Are any of these any good n worthy ? Or ai should just do water changes ?
- Thread starter Tyler777
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Tyler777
Fish Fanatic
Correct, fish in cycleIf I'm right you are doing a fish in cycle !?!
All you need is a pair of good biceps
Looking at the 'ammonia remover insert' that looks suspiciously like zeolite. If it is, it works by absorbing ammonia and starving the filter bacteria so they have little food to encourage them to multiply. Then zeolite gets full and stops working, and because there are insufficient bacteria ammonia shows up in the water. Using zeolite to remove ammonia ties you in to replacing it before it gets full, forever. Growing bacteria instead means you have a self sustaining ammonia remover and nitrite remover.
OP
OP
Tyler777
Fish Fanatic
Ok. I will forget bout these things. How bout the ammnia/ph detector ?
Those can be useful. They don't harm the fish and they can alert the fishkeeper to changes they need to act upon. But don't forget, even if they don't flag anything, water changes are still needed.
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I totally agree. Water changes are not just about ammonia and other detectable stuff. It is really more for controlling contagions and other stuff that normal test won't even detect.
LOL, some 5 gallon curls will learn him.If I'm right you are doing a fish in cycle !?!
All you need is a pair of good biceps
Seriously though, there is nothing wrong with having an alarm if it makes you feel better, but it is no replacement for learning when you need to change water with some margin of safety, and then doing it before then because we can't see our water as well as we wish we could.In a fish in cycle, you can cheat a little with nitrogen lockers applied at the right time. For the right period. And save a lots of water changes.
I wont elaborate too much on it, because.
1: Nobody as the patience to go trough.
2: If you stop too early... No description is needed to what happens next.
3: It's all guesswork.
But I often did it, to save the day. And the poor fish.
I wont elaborate too much on it, because.
1: Nobody as the patience to go trough.
2: If you stop too early... No description is needed to what happens next.
3: It's all guesswork.
But I often did it, to save the day. And the poor fish.
I read a lot of bad reviews on these detectors for not working reliably. Also, after using test strips for ammonia, I always have to check them with my liquid ammonia test kit.
TwoTankAmin
Fish Connoisseur
You do not need and should not want any of that stuff. Here is why I say that for what it is worth.
Ammonia in water exists in two forms. One is the nasty gas we know about which is NH3. This is quite toxic. But most of the ammonia in water turns into ammonium, NH4, which is way less harmful. So the imprtant number to know is how much of ones total ammonia is in the form of NH3.
the SeaChem ammonia test measures only the NH3. which is good. But the thing works slowly to pick up changes. On the other hand an ammonia test kit from API measures Total Ammonia which is the whole thing. You can use a free online ammonia calculator and feed in your needed test results, pH and water temp and any salinity present and it spits out the breakdown instantly.
If you have the API kits for testing or similar ones, you do not need to buy anything more. By the way, if you are battling ammonia, then your next immediate fight will be nitrite. And the thing to understand and which was menti9oned in posts above is that doing a water change during cycling slows the process. What causes both types of bacteria we want to reproduce in order to increase their numbers is when there is more ammonia or nitrite present than they need to thrive. They will multiply until they are able to handle it all. So water changes reduce that need by lowering the levels of these two things.
The are two articles on this site that address your current situations and you should read the second one especially, it will help you a lot more than the products you are asking about.
https://www.fishforums.net/threads/rescuing-a-fish-in-cycle-gone-wild-part-i.433769/
https://www.fishforums.net/threads/rescuing-a-fish-in-cycle-gone-wild-part-il.433778/
I have one tank where I alter my tap parametrs a lot to keep the fish. To monitor the temperature, the TDS (disolved solids in the water) and pH I use a continuous digital monitor. I spent over $200 for it years ago. But I still have the API kits for most things in FW: ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, both Ph kits, and the KH/GH ones as well.
Ammonia in water exists in two forms. One is the nasty gas we know about which is NH3. This is quite toxic. But most of the ammonia in water turns into ammonium, NH4, which is way less harmful. So the imprtant number to know is how much of ones total ammonia is in the form of NH3.
the SeaChem ammonia test measures only the NH3. which is good. But the thing works slowly to pick up changes. On the other hand an ammonia test kit from API measures Total Ammonia which is the whole thing. You can use a free online ammonia calculator and feed in your needed test results, pH and water temp and any salinity present and it spits out the breakdown instantly.
If you have the API kits for testing or similar ones, you do not need to buy anything more. By the way, if you are battling ammonia, then your next immediate fight will be nitrite. And the thing to understand and which was menti9oned in posts above is that doing a water change during cycling slows the process. What causes both types of bacteria we want to reproduce in order to increase their numbers is when there is more ammonia or nitrite present than they need to thrive. They will multiply until they are able to handle it all. So water changes reduce that need by lowering the levels of these two things.
The are two articles on this site that address your current situations and you should read the second one especially, it will help you a lot more than the products you are asking about.
https://www.fishforums.net/threads/rescuing-a-fish-in-cycle-gone-wild-part-i.433769/
https://www.fishforums.net/threads/rescuing-a-fish-in-cycle-gone-wild-part-il.433778/
I have one tank where I alter my tap parametrs a lot to keep the fish. To monitor the temperature, the TDS (disolved solids in the water) and pH I use a continuous digital monitor. I spent over $200 for it years ago. But I still have the API kits for most things in FW: ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, both Ph kits, and the KH/GH ones as well.
Last edited:
Uberhoust
Fish Herder
I wouldn't purchase any of those items. I have some from past lapses in judgement. Like all my fish stuff it goes into a box that is never opened.
Nothing I am interested in, but I I could see the utility of an alarm if it were mostly accurate. Even 90% I suppose. The problem would be some would rely on it as a crutch, a WC scheduler, and get in trouble. I wo';t be too shocked if I live long enough to see a decent alarm that will text you at work when a tragedy is in progress, like a big cichlid tank going wrong in a hurry.
I would save your money, keep up with water changes any time you have ammonia or nitrite during the cycle, and once the tank is cycled get into a regular routine of water changes regardless of what tests say.
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