Worrying Results after a 50% water change

[Daetarek]

Hi All,

I hope i am posting in the right place ....

I did a 50% water change this morning on my 48x20x14 tank, then tested the water two hours later ... here are the results

KH = 3
GH = 8

pH
Tetra test between 5 and 6
Red Sea test 6.2
Sera test between 5.5 and 6

Nitrite
Tetra Test <0.3 mg/l
Red Sea Test Between 0 an d 0.05 ppm

Nitrate
Sera Test at 40 mg/l

Ammonia
Tetra Test at 1.3 mg/l
Red Sea Test at 0.5 ppm

as you can see i tried several test to verify results, the tank seems ok and the fish seem happy but i am really worried about the results especialy just after a huge water change, any ideas help or hints would be great !!!

also how do you convert between ppm and mg/l for comparison purposes ?

btw:
I run an eheim 2217 and 2213 on the tank no chemical media, just rings, substrat pro, coarse and fine filters, i also have an air pump and UV on it.

PLEASE HELP, i am really worried

ta
Rob

[Daetarek]

Results as of 2/3/06

pH
Tetra Test - 5
Red Sea Test - 6.2
Nitrite
Tetra Test < 0.3 mg/l
Red Sea Test 0.5 ppm
Ammonia
Tetra Test 3 mg/l
Red Sea Test 1.0 ppm
GH
Tetra Test 8
KH
Tetra Test 1

hope this helps

[ozarowana]

Ideally your ammonia and nitrites should be 0. You have a high nitrate reading, so I'm assuming that the tank is still going through it's cycling?

It's also a good idea to test the water coming out of your tap to see what you have to work with.

[Daetarek]

The tank has been running since late december, so i would have thought that the cycling is over, tap water is around 6.5 pH ... should i be testing it for anything else ?

[Cuong]

Test it for ammonia (which sometimes indicates if chloramines are present), nitrite and nitrate.

Are you adding a dechlorinator atm?

[Daetarek]

yeah i add a cap full of prime

[Daetarek]

Ok so i am gonna do another water change tommorow (50% i am thinking) and have introduced some carbon to the filter, only about 500g or so for now.

I think this is a short term solution !!! only though

what does anybody think ?

[sharn]

seems like you have some funky test kits :? sounds like its nearing the end of its cycle, have you added lots of fish recently? that could have cause a spike due to the bacteria needing to catch up. carbon normally only absorbs chemicals like meds etc from what i know. zeolite or ammo-chips absorb ammonia but are only temporary as you said, they can mask problems you want to fix.

good luck and i hope you can get things sorted!

[Merrilyn]

Prime will neutralize any ammonia in your tank, although you will still get a reading with your test kit, it will not be harmful to your fish.

Did you test a glass of tap water, and was there an ammonia reading there. Let it stand for about an hour then do a reading, and see what you get.

Can't explain the difference between the readings of the two brands. I guess it shows that one of them is giving false readings, but which one???? Or are they both slightly out. Hmmm difficult question. Either way, the readings are not high enough to cause great concern.

So long as you are doing your water changes regularly and adding Prime at each waterchange, things will be fine.

[Daetarek]

Thanks Merrilyn, i will have test some tap water and see what i get, should i put prime in it first or just test it straight ?

[endless]

I've found that with a low ph like yours the biological filters dont work as well and you end up with a little bit of ammonia. However due to the low ph this ammonia is non toxic to your fish. Dont be too worried just increase your water changes and slowly bring your ph up. I think that this will eliminate your ammonia and nitrite problem and get your biological filters working a bit better

[Daetarek]

Well today it seems better i am about to test the water etc ... see whats happening in there

The water is ultra clear atm, and the fish all seem real happy

[Merrilyn]

Just test it straight from the tap. Don't add anything. We need to find out what we're working with.

[Daetarek]

Ok tap water is

PH 8
GH 6
KH 3

no nitrite, nitrate or ammonia

i think i found the cause ... one of the fish has been hiding food under the drift wood and i guess it forgot cos it was all white and furry !!!

i think it was the khuli loaches !!!

[sharn]

did a fish die and go fuzzy?

[Daetarek]

no all fish seem to be accounted for it was some fish dinner which was stuffed under the drift wood

[sharn]

i see :lol: that very well could have been causing your freaky readings then. good to see ya got it and hopefully things go back to normal

[Daetarek]

yeah it looks heaps better today, just gotta test, but the fish all seem happy :)

[Daetarek]

Thank you all for your wonderfull help :)

[Merrilyn]

Well that certainly explains your strange readings.

Well done on tracking down the cause. :P

[Daetarek]

Thank you and thanks for your help :)