Beginner - My tank test results.

[Chazwick]

Hey all! I've just returned from the pet shop where i collected my last bits and pieces! Including my tests and this is what i got.

Nitrate: 0.50
Ammonia: 0.50

My PH was the same 7.6, so i've added a small dose of PH lower, which will hopefully help within the week , i've also added some Ammonia chips which were recommended and they've been put into the tank, they're like stones and they apparently help get rid of the ammonia, Plus you can keep them in with the fishes.. So alls good!
But i'm not sure about my nitrate and Ammonia results, is this normal? Good/bad? I'm really confused...

 

[FroggyFox]

You dont need to touch your pH. Your fish will adapt to your pH and overall they are healthier at a stable pH than if you are trying to mess with it. I suggest getting rid of the pH down.

Ammonia chips wont do you any good. You dont have any fish in the tank and you dont have an ammonia problem. You're doing a fishless cycle right? So you want ammonia in there. Many products such as those ammo chips give you false readings on your test kits.

Did you test your tap water and compare it to your tank water? I haven't been keeping track of your every move, but you obviously haven't started adding ammonia yet or you'd know where it came from. I would suspect that the levels in your tank match your tap water.

 

[Chazwick]

Yes... okay. But are the 0.50 results good?? I mean - when do you expect i could be adding fizzels?

 

[ashleigh]

Take out the ammonia chips and throw away the Ph Down (and the Ph up too ) just like froggy said. When you have fish- changing the Ph can do SERIOUS damage. And by serious I mean kill all of your fish. All that ammonia chips and nitrate absorbers and anything the pet store tells you takes the place of water changes do is throw off yoru readings usually. Keeping fish is like anything else in the world- always be suspicious of ' miracle products.' 99% of the time they're garbage. Without knowing precisely what you are doing- we can't say what your results mean. Have you added any ammonia? Have you read Iggy's post on cycling? Do you understand what cycling (or maturing) does?

 

[Chazwick]

Yes i understand what maturing does... etc, i know all that - i've researched. Those results are basically all i know... So i don't know if i'm ready for fish, i was going to wait a few weeks..

 

[ashleigh]

Again I'm not trying to be brisk- it's okay not to understand everything- but if you had read about how to cycle I don't think you would be asking about thet test result. What specifically have you done to cycle this tank? The more you can tell us the more we can help you.

 

[FroggyFox]

You need to be adding a source of ammonia to the tank for the tank to cycle. You say you read Iggy's tank cycle thread...but if you did then you'd know this.

 

[Balloon Fish]

ok i really dont mean to be annoying and all and i dont want to repeat what ashleigh and froggy fox have told you already but i've told you twice already to not alter the pH because you dont need to. I am really seriously doubting you have read iggy's recipe, if you have you would know that you are suppose to be adding ammonia to the tank at this moment but instead you buy ammonia removing prodcuts that dont even work lol. Seriously though, the only thing you will need to add to your water other then the ammonia for cycling is dechlorinator. And that is probably the only thing anyone who wants healthy fish would add unless your fish are sick and you are sure they are sick then maybe medicine. Or if you have plants, then fertilizers but other then that dont add anything other then ammonia (for cycling) and dechlorinator everytime you add water to the tank.

edit: dang froggy fox and ashleigh lol you guys reply fast

 

[Chazwick]

Well i read it a few days ago...
I got some conditioner stuff from a bigger fish shop a little while away from my house it says on it "makes tapwater safe by removing chlorine and detoxifying metals, binds ammonia to create non-toxic compound and coats fish to replace protective mucous. Does not contain phosphate or nitrate".
Also i've sprinkled (daily) some fish flakes into the tank, because i've heard this helped. And that's all i've done really.
The only things i've added to the tank are the above, the PH down.. and ermmmmm.. the ammonia-chip things. That's it... So other than that...

 

[ashleigh]

The conditioner you bought is just dechlorinator- that's good, you will need that for fish- but it doesn't cycle your tank. do not use the Ph up or down. at all. Take out the chips- they are not helping either. You need to do exactly what the document you read a few days ago says to do. I would recommend re -reading it. I don't know if fish food alone will do it, I've never tried. It would be much easier to get ammonia with no additives from your grocery store. Add it as directed by Iggy's article.

