Advice- moved 3 week cycled tank to bigger one 4 days ago.

[Essjay]

Adding more won't do any harm (except maybe to your wallet ) but it could well help.

As a matter of interest, what is the nitrate level in your tap water? It's unusual, though not impossible, for that to have zero nitrate. And what are you using to test nitrate, strips or liquid tester?

 

[jen1313]

Adding more won't do any harm (except maybe to your wallet ) but it could well help.

As a matter of interest, what is the nitrate level in your tap water? It's unusual, though not impossible, for that to have zero nitrate. And what are you using to test nitrate, strips or liquid tester?

yes im hoping it speeds up the process of nitrates with more of em in there. just dont want them to die as i've spent a pretty penny on these new ones haha

i've used strips and API test and both say zero! my test strips that i used on the tap water actually said 0 for nitrates. is that weird?

also my PH in the tank is only slightly higher than what comes out my tap when using the strips also

 

[Essjay]

Not weird, just lucky. So many parts of the UK have nitrate in tap water near the upper limit.
However, just to check that both your testers are not faulty you could look on your water company's website for your water quality report. That will be in the form of a table giving the lowest result, highest and average for a number of things including nitrate. If they say your nitrate is 30 or whatever, your testers have a problem.

 

[jen1313]

Not weird, just lucky. So many parts of the UK have nitrate in tap water near the upper limit.
However, just to check that both your testers are not faulty you could look on your water company's website for your water quality report. That will be in the form of a table giving the lowest result, highest and average for a number of things including nitrate. If they say your nitrate is 30 or whatever, your testers have a problem.

just been looking then, are my results skewed?

Typical water hardness: Mod. Soft

Hardness clark: 5.25

Analysis	Typical value	UK/EU limit	Units
Hardness Level	Mod. Soft
Hardness Clark	5.25		Clark
Aluminium	<7.13	200	µg Al/l
Calcium	23.9		mg Ca/l
Residual chlorine - Total	0.63		mg/l
Residual chlorine - Free	<0.52		mg/l
Coliform bacteria	0	0	number/100ml
Colour	<1.77	20	mg/l Pt/Co scale
Conductivity	229	2500	uS/cm at 20oC
Copper	<0.0217	2	mg Cu/l
E.coli	0	0	number/100ml
Iron	22.7	200	µg Fe/l
Lead	<1.21	10	µg Pb/l
Magnesium	3.66		mg Mg/l
Manganese	<1.67	50	µg Mn/l
Nitrate	5.31	50	mg NO3/l
Sodium	20.2	200	mg N

 

[Byron]

You mentioned adding more fish including mollies...don't. The mollies will slowly suffer and die, as will most livebearers. The water is very soft (conflicting readings, but 6 drops which presumably is 6 dH, and in the chart 5.25 Clark which is 4 dH, is no where near sufficient hardness for these fish, especially mollies. You have a host of soft water fish to select from.

 

[jen1313]

You mentioned adding more fish including mollies...don't. The mollies will slowly suffer and die, as will most livebearers. The water is very soft (conflicting readings, but 6 drops which presumably is 6 dH, and in the chart 5.25 Clark, is no where near sufficient hardness for these fish, especially mollies. You have a host of soft water fish to select from.

hey there, no no i'm not adding mollies to this tank, i already had some and seen they were shimmying and not happy so i rehomed them. i mentioned the mollies if i were to set up my old 75L tank to keep the guppies in if they seem unhappy at any point in this current tank, then i may add some mollies to it with the guppies. but i will not be buying any mollies or hard water fish for this tank, i have only selected soft water as far as i know. i got some peach and pearl gauramis, an albino bristlenose, some balloon blue rams and some more of the congo tetra/x ray fish to make a school.

those tests today were for KH/GH not PH. my PH is around 6.5/6.6ish

 

[Byron]

hey there, no no i'm not adding mollies to this tank, i already had some and seen they were shimmying and not happy so i rehomed them. i mentioned the mollies if i were to set up my old 75L tank to keep the guppies in if they seem unhappy at any point in this current tank, then i may add some mollies to it with the guppies. but i will not be buying any mollies or hard water fish for this tank, i have only selected soft water as far as i know. i got some peach and pearl gauramis, an albino bristlenose, some balloon blue rams and some more of the congo tetra/x ray fish to make a school.

those tests today were for KH/GH not PH. my PH is around 6.5/6.6ish

Is your water source different for the other tank?

