Are These Correct Levels?

[rrxx11rrxx11]

i have had no probs with my tank,plants or fish but thought id buy a test kit as i have read alot about them on here, i have done the test which i belive is a very cheap one !!
my results as far as i can just about work out are........

i have tested just one of the tanks for now
tank 240 litres
ph is 7.8
amnonia is 0.1
nitrite is 0.0mg/l
nitrate is 60 mg/l (not sure on that one)

please go easy on me
any comments..............

next time i will spend more money on a better test kit,
this one is cheapy and hard to match the colour's!!

 

[noshybabs]

Im pretty sure amonia should be zero, but i suppose it just about is, Other than that it looks cock on to me although wait for someone else to confirm, Im reading and asking questions like mad but im still a bigginer to say the least!

is it a new tank?

 

[rrxx11rrxx11]

no its maybe 8 months now,

i have just done the other tank which is 200 litres and its.....
ph is 7.8
amnonia is 0.0
nitrite is 0.1mg/l
nitrate is 50 mg/l

the test kit is frustrating as its so hard to get a good reading.....more to be spent next time i think.

 

[noshybabs]

Well my understanding is thus!

Im pretty sure the PH you should have, depends on the fish you have, certain fish prefer slightly Acidic(above seven) or Alkaly Conditiond (Salty, Below 7) conditions

7 is neutral, and is the PH of normal water 7.8 is just about nuetral

As for amonia. Nitrate and Nitrite these just show that your filter is mature and working.

Ammonia is poisonius to fish, Bacteria in the filter change Amonia into Nitirte wich is slightly less poisonus to fish, then bacteria in the water change Nitrite into Nitrate which is only poisonus to fish in high levels.

Plants use Nitrate as fertilizer and thus the circle is compleate! So from what i said you tanks look fine to me.

But i do make a point of saying that i am still learning, So if wait for somone to confirm this before you take it as gossple

 

[erk628]

i have had no probs with my tank,plants or fish but thought id buy a test kit as i have read alot about them on here, i have done the test which i belive is a very cheap one !!
my results as far as i can just about work out are........

i have tested just one of the tanks for now
tank 240 litres
ph is 7.8
amnonia is 0.1
nitrite is 0.0mg/l
nitrate is 60 mg/l (not sure on that one)

please go easy on me
any comments..............

next time i will spend more money on a better test kit,
this one is cheapy and hard to match the colour's!!

Your readings look good to me, my ph is the same due to my tap water and my ammonia is 0 and nitrate is 10 pmm

 

[noshybabs]

Does that mean what i said was right then? 8)

 

[scubadoo]

pretty much noshy.

Your ammonia and nitrite levels should both be 0 in a fully cycled and stable tank.
Nitrate levels gradually rise as nitrite is converted to nitrate - you reduce this by undertaking regular water changes (approx. 25-30% per week is a pretty good starting point for most community set-ups).


a pH of 7.8 is actually quite alkaline, but assuming that your local water is similar is nothing to worry about. FYI the pH scale is logarythmic, so a pH of 8 is 10 times more alkaline than a pH of 7.

not too sure what you mean by "salty below 7" - salt is not required in a normal freshwater aquarium - some species prefer some salt (brackish fish) - you can check out which ones those are in the fish species section.

 

[noshybabs]

pretty much noshy.

Your ammonia and nitrite levels should both be 0 in a fully cycled and stable tank.
Nitrate levels gradually rise as nitrite is converted to nitrate - you reduce this by undertaking regular water changes (approx. 25-30% per week is a pretty good starting point for most community set-ups).


a pH of 7.8 is actually quite alkaline, but assuming that your local water is similar is nothing to worry about. FYI the pH scale is logarythmic, so a pH of 8 is 10 times more alkaline than a pH of 7.

not too sure what you mean by "salty below 7" - salt is not required in a normal freshwater aquarium - some species prefer some salt (brackish fish) - you can check out which ones those are in the fish species section.

I actually got it wrong, Abouve 7 is Alkaly and bellow is acidic Salt water is alkaly, as salt is a very strong alkaly not relevant but i thought ide add some contxt

 

[Miss Wiggle]

it's always worth investing in a decent test kit, they also need replacing ever 6 months or so as they go off.

with a dodgy test kit you cna get incorrect readings and therefore take action that's wrong and end up stressing your fish un nescessarily.

 

[scubadoo]

I actually got it wrong, Abouve 7 is Alkaly and bellow is acidic Salt water is alkaly, as salt is a very strong alkaly

Now I may stand to be corrected here - dredging up old chemistry lessons from longer ago than I care to recall, but

No salt (as in Sodium Chloride) is not particularly alkaline as far as I'm aware. I believe that it lies in the range pH6-7 which is neutral to acidic.
Salts are derivative compounds formed following chemical reactions (often with acids & alkalis either with each other or with other elements eg metals)

 

[noshybabs]

I actually got it wrong, Abouve 7 is Alkaly and bellow is acidic Salt water is alkaly, as salt is a very strong alkaly

Now I may stand to be corrected here - dredging up old chemistry lessons from longer ago than I care to recall, but

No salt (as in Sodium Chloride) is not particularly alkaline as far as I'm aware.
Salts are derivative compounds formed following chemical reactions (often with acids & alkalis either with each other or with other elements eg metals)

SOrry your right, although Sodioum cloride is actually alkaly when mixed with water it becomes an aqueous solution. All aqueos solutions that have a pH 7 are neutral.

Wrong again

 

[andywg]

Ammonia is poisonius to fish, Bacteria in the filter change Amonia into Nitirte wich is slightly less poisonus to fish, then bacteria in the water change Nitrite into Nitrate which is only poisonus to fish in high levels.

Both types of bacteria colonise in the filter. The amount of bacteria actually in the water is negligible. In my set ups most bacteria isn't submerged but growing on bioballs that have water flow over them.

Also, in case anyone is a pedant, the pH of pure water is not actually 7, but at 25 degrees C is 6.998 ± 0.001 (though this is an accuracy required by almost no one).