 

[Balloon Fish]

adding the fish flakes is like adding ammonia, except its not as much as you are suppose to add so read the recipe again and follow it, and dont go adding anything else the declorinator sounds like tetra aquasafe dechlorinator but it should be fine

edit: !!!! you beat me again!! grrrrr lol i guess today is repeat everything everyone else says day :/

 

[Chazwick]

Thanks alot guys, i didn't think that Iggys cycle would work for me, because i've done so much *mistakes* already... I guess all i really need now is ammonia, right? (I have just re-read the Iggy cycle by the way). So all i need is the ammonia on it's own to add? And that's it??

 

[ashleigh]

You add ammonia and keep testing nitrate, nitrite and ammonia. Don't worry about mistakes- we all make them and you don't have any fish yet, so no harm done. If you have any specific questions about Iggy's thing just let us know- we're happy to help. None of us woke up knowing this, we know it takes a little time. I would caution you though on using some of the products you have been using (like the ammo chips and Ph adjustors)- always be a little skeptical of that stuff and ask around before you buy but *especially* before you use it.

 

[FishGeek]

When I cycle my tanks a add this:
http://www.petco.com/product_info.a...rs+&+Treatments&ct2=Biological+Additives&ct3=
And my tank cycles really well. You could give this a try. But like everyone else has already said (I know, I know) you dont want to add ANY chemicals except a dechlorinator, medicine, stress coat (not always neccasary), and this Cylce stuff. I made a mistake and added Ammo Lock to try and "fix" my ammonia problem and I had to strip my tank down and start over cause it meesed everything up so bad. This is the best advice that I cand give you. Good Luck!

 

[Chazwick]

Thanks alot. I know i'm awkward, it's just i've spent like... ALL my money on this stuff, and it has been recommended where i live, so i thought i'd give it a try!! i'm not the sharpest tool in the shed.. and literally have the memory of a goldfish (and i'm not even kidding!). If i left the ammonia chips in would it really make much of a difference? Because it's gonna take AGES to take them out! I know i don't have any fish yet, but i thought you had to put them in when you get the fish.. so would it make a difference?

 

[ashleigh]

I'm sure that's not true. About the ammo chips- honestly, I've never used them. But I would think they would throw off your ammonia readings, which will make it hard to know if you are really cycled. Does it say anything on the package about how long they are effective or anything like that?

 

[Chazwick]

This is what it says:
"Ammonia is continually produced from fish waste, uneaten food and organic debris in the aquarium. It is toxic to fish and can result in gill damage, loss of appetite and eventually death. Ammonia also creates stress and lowers resistance to infections"
Then is goes on to tell you how much to use...
It says...
"Continuously removes ammonia from new or established aquariums".. and on the front it says...
"Removes deadly ammonia - the #1 tropical fish killer"... they're like rocks... and you basically put them on the bottom of your tank. They don't look as though they can do any harm...

 

[SANND]

If you don't have fish in the tank yet, then you don't want to remove the ammonia or else the bacteria will have nothing to eat on and you won't cycle, so just take the chips out.

EDIT: Here's an article that explains ammonia removers/neutralizers in detail http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/show_article.php?article_id=17

 

[Chazwick]

kk - if i were to wait.. about two weeks.. for the tank to settle a little more.. then put a couple of danios in there.. Would this help the cycle? Or would it simply kill the fish *instantly* and do no good?

 

[Balloon Fish]

why are you waiting for 2 weeks? and you dont need fish to help cycle it, if you use iggy's recipe then there is no need for fish anywhere in there. What i would do now is probably take the tank apart and take out the ammo chips (did you throw it in the gravel and stuff??) if its just in the filter then just take it out, if its in the gravel you might have to spend some time lol. Then start cycling it. Fish like danios could probably survive the cycling proccess but there really isn't a need for it and why torture a fish if there is no reason? I dont think it'll kill the fish instantly but it might after a few hours of high ammonia or nitrite levels. Just imagine burning a fish's gill's which is what ammonia does to them