New Hobby Looking For Any Advice

[the_lock_man]

I must admit I disagree, 10% daily has always worked for me with low stocking.

I don't see how you can say that a specific amount per day will suffice, surely you need to have tested and know how much ammonia & nitrite you are trying to dilute.

In the specifics of this instance, maria madeline has 5 platies and 3 guppies in a 48l tank. I feel certain that levels will rise far quicker in that situation than 10% per day can cope with. I stand by the maths - if you have 0.5ppm ammonia, and you dilute by 10%, you will still have 0.45ppm, and that is still lethal for fish.

 

[nurglespuss]

only iof you make an assumpion that the levels are that high, regular maintainance is the key.

 

[maria.madeline22]

thanks to all for comments reading through has confused me more but that is my fault due not having a test kit yet which is now my top priority truth be known i had a tank off my mate for my son due to fish calm him down but now i have found i have a serious interest so much when i lost a fish i gave it a proper burial reading lots up and asking for advice one thing i would like to ask is i do a water change daily at moment about 50% i add tap safe do i need to add the ammonia liquid every time too as this seems to be a really bit issue in the beginning

 

[BigbruiserAl]

Forgot to say if your buying a test i really strongly advise getting sailferts, there sold indivudial so Ammonia test,Nitrite test, Nitrate test they are approx £9 each but so so so better then any of the other all in 1 test kits you can buy at their price range

 

[maria.madeline22]

thank you i will look into that my plan was to go to fish shop tomorrow to get water tested i'll ask for them there

 

[Juggler75]

Theres also no need to purchase expensive liquid test kits, strip tests are cheaper and just as good (the difference in accuracy is negligible, as the manufactured tests aren't that accurate anyway)

While I agree with the sentiment, also with BBA's point of view too with regards to stting up, I found that the liquids worked out cheaper when I calculated the cost per test.

 

[Akasha72]

Hi maria.madeline22.

I was reading this last night and thinking you were going to end up even more confused - I felt the same just a couple of weeks ago.

If you have a pet@home store near-by they will test your water for free until you are able to get a test for yourself. They sell the API master test kit (tests for PH,Ammonia,Nitrite and Nitrate) for £33 but I got the same one on ebay for £20. When you consider that the test for Ammonia and Nitrite are about £10 each it seems better all round to check ebay first - but of course that is your decision.

I would also consider getting your tap water checked too as it varies from area to area. My tap water is PH7 and 0 for all the others so I consider myself lucky but I read on here that someone's tap water had a reading for Ammonia so if yours is the same it means that you are adding Ammonia into the tank with every water change.

I found a product by King British called Safe Water. It claims to take the Ammonia and Nitrite in the tank water and help turn it into Nitrate (which is harmless to the fish). There are a lot more experienced members on here that will jump and say that these claims are rubbish - I'm not a scientist so feel unable to make a comment whether they do work or don't. All I know is when I started adding the water safe to my tank I stopped getting reading for Ammonia and Nitrite. It's impossible to say if it was the Safe Water that helped but at a cost of just £3.50 it was worth a try.

I wish you luck once again with your tank and hope I've helped a little rather than confuse you even more

Akasha72

 

[maria.madeline22]

well i have had my water checked today and been told it is not good but it is not bad either now being new to this i am not sure what i am really looking at the stats they have given me are ammonia 1.0
nitrite 0.25
nitrate 10
ph 6.6
they have recommended that because i did 20% water change yesterday to leave my tank today and do a 10% water change with tapsafe tomorrow then take another sample into the store on saturday to be checked again
my fish seem happy enough almost seem happier but any advice on this information will be gladly accepted

 

[BigbruiserAl]

1ppm ammonia is deadly and will burning the fish's internal organs
0.25ppm nitraite is not great

I advise 50% water chnage you really need the ammonia and nitrite to be no more then 0.25ppm at anytime and 0.25 is max idealy should be as close 0 as we can

Dont worry about it just keep up with the big water changes did you buy your test kit?

 

[maria.madeline22]

oh ok now i feel really guilty my poor fish the shop adviced it be better for me to go back and forth with samples as i not clued up on levels yet i accepted this as i need all the help
will it help if i add ammonia remover with my reading being so high ?
akasha72 where did you get your water checked that sounds like a good idea

 

[the_lock_man]

they have recommended that because i did 20% water change yesterday to leave my tank today and do a 10% water change with tapsafe tomorrow

I'm with Al, in that I think you need to be doing daily water changes. THis is where having your own test kit is best. Let's face it, it's a right old nuisance taking water to the shop to be tested, and you're relying on the assistant to do it right and interpret the results right. If you do it yourself, you fully in control.

As Al says, you need to keep ammonia and nitrite as close to 0 as possible - if you leave the tank today, what will your levels be up to by tomorrow?

I would personally suggest a larger change today, 80-90%, to get the ammonia level right down, thereafter 50% each day, until you get your own tests - once you have these you can see how much water you need to change, to keep the levels right down.

 

[maria.madeline22]

ok no worries will do that now then shall i add ammonia remover as well to keep the levls down ? thank you so much for the advice i so scared of getting it wrong

 

[the_lock_man]

ok no worries will do that now then shall i add ammonia remover as well to keep the levls down ? thank you so much for the advice i so scared of getting it wrong

I assume you mean a chemical additive, rather than a filter media - they seem to work by temporarily converting ammonia (NH3) into ammonium (NH4+), which isn't so toxic, but still feeds the filter bacteria. It only lasts a few days, and then converts back again, so yes, use it, so long as you're aware that it's not an alternative to the water changes.

 

[maria.madeline22]

it come in a bottle like tapsafe i will keep doing my water changes would you recommend only using the ammonia remover every few days ?

 

[maria.madeline22]

i am just about to buy a api freshwater master test kit from amazon anyone know if this is any good ?