycle. If it has been a long time and ammonia/nitrite levels are that low, you are in great shape. Probably within a couple of weeks, you will have undetectable levels (ie, fully cycled).

Yes, nitrates we generally recommend to keep below 40 ppm. 60 or 80 is okay (not as bad as 0.25 ammonia, probably) but it's sort of like smoking cigarettes. Sure, 3 a day won't make you drop dead, but you'd be healthier at 0. 60-80ppm nitrate won't make your fish die, but it will impact their health to a degree.

Hope that helps. I need to do a PWC as well

Thanks, Taylor!

I think some of what you said makes sense; I just wish I knew what I was supposed to do now -- should I just do a PWC and retest in a week or a couple of days or so?

What about the Ph and High Range Ph? Are these OK at 7.5 and 8.2?

 

[taylorodw]

I think your pH is 8.2. The regular pH test will read as high as it can, but the High Range will accurately read the higher level. I had the same problem once, with a pH of 8.4!

Yes, PWC and retest sometime the second day after changing (ie change on 28th, test on 30th). This way you won't get a false reading due to possible chloramines in your water (not a problem, you just can't get an accurate reading directly after PWCs).

 

[Osage_Winter]

I think your pH is 8.2. The regular pH test will read as high as it can, but the High Range will accurately read the higher level. I had the same problem once, with a pH of 8.4!

But are these numbers OK?

Yes, PWC and retest sometime the second day after changing (ie change on 28th, test on 30th). This way you won't get a false reading due to possible chloramines in your water (not a problem, you just can't get an accurate reading directly after PWCs).

Okay. I shall wait the two days.

With regard to the water changes -- is it better to add the Prime (or whatever conditioner) after the water's in the tank, or should I add it to the fresh water in the bucket before it goes in? Does this matter?

 

[reefdiver]

I do it in the bucket.I dont have the API test kit but I have read that you really need to shake the bottles good. this is just my opinion.

 

[BigJim]

I use a python for my water changes. I add Prime directly to the tank before refilling it. If you add the water first, there's time for the tap water chemicals to act before they're neutralized.

 

[taylorodw]

Like BigJim, I also drain, then add prime and re-fill the tank. Keep in mind that you have to dose for entire aquarium volume, not just the amount of water you're adding.

Also, yes, your pH is fine for goldies.

 

[reefdiver]

why for the whole tank Taylor?

 

[taylorodw]

When you put untreated water directly in the tank, Prime's instructions mention to treat for the volume of the whole tank. This is a bit of a safety measure, to increase the concentration of prime to react with untreated water.

Prime also neutralizes ammonia. The ammonia from dechlorination (especially chloramines) will register a false positive on an API (or any other Nessler type) kit. This is because it is present for the bio-filter (bacteria can eat it like other ammonia) but it is bound in a neutral form.

 

[Osage_Winter]

I do it in the bucket.I dont have the API test kit but I have read that you really need to shake the bottles good. this is just my opinion.

Thanks Reef...

Actually, according to the instructions supplied with the kit, it doesn't say to shake any of the bottles before dropping the chemicals into each test tube -- you have to shake the test tubes for a couple of the tests, but not the bottles themselves, if that's what you meant...

Now you got me thinking if I even read the directions right...

 

[Osage_Winter]

I use a python for my water changes. I add Prime directly to the tank before refilling it. If you add the water first, there's time for the tap water chemicals to act before they're neutralized.

Thanks Jim.

Okay, so just that I understand, you're suggesting to treat the tank with Prime before adding the new water after a change? I think I follow you in that you're saying that if the water is added first and then the Prime is added, then by that time the tap water has been given a chance to "run rampant" in so many words...

Right?

 

[Osage_Winter]

Like BigJim, I also drain, then add prime and re-fill the tank.

Gotcha. Thanks. I think I'll try that...

Keep in mind that you have to dose for entire aquarium volume, not just the amount of water you're adding.

Right -- well, measuring for the amount of water being added would be real tricky in that the directions say to add a capful of the stuff for every 50 gallons or so...so, how would one even measure for a bucketfull of water after a change?

At any rate, I've been advised that one capful of Prime is honestly all I need for my 60 gallon...

Also, yes, your pH is fine for goldies.

Thanks for the confirmation; I wish I knew if the other numbers looked OK...

 

[taylorodw]

Well, the often-posted standard is generally 0.25 ppm of ammonia or nitrite is the maximum reading we aim for. Your biofilter still has a bit of growing to do, but you are close.

The shortcut is, just do water changes if ammonia or nitrite get above 0.25 ppm until both remain at 0. If a 0 ppm reading for both lasts for a week, you can ease off the testing a bit. At that point, I'd test before a weekly water change to see how fast nitrates were rising.

Edit: So all told, the 0.25 ammonia and 0.25-0.5 nitrite are not ideal, and your nitrates would ideally be lower as well, but you are very close to having a stable biological filter.

Also, on my API test I have to shake bottles and test tubes. It says in my directions exactly how long to shake the tubes and bottles for each test.

Edit #2: As for prime, a capful is great. Unless you were to dump in 5 or more capfuls, you wouldn't hurt anything. In fact, Prime can be dosed at 5x in emergency cases to detoxify nitrite. At any rate, a capful is good. If you can find a water report, see if your tap water has chlorine or chloramines. If you have high chloramine content, two capfuls is better.

