Water tests

[mrmoog]

hey guys i have noticed that my water was starting to get a bit of a whiff from it about 10 days ago......i have done a few water changes since, I did a change yesterday and the water is still a bit stinky,
The results are as follows... Ammonia=1.0...Nitrate=10ppm...Nitrite1.0ppm...PH=7.2
Theses are the highest reading that i have had to date ...do you think this is the prob.

 

[missdixie256]

Sounds like a cycling tank to me... Ammonia and Nitrites can cause a nasty smell!

Is this tank established? How ong has it been cycled? Are you doing regular gravel vaccumes when you do water changes? How about your dechlorinator? What brand is it? (I notice my water smells faintly like PRIME for a day or so after a large water change) Also, How much water are you changing at a time? MaYbe you need to change more!

 

[mrmoog]

Tank has been running about a month and a half i vacum with all water changes, I have been using Nutrafin aqua plus as my dechlorinator i do have Prime but i am not sure if i add that into the bucket or srtaight to the tank after the water is back in so i have not been using it yet due to the fact that it is only one cap full per 50 g and my tank is only 27g, and i usually do around about 25% change each time

 

[MissFishy]

Always dechlorinate water BEFORE adding it to the tank, otherwise you risk killing off your bacteria or harming your fish. PLUS, once you add water to the tank, you have to treat the entire amount of water, which equals wasted water conditioner.

You need to change as much water as necessary to keep your ammonia and nitrites under 1.0. The smell should lessen as those parameters get lower.

 

[tom91970]

Nitrates will contribute to the smell and I see that yours is 10ppm

 

[missdixie256]

I use one cap full of Prime in my 29G... Over doing it YES but I use a python.. I ALWAYS unplug my filters first and dechlor BEFORE I start adding the water back into the tank.... My fish have NEVER shown any signs of chlorine shock nor do I get any form of mini cycle

Rule of thumb for Prime as I have been told is one drop per gallon... Now I have never tested this but I have used an eye dropper before and dechlored 2 drps per gallon with no issues...

 

[mrmoog]

i see that prime may reduce ammonia levels a bit but what can i do to reduce nitrate levels.......i am best just to try water changes!!!

 

[angel51431]

Definitely go for water changes before trying to chemically alter the issue at hand. You want to go to the source of the ammonia, not just mask is with prime/zeolite/other chemical means. The source is built up waste matter.

Anyway, is this tank cycled at all? Like I mean, did you cycle before adding your fish? Because 1 ppm is *very* high ammonia. In the sense that usually .25 ppm is enough to cause harm and requires quick action. now 1 ppm sounds like a huge number for a not-overstocked tank - it could be going through a cycle right now, if you didn't do it before.

keep testing your water, and doing big changes until you get it under control and undetectable. Also, watch your fish carefully, while the ammonia is so high. The danios are hardy fish that can live through a nuclear blast, but neons, guppies and bettas can be sensitive.

And like someone already said, always, ALWAYS use dechlor when you put in tap water during a w/c because chlorine will kill off any good bacteria you have and make you prone to ammonia surges like this, so you will have to cycle all over again.

 

[mrmoog]

Thanks for the advice guys

 

[mrmoog]

Got a feeling that my gravel cleaner is the prob used it again today and it seems to just pull some stuff up from the gravel ...should it not be turning the gravel with the force of the water leaving the tank???

 

[missdixie256]

*SUPERSMIL As long as it is pulling debris from the gravel it is doing what it is supposed to do