The pH is good for soft water as most all such fish occur in soft or very soft and acidic water.

 

[jen1313]

Is your water source different for the other tank?

no it would be exactly the same, i would, i'm assuming, need to buy a buffer for the hard water fish tank

 

[Byron]

no it would be exactly the same, i would, i'm assuming, need to buy a buffer for the hard water fish tank

Hsve you looked into this? It is not as simple as that. Presently you can do water changes using the tap water, and in large tanks directly from the faucet is a real benefit. It you have a tank with water so significantly harder, the water has to be prepared outside the tank to the same GH/KH/pH as the tank water, before it can be added. You can also use a calcareous sand or gravel substrate. But believe me, from someone who has done this, it is a lot of extra work and expensive.

 

[jen1313]

Hsve you looked into this? It is not as simple as that. Presently you can do water changes using the tap water, and in large tanks directly from the faucet is a real benefit. It you have a tank with water so significantly harder, the water has to be prepared outside the tank to the same GH/KH/pH as the tank water, before it can be added. You can also use a calcareous sand or gravel substrate. But believe me, from someone who has done this, it is a lot of extra work and expensive.

yeah i am imagining that also thats why i'm quite reluctant to do it atm. currently i fill 3 gallon bucket and transfer, i add the prime into it before adding to tank, but i have a new syphon thats arrived and i can connect it to the tap and pull/put water in that way, havent tried that yet tho

 

[Byron]

yeah i am imagining that also thats why i'm quite reluctant to do it atm. currently i fill 3 gallon bucket and transfer, i add the prime into it before adding to tank, but i have a new syphon thats arrived and i can connect it to the tap and pull/put water in that way, havent tried that yet tho

With large tanks...I had 8 tanks including 40g, 70g, 90g and 115g...the "python" is invaluable.

I think it wise to get this tank working, and enjoy the many fish you can have, and leave the difficult for down the road.

 

[jen1313]

With large tanks...I had 8 tanks including 40g, 70g, 90g and 115g...the "python" is invaluable.

I think it wise to get this tank working, and enjoy the many fish you can have, and leave the difficult for down the road.

yes i agree! thank you. i am /have really been trying hard to get this right.

do you think it'll be ok for me to add those fish and it might boost up the nitrates?

also- when you use that syphon i have, do you add the prime into the tank directly, because if it's connected to my tap theres no way for me to add it beforehand?

 

[seangee]

do you think it'll be ok for me to add those fish and it might boost up the nitrates?

Just to be clear, low nitrates is a good thing. The lower the better. Getting them to increase is not a goal. It s a by product of the nitrogen cycle and keeping them in check is important.

 

[Byron]

yes i agree! thank you. i am /have really been trying hard to get this right.

do you think it'll be ok for me to add those fish and it might boost up the nitrates?

also- when you use that syphon i have, do you add the prime into the tank directly, because if it's connected to my tap theres no way for me to add it beforehand?

I would not add any fish until everything is clearly resolved. Give it a week of consistent readings (zero ammonia and nitrite). What fish are you intending? And what fish do you have now for reference. Some may need more of the species.

"Boost up the nitrates"...you always want nitrate as low as you can have it, which usually comes down to any nitrate in the tap water (unavoidable) and then from the fish load. Live plants help keep nitrates lower, as does not heavily stocking, and minimal feeding. Fish do not need much food, many way overfeed and this is only making things worse.

I always add the conditioner to the tank right after I start refilling, but these were largish tanks, I changed more than 60% of each. You can add the conditioner before starting the refill. Less risk.

 

[jen1313]

Just to be clear, low nitrates is a good thing. The lower the better. Getting them to increase is not a goal. It s a by product of the nitrogen cycle and keeping them in check is important.

hey there,

yes i am aware its a good thign but i am concerned because inmy 75l tank i had 0 nitrites, 0 ammonia and i had nitrates. however, in this tank since they've moved over, there are no nitrates at all. i was under the impression it should have some and if it doesn't it is maybe not cycled? if my old 75L tank was cycled, and i moved everything inc fish into the new tank, does that guarentee it will be cycled also? despite having no nitrates for 5 days?