PLS HELP - CHEMICALS

[nlpmaster1974]

Hi All,

I'm a newbie and am a little lost with some bizzare chemical test results. I bought a Juwell Vision 180 last Saturday and put inside many plastic plants, black sparkling gravel and a volcanic airator thing.

I was told to put some food in the aquarium (to begin ammonia) from day 1 and then a week after I could put a very few fish into it.

I am due to go back tomorrow to get my first fish and so have just done a water test and these are my WIERD results.

Temperature 27 deg C
PH 8.3 (WAAAAAY TO HIGH)
Ammonia 0.25
Nitrite 0.0
Nitrate between 40 and 80 (Hard to tell)

I cannot understand why the PH is so high. The only chemical I have administered is 20ml of Safe Guard to remove chlorine and chloramines, detoxify any heavy metals and remove any excess ammonia. This was added on day 1. No more has been added since.

I have been airating the aquarium every day for a few hours.

Not only is the PH way too high but also how can I have from 40 to 80 ppm Nitrate and still have 0.0 Nitrite and 0.25 Ammonia?

If someone could help me out as to what may be happening and what I could do about it I would appreciate it very much.

Doing the tests was quiet scary in itself! Those labels on the chemical bottles are terrifying! LOL

Thanks in advance,

Chris

Juwell Vision 180 Litre / 40 Gallon Tropical Aquarium
No fish Yet

 

[The Mohave Kid]

I'm no expert ... but based on the information given :


"Temperature 27 deg C"

Sounds OK ...

"PH 8.3 (WAAAAAY TO HIGH)"

Not sure this is to high .. it depends really on your fish selection my pH is a steady 8.0 the upper normal end for many fish ... Whats your tap water pH ?? If your tank pH and tap water or source water are close your in good shape unless your fish have definite needs for a low pH.


"Ammonia 0.25
Nitrite 0.0"

This sounds about right ... more or less ... your just starting to cycle the tank ... I would say your not ready to add fish until your ammonia has peaked and Nitrite has peaked and both returned to zero ... I'd speculate it did not happen yet in your tank ... Don't add fish yet. One week is a fast cycle ???

"Nitrate between 40 and 80 (Hard to tell)"

If you started with all new water the only thing I can think of is that your tap water or your source of aquarium water is already high in nitrates. Check it out ?

In short you need to rethink the cycle process ... look for some great articles here on tank cycling without fish.

Good Day .... B)

 

[nlpmaster1974]

Might I ask what fish you have that are ok with a 8 ph?

The chappie at the pet store (Pets at Home, UK) told me that I can do a cycle with 1 week of just adding some food and then 5 more weeks with a few very hardy fish.

Thanks,

Chris

 

[The Mohave Kid]

My Danios and Serpae Tetra and Tiger Barbs seem to be doing quite well at pH=8 with no signs of the pH being to high. I have read many fish can acclimate to water with a pH quite different from there native waters and that fished raised in captivity are not at there native pH anyway ...

An exception is when breeding fish in captivity ... in that case pH of native waters is often needed ... this is what I have read ... NOT MY IDEAS. ... but makes sense to me so far. A steady pH is better then a changing pH or constantly adding chemicals to alter pH.

"just adding some food and then 5 more weeks with a few very hardy fish."

The chap is right it takes on average .. more or less ... 4 to 6 weeks to cycle a tank ... with fish or another ammonia source.

The fact that you need " a few very hardy fish " implies also that the chap at the fish shop expects your tank to cycle while the fish are in it ... I cycled this way with some very tough fish and it took 5 weeks for the tank to cycle as evident by frequent testing ... Ammonia and Nitrite levels will hit 4 to 6 ppm before your tank cycles .... above zero is not healthy for your fish ... so thats what lies ahead it seems to me if you add the fish now.

Myself I'll pass on cycling with fish.


Good Day .... B)