 

[Osage_Winter]

Well, the often-posted standard is generally 0.25 ppm of ammonia or nitrite is the maximum reading we aim for. Your biofilter still has a bit of growing to do, but you are close.

The shortcut is, just do water changes if ammonia or nitrite get above 0.25 ppm until both remain at 0. If a 0 ppm reading for both lasts for a week, you can ease off the testing a bit. At that point, I'd test before a weekly water change to see how fast nitrates were rising.

Edit: So all told, the 0.25 ammonia and 0.25-0.5 nitrite are not ideal, and your nitrates would ideally be lower as well, but you are very close to having a stable biological filter.

Truthfully, I'm lost here...

Also, on my API test I have to shake bottles and test tubes. It says in my directions exactly how long to shake the tubes and bottles for each test.

Perhaps thinking back, there may have been a couple of tests that required the shaking of the bottles of the chemicals themselves -- but definitely not all of them.

Edit #2: As for prime, a capful is great. Unless you were to dump in 5 or more capfuls, you wouldn't hurt anything. In fact, Prime can be dosed at 5x in emergency cases to detoxify nitrite. At any rate, a capful is good. If you can find a water report, see if your tap water has chlorine or chloramines. If you have high chloramine content, two capfuls is better.

Thanks for this confirmation -- one capful is fine for 60 gallons of water? Just out of curiosity, what would happen if five or more caps were added?

Also -- is it okay to just dump the Prime into the tank water, or can it be dripped into the little flow control hole of my AquaClear 110? Is it better to get it into the filter system first?

 

[BigJim]

Thanks Jim.

Okay, so just that I understand, you're suggesting to treat the tank with Prime before adding the new water after a change? I think I follow you in that you're saying that if the water is added first and then the Prime is added, then by that time the tap water has been given a chance to "run rampant" in so many words...

Right?

You've got it. If you add the tap water before the dechlorinator, the chemicals in the water have time to start killing off your bacteria colonies.

Truthfully, I'm lost here...

If your ammonia or nitrite readings are anything above zero, it means your biofilter isn't fully established yet. While you wait for the bacteria colonies to grow, you have to keep the ammonia and nitrite levels below 0.25ppm to keep your fish from being poisoned. To do this, you have to monitor the water parameters constantly. Once your testing shows 0ppm for both ammonia and nitrite, you can reduce your testing to once a week or so.

Perhaps thinking back, there may have been a couple of tests that required the shaking of the bottles of the chemicals themselves -- but definitely not all of them.

It doesn't hurt to shake all of them. I believe it's one of the nitrate test bottles that you have to shake. A chemical in the bottle precipitates out and you have to redissolve it to get accurate readings. Follow the directions and you shouldn't have a problem.

Thanks for this confirmation -- one capful is fine for 60 gallons of water? Just out of curiosity, what would happen if five or more caps were added?

Also -- is it okay to just dump the Prime into the tank water, or can it be dripped into the little flow control hole of my AquaClear 110? Is it better to get it into the filter system first?

Prime is safe up to a 5x dose I believe. I don't know what would happen if you overdosed beyond that. I know my bottle is good for 60g a capful. It may vary depending on the bottle size. They may have different caps. Just dump the Prime into the tank. Keep it simple.

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

I have a thread I started on the subject of the API test kits after years of use. Give this a read:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f60/observations-on-api-test-kits-126327.html

The only bottle you need to shake vigorously is the Nitrate #2 bottle. Shake it for at least 15, preferably 30 seconds before adding the drops. The reason is that the #2 bottle has a solid that settles out to the bottom, and you need to get that mixed up very well.

Keep all the bottles vertical when adding drops. I give the bottles a light squeeze in the vertical postion and hold, turn upside-down while slightly letting off (to keep from squirting), let off completely (this clears the nozzle of any bubbles) then add the drops. Squeeze gently and try to get all the drops the same size - if you go too fast, the drops can get too big or too small and that can throw your test off. I shoot for 1 drop per second.

At times, the Nitrate #2 bottle nozzle may become clogged with a piece of the solid if it did not get shaken up enough - you'll know that because when you squeeze it, the drops stop. If that happens, let off, cap it, shake a few times, make sure the nozzle it clear by giving it a few gentle squeezes in the up position, then continue.

It's OK to give each of the other bottles a shake before adding drops, but it doesn't have to be vigorous and you have to make sure you do the squeeze as described above to clear the nozzle of air bubbles. That way you get consistent sized drops. I've seen an LFS test with the dropper bottle horizontal. Don't do that.

I've been following your other thread. This tank has been up and running for 6 months, hasn't it? If that's the case, then it should be cycled, but I seem to remember that you were using ammo-lock or something else that may have prevented the cycle. Have you managed to get the gravel vac working yet?

 

[taylorodw]

I also don't know what would happen with a massive prime overdose. I know that prime reduces the amount of dissolved oxygen, so it could cause a problem there, but any chemical in a closed system can cause problems. Yes, one capful is fine for 60 gallons.

Osage, where did I lose you? Do you understand the biological cycle of ammonia to nitrite to nitrate? If so, all you really NEED to know is that during a fish-in cycle, ammonia and nitrite should be under 0.25ppm, and nitrate can get higher but ideally should be under 40. Tell me if there is any part of that you don't understand. When your tank is through the cycle, and bacteria eat ammonia and nitrite as fast as it is produced, ammonia and nitrite should read 0.

Other than that, I agree with Floyd and BigJim about shaking nitrate test bottle #2.