30 Gallon: Water Parameter & Filter Help

[ExiledxAssassin]

Hello everyone..

Well I have done about a 15%-20% water change yesterday and I went to check the parameters and had high ammonia and nitrites. Why are they so high after a water change the day before?

I do add Tetra Aqua "Aqua Safe" Water conditioner before I put the water in.

pH Low: 7.6
PH High: 7.8
Ammonia: 2.0ppm
nitrite: 1.0-2.0 PPM
Nitrates: 5.0ppm


also to be sure I tested the nitrite and ammonia multiple times and got the same readings. Should I do another water change or what else will help get them down?

Also another question..
I have HOB filter and was wondering when I change the filter cartridge, do I just take the old one out and put the new one in? or what do I do for that?

Thanks for all the help on this lovely forum

 

[OrangeCones]

Welcome, ExiledxAssassin!

Well I have done about a 15%-20% water change yesterday and I went to check the parameters and had high ammonia and nitrites. Why are they so high after a water change the day before?

If ammonia and nitrite are elevated after a water change, then they were even higher before. More frequent water changes are needed to bring them down.

I do add Tetra Aqua "Aqua Safe" Water conditioner before I put the water in.

Aquasafe removes the chlorine from chloramine according to their website. Since it doesn't bind ammonia, if your water company uses chloramine, you would be ADDING ammonia to your 'new' water before adding it to your tank. Check with your local water company, and if they do indeed use chloramine in tap water, I would highly recommend that you use a dechlorinator that removes chlorine and heavy metals and also binds ammonia (Seachem's Prime is one example).

I have HOB filter and was wondering when I change the filter cartridge, do I just take the old one out and put the new one in? or what do I do for that?

You should not need to replace your filter cartridge unless its physically falling apart (don't believe the manufacturer of the filter, they just want you to buy new filter cartridges). When you are doing your water changes, swish the filter cartridge in the 'used' water if its really dirty, then put it back in the filter. The dirty look is the beneficial bacteria you need, so it will never look like new. When you DO need to replace the old one, see if you can squeeze the new one in behind the old one, and run it like that for a few weeks. This will allow the new cartridge to be seeded with the good bacteria. Then you can toss the old one.

By your readings, it looks like you tank may be cycled, but either you may have been overfeeding or something else has upset the balance in the tank. Did you recently add new fish?

If I were you, I would test my tap water for nitrates. I live downriver from farm country, and my tap water test between 10 and 20 for nitrates. You should have zero ammonia, zero nitrite, and should see your nitrates increasing over time. When nitrates hit 20, its time for a water change.