hi guys i just signed up to the forum. i have kept tropical before but as bad as it sounds i didnt cycle my tank so this is new to me!! i have kept them for about 2 years now and recently i emptyed my tank to convert to salt water!! after some serious reading an reserching i have decided to give it a miss as i dont think i have the time to do it!! so i filled my tank again and added the right amount of api stress coat and stress zyme. i tested my water last night for the first time and i got some odd results. ammonia 0ppm nitrite 0ppm and nitrate 40ppm. i thought that you should not see any nitrate untill the ammonia has built and and the nitrite this is just a guess and i mite be wrong!! lol just wanted to ask the experts! get back to me asap. also do you recommend testing water daily???
Odd Water Testing Results
- Thread starter Craig18
- Start date
Davo86
Cichlids, Catfish and Oddballs
you say you tested the water last night, but when did you start cycling the tank?
Also how are you cycling the tank? have you added any ammonia?
Those results would be perfectly normal in a fully setup tank with fish but in reality it is irrelevant of what they are atm because they are guaranteed to change.
Also how are you cycling the tank? have you added any ammonia?
Those results would be perfectly normal in a fully setup tank with fish but in reality it is irrelevant of what they are atm because they are guaranteed to change.
purplekaz
Fish Fanatic
Hi Craig, have you tried testing your water straight from the tap?
There will be a detectable level of nitrate in there, and from your readings I'm guessing it could well be around 40ppm.
Also which test kit are you using?
With the API liquid master test kit that I use, it's important to shake the nitrate test bottle number 2 vigorously prior to the test as per instructions, so something like that could give you a dodgy reading if not done exactly as advised.
If you haven't added any ammonia yet then the ammonia and nitrite readings should both be zero.
(If however you have added ammonia, then I'm baffled!)
This may help as a guide to what you should be doing:
http
/www.fishforums.net/content/New-to-t...shless-Cycling/
Best of luck
There will be a detectable level of nitrate in there, and from your readings I'm guessing it could well be around 40ppm.
Also which test kit are you using?
With the API liquid master test kit that I use, it's important to shake the nitrate test bottle number 2 vigorously prior to the test as per instructions, so something like that could give you a dodgy reading if not done exactly as advised.
If you haven't added any ammonia yet then the ammonia and nitrite readings should both be zero.
(If however you have added ammonia, then I'm baffled!)
This may help as a guide to what you should be doing:
http
/www.fishforums.net/content/New-to-t...shless-Cycling/Best of luck
Would definitely agree that the tap water is probably the problem. Pretty common in the UK to have 40 ppm or more from the tap.
hi all. i am using a api master test kit and yes i have followed the instruction word for world so there should not be a prob there
!! the only stuff i have added to the tank is stress coat and stress zyme i wil be testing my water 2nite and get back to you wil the results!! i will also test my tap water!!
!! the only stuff i have added to the tank is stress coat and stress zyme i wil be testing my water 2nite and get back to you wil the results!! i will also test my tap water!!
If the tap water tests ok, check the date on the bottles. Nitrate kits tend to get dodgy as they get older. Bottle 2 will clump up (the reason you shake it for 30 seconds before adding) and that can result in bad results.
hello all. right that night i done some test again and the results were the same as before
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 40
i tested the tap water aswell and the results are the same!!!
2day i have tested the water and the results are
ammonia 0.25
nitrite 0
nitrate 20
the ammonia has gone up and the nitrate has gone done. i havent done a water change or anything!! could some1 please tell me whats going on in my tank???
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 40
i tested the tap water aswell and the results are the same!!!
2day i have tested the water and the results are
ammonia 0.25
nitrite 0
nitrate 20
the ammonia has gone up and the nitrate has gone done. i havent done a water change or anything!! could some1 please tell me whats going on in my tank???
waterdrop
Enthusiastic "Re-Beginner"
You say you ran this fish tank for a couple of years and recently emptied it to try salt water, then changed your mind and are trying cycling and freshwater again, right? Did you remove and rinse everything? In other words, what are the starting points for the re-used gravel, re-used tank objects if any and what about the filtration (cleaned filter mechanism with new media or was your recent restart a re-use of materials that stayed wet?
It could be this would help the experienced members to analyze your situation. I'm a little like you, have done tanks way back years ago but am a complete newbie to the modern way of doing things. I've been doing baselines of my local tap water and it strikes me that reading those colors in the api master kit can be a pretty subjective thing sometimes - maybe they will think the variations you are worrying about are not such wide variations. Anyway, will be interesting to hear what they say.
It could be this would help the experienced members to analyze your situation. I'm a little like you, have done tanks way back years ago but am a complete newbie to the modern way of doing things. I've been doing baselines of my local tap water and it strikes me that reading those colors in the api master kit can be a pretty subjective thing sometimes - maybe they will think the variations you are worrying about are not such wide variations. Anyway, will be interesting to hear what they say.
rite well. i emptyed the tank and washed the whole tank in normal tap water!!!, i have kept the same filter and sponges and substrate in the filter its a external eheiem pro canister filter. i wash the fiulter sponges and substrate in normal water then built the filter back up. i have brought new gravel and washed again wioth tap water put it all in the tank and filled it thats all i have done maby this will help
note. all the sponges and that in the filter were kept wet all the time!! they were standing for about 2 weeks but they were kept wet inside the filter
note. all the sponges and that in the filter were kept wet all the time!! they were standing for about 2 weeks but they were kept wet inside the filter
your ammonia will gradually increase over the next week or so as your biological filter i.e bacteria start to kick in. It may rise quite sharply and then fall rapidly. test your water on a daily basis and only add fish once your ammonia and nitrite are at 0. The bacteria in your tank, once they start to establish, 'eat up' ammonia, it is then converted into nitrite and then into nitrate. This is called the nitrogen cycle. Your readings are pretty normal for tank that has only been set up for a couple of days. Your nitrate reading will probably fall as the week progresses.
Also, you will notice over the next few days that your nitrite levels will start to rise, this is normal and is caused by the bacteria converting the ammonia into nitrite. This bacteria builds itself up on rough surfaces in the tank, such as gravel, ornaments and the sponges in your filter.
just a quick point also, whenever you are rinsing your filter pads, it is always a good idea to do it in tank water in a bucket, rather than under the tap. chlorine in the tap water kills bacteria that live in sponges.
Also, you will notice over the next few days that your nitrite levels will start to rise, this is normal and is caused by the bacteria converting the ammonia into nitrite. This bacteria builds itself up on rough surfaces in the tank, such as gravel, ornaments and the sponges in your filter.
just a quick point also, whenever you are rinsing your filter pads, it is always a good idea to do it in tank water in a bucket, rather than under the tap. chlorine in the tap water kills bacteria that live in sponges.
rabbut
I don't bite, all that often...
With the length of time the sponges were left standing, you are back to square one, with an uncycled tank. 
This means that you now have to re-cycle. Please do not use the methord that the above poster advised, as this deliberately exposes the fish to ammonia and nitrite once added, both of which are poisonous and can kill very quickly, as you build up the bactiria colonies 
Please look at [topic="113861"]this thread[/topic] about fishless cycling, to learn where to go from here.
Best of luck setting up again
Rabbut
This means that you now have to re-cycle. Please do not use the methord that the above poster advised, as this deliberately exposes the fish to ammonia and nitrite once added, both of which are poisonous and can kill very quickly, as you build up the bactiria colonies Please look at [topic="113861"]this thread[/topic] about fishless cycling, to learn where to go from here. Best of luck setting up again
Rabbut
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