CALLING ALL EXPERTS

[Lucy]

This is going to sound like such a stupid question to most of you. I keep testing my water for all the usual parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph, hardness etc.) but I have no real idea of why I'm doing it.

My nitrite did go high a few weeks ago, but I don't understand what nitrite is and what harm it can do. I'm just as ignorant regarding all the other parameters. I didn't even know you called them 'parameters' until I found this site.

Can someone give me a brief rundown on how it all works please? Or, guide me to somewhere that would give me good info. I'm ashamed of my own ignorance. )

Lucy

 

[EddieW]

Lucy,

Have a look here for info on cycling, etc. There is also an article on water chemistry - see the links at the side of the page.

Cheers, Eddie

 

[CFC]

Once you have an established tank ie it has fully cycled and has been stable for at least 6 months you only need to check ammonia and nitrite levels once every 2 weeks or when you think your fish look a little under the weather,nitrate should be tested weekly as this indicates how often and how much you should be doing in water changes,left unchecked nitrate levels in established tanks can end up as high as 150ppm or more!
Nitrite is the next step in the cycle from ammonia,although it is less toxic it is still extreemly harmful to all forms of aqatic life,in fish it lessens the red blood vessels ability to carry oxygen and damages delicate gills.
Nitrate is the final step of the cycling process and is the reason why we do water changes,as it is the last stage there is nothing to remove the nitrates in a captive enviroment so they have to be removed by u,nitrates should be kept below 40ppm at all times and prefferably at 0(although this is nigh on impossible to achieve)
In my opinion (im probably gonna get told off for this) unless you have a specific reason ie you are using RO water or are altering your water to suit a specific fish,once you have tested your water for hardness and PH you have no reason to do this on a regular basis,tap water very rarely fluctuates and as long as you do regular water changes (using tapwater) these values will hardly change if at all

 

[bigfish]

All water parametres should be as low as poss apart from Ph but that does depend on what fish you are keeping.

Ammmonnia less than 0.1 mg/litre
Nitrite max 0.3mg/litre
Nitrate about 25mg to 50mg/litre but depends on water source
Ph tropical and coldwater 7.0 to 8.5
Marine 7.0 below (acidic)

E-mail for more info if you like

 

[bigfish]

oh what part of Lincoln are you from Lucy? I was born in North Hykeham well live there till i was 5 yrs old.

 

[semper fi]

lucy, the only dumb question is the one not asked. you would be surprised how many people have never heard of water parameters and testing. seems like ages ago, when i first started keeping fish that i did not do it either. my husband came home with his old tank cause his parents were moving and announced that he wanted to keep cichlids again. we filled up the tank with water and the next day i went fish shopping. poor little guys! surprised that they made it! thank goodness cichlids are hardy fish! picked them out for their colors. heehee. had about thirty of the little buggers in an 85 gallon. mbuna, tangs, malawis, sa's, ca's. one big huge mixing pot. being the bored stay at home wife, i started to look up info on the internet on the fish. my husband wanted to get green buttikoferi's and i went online to find them. that was the end of that. now i look back and think how stupid i was.

water testing is important when setting up a tank and as long as you keep up the weekly maintenance on your tank, can be cut down to a once a month thing imo. testing the tap water is important to see if the water is coming out is quality. there have been times even with city water that i have waited to do water changes since the tap water parameters were high.

if you are going to test your water instead of having the lfs do it, get the test strips. they are the most user friendly. just take a sample of water and dip the strip in. no brain surgery required!

maggie

 

[Lucy]

Thank you so much guys and girls. Your collective info. has helped clear away some of the fog. You lot always sound like such experts that it can be quite nervewracking asking simple questions. My main reason for asking was that I lost a fish a few weeks ago and when the water was tested the Nitrite was high. So I did a partial water change and added some Liquisil Tonic No. 5 and everything is back to being hunky dory.

Note to BigFish - it's Boultham Park Road in Lincoln - not too far away from North Hykeham. Do you miss the place? Do you still have folks here?

 

[Dragonslair]

Lucy, the only way to learn is to ask. Not all the info. you get is always right for your set of circumstances. That's not to say that the people giving advice is wrong either. Most fishkeepers have had to learn by trial and error. If one could be done for murdering or even manslaughtering fish, they would have locked me up long long time ago and thrown away the key. The more "stupid" questions you ask, the less likely you are to killing your own fish. It always seems that the stupidist sounding basic questions turn out to be the most vital ones. So we are all here to help. Just ASK.
I know this site from a long time ago and the wealth of information contained within the members are unsurpassed by any other "fishy" site.
We just don't like being pushy. )

 

[bigfish]

Thanks Lucy I've alot of my family still living in Lincoln i.e dad, aunties, uncles, cousins by the million!!!! I now live in Cardiff and have for 16 years, I went to the little primary school not far from the church in North Hykeham, i remember the sports centre, fire station, the little park etc. I miss all my school friends that i met in Primary i always wondered what they are up to now.

So how did you get into fish hobby then?

 

[Doohic722]

first... im happy that you (Lucy) asked the question because it answered some of my unfinished questions I posted earlier.

however, once you have a reading. what are you suppose to do about it if your parameters are out of whack?

obviously nitrate can be dealt with by doing water changes, but how to you adjust Ammonia, Nitrite, PH, and Hardness?

Also what are the advantages of testing for kh (Carbonate Hardness) and gH general hardness? Or are these specific to having plants?

 

[Dragonslair]

Bigfish,
Have you tried looking up some of your old friends in Friends Reunited. I did and found several friends that I'd forgotton from my schooldays. It's worth a go and initially it's free. Only if you want to become a member will it cost you a fiver a year. Not bad-I'm a member and I get other advantages. Just look them up.

 

[Doohic722]

have any of you used these? if not how do they look, I think there the cheapest dip/strip tests I have found

http/futurepet.com/cgi-bin/FULLPRES.exe?...PARTNUM=MA20100
http/futurepet.com/cgi-bin/FULLPRES.exe?...PARTNUM=MA21100
http/futurepet.com/cgi-bin/FULLPRES.exe?...PARTNUM=MAKITFW

thanks

 

[Lucy]

Good point Doohic722 - what are you supposed to do if it all goes wrong?!!?

And, I can't seem to find any of the dipsticks in my area. Does anyone know where I can order them online - UK only please?

BigFish - send me an e-mail and I'll try to update you on all the local stuff. I might even know some of your old school chums!

 

[Thomas A. Anderson]

Speaking of old school chums, have any of you tried this web site for finding school pictures of yourselves

http/worldschoolphotographs.com/

 

[Doohic722]

let me know what you guys think of those strips I posted about earlier, Im looking to order tonight or early tommarow, I would like to have them in by the end of the week so I can start cycling my 55gallon