Water Quality Query

[Arimus]

So far (4 days from starting the tank using 'starter' additivites (dechlorinator and water 'conditioner')) our current stats are

NO3 betwen 0 and 10
NO2 0
General hardness 10
Carbon hardness 10
Ph 8

Ammonia is the one thing I've not got something to check for at the moment (the strips I've got only do the 5 items above)....

What sort of values should I be looking for in terms of hardness? The Ph is still slightly higher than I'm aiming for - 7.5 and the nitrite level is fine nitrate not sure on (though seems to me to be ok).

 

[bobbicus]

you need to test for ammonia first!!!!! as this will determine the start of your cycle - strip (IMO) are not reliable enough

API water test kit - is VERY easy to use and is the kit of choice it would seem for many fish keepers on here- me too!!

http/www.bestfish.com/newtank3.html ------ take a look here if you want to cycle with fish - BUT many on here would suggest fishless cycling as it does not harm the fish

me thinks as a beginner concentrate on cycling the tank first properly ad not rushing and gettin NH4 NO2 and NO3 in order - THEN...you can play with the hardness and pH - as many fish now are bred in "general" water condiotns apart from specialist fish - really should be ok in the tank as long as the result on the graph is achieved (if that makes sense)

 

[Arimus]

It does - one thing I forgot is I managed to trade some filter media with a collegue at work (his tank is about 12 months old now)...

 

[Irf]

OK, so it sounds like you are trying to cycle without fish - but you are acceleratingthecycle through using donated filter media.

First - have you read the fishless cycling article, here? If not, then it's recommended that you do.

Next, when did you get the media? I am asking because the bacteria that you need dies off after about 24hrs without food (ammonia). Ideally you need to keep that media fed with ammonia.

And you cannot cycle properly without being certain of the ammonia levels - so you will need a proper test kit.

Irf.

 

[Arimus]

Right, just checked the ammonia - its a combined NH3/NH4 test..

Results

Ph 8
NH3 0.06mg/l (Test kit: Hagen Nutrafin NH3/4 test)
NO3 10
NO2 0
GH <3
KH 3
Water temp: 23 - 24c

Treatment used: Aqua plus (tap water conditioner) and Cycle both added as per instructions on bottle when setting tank up.

(Editted to add temp and treatments used).

 

[Irf]

OK, well done!

So the stats look OK-ish.

The ammonia really needs to be zero, and I'm not certain how mg/l translates into ppm (same?). Since you added all the stuff and your media, have you "fed" the tank with ammonia at all? You need to know if it's still all here and working for you. What you need to see is that ammonia is dispersed (eaten) by the bacteria. The fishless cycling article suggests that the bacteria ought to be able to munch through 5ppm in 24hrs, resulting in 0ppm at that time.

The rest all looks great, I think.

Irf.

 

[Arimus]

Yep, that about 13 hours after feeding the bacteria...

Assuming normal water density then ppm = mg/l for approximate purposes (actually as water should have a nominal density of 1 it is close enough that you won't notice the difference).