What Is Going On In My Tank!

[Bromley]

Tested ammonia levels in tank this morning after doesing to 4ppm ammonia last night. Checked this morning and it was 0ppm (all good) just tested again now and ammonia is 4ppm but I haven't added any more ammonia today. Nitrite is 0ppm and Nitrate is 80ppm. How can ammonia magically get back into my tank?!?!

 

[KittyKat]

Maybe you mis-tested this morning? Didn't add the right proportions of reagents? Didn't read it properly?

 

[Bromley]

I have been doing every day since the start of feb. I am using an API test kit and 0 ammonia is yellow and my test was yellow this morning and bright green tonight.

 

[Primous]

If you have no stock in your aquarium including critters and such then it would be impossible for ammonia to reach zero and then go back to 4ppm.

I'm calling it a false positive/negative.

 

[Danbarb]

No offense to anyone that has an API test kit, but I found them to be inaccurate at times. I don't use API test kits anymore, I now use 6 in 1 tetra strips.

I had a false reading 3 times with an API test kit... Their ammonia one and indeed their PH one. When I did the PH one once, it said PH 6 or so, I took the water to a LFS for an electronic test. PH 7.2. Haha.

I'd say the same. False reading.

 

[Warehouse]

If it was morning could you have had a brain f**t and just forgotten to put the 2nd lot of drops in?

 

[Primous]

No offense to anyone that has an API test kit, but I found them to be inaccurate at times. I don't use API test kits anymore, I now use 6 in 1 tetra strips.

I had a false reading 3 times with an API test kit... Their ammonia one and indeed their PH one. When I did the PH one once, it said PH 6 or so, I took the water to a LFS for an electronic test. PH 7.2. Haha.

I'd say the same. False reading.

Test strips will only set you back as they are completely inaccurate. The best liquid test kit out there is nutrafin. when I tested the two I found that the nutrafin picked up levels that the api missed so go with nutrafin liquid

Or use strips and be cycling forever lol

Just joking about the forever part.

 

[Bromley]

Well tested again last night at about 10pm and came back with 0ppm, topped up to 4ppm and tested again this morning and ammonia is 0.25ppm so don't know what happened, may have miss calculated or added the wrong drops from the wrong bottle (I have been doing these test so much I sort of go into auto pilot when doing them!)

I do agree in part with Danbarb on the API PH Test.
7.6 on normal PH color chart is light blue (a bit like 0 on the Nitrite kit) but my water in the tank is a darker blue than 7.6, so I did a High Range PH test and the test goes a reddish color which isn't on the high range color chart so I am still not 100% sure what PH my tank is. Any idea's?

Water straight from the tap is 7.2, left water for 24hrs in a glass is around 7.6 but is still a darker blue than the color chart!

 

[KittyKat]

+1 strips are inaccurate.

High range red is 8.0-8.2 so that is probably it. Try looking at the hue, not the brightness/darkness..

 

[Bromley]

+1 strips are inaccurate.

High range red is 8.0-8.2 so that is probably it. Try looking at the hue, not the brightness/darkness..

I'll have to take a picture tonight and post it up, bit worrying if my PH is that high though no? Could all the Ammonia I have been adding effect the PH, once I have cycled and done a water change the PH should be more around my Tap water reading of 7-7.5? other wise I am going to have to rethink my stocking as they are all in the 7.-7.5ph range

 

[KittyKat]

+1 strips are inaccurate.

High range red is 8.0-8.2 so that is probably it. Try looking at the hue, not the brightness/darkness..

I'll have to take a picture tonight and post it up, bit worrying if my PH is that high though no? Could all the Ammonia I have been adding effect the PH, once I have cycled and done a water change the PH should be more around my Tap water reading of 7-7.5? other wise I am going to have to rethink my stocking as they are all in the 7.-7.5ph range

List all your decor, that could be affecting it.

Also you can add bogwood and plants to lower it a bit in the long term.

 

[Bromley]

+1 strips are inaccurate.

High range red is 8.0-8.2 so that is probably it. Try looking at the hue, not the brightness/darkness..

I'll have to take a picture tonight and post it up, bit worrying if my PH is that high though no? Could all the Ammonia I have been adding effect the PH, once I have cycled and done a water change the PH should be more around my Tap water reading of 7-7.5? other wise I am going to have to rethink my stocking as they are all in the 7.-7.5ph range

List all your decor, that could be affecting it.

Also you can add bogwood and plants to lower it a bit in the long term.

I only have 4 silk plants in there currently, that's it. Not enough room for Bogwood and as I am still very new to fish keeping I don't think real plants are an option for me at the moment. (everything about my tank is in my signature!)

Thanks

J

 

[KittyKat]

I only have 4 silk plants in there currently, that's it. Not enough room for Bogwood and as I am still very new to fish keeping I don't think real plants are an option for me at the moment. (everything about my tank is in my signature!)

Actually, live plants are still an option Anubias and Java fern can't be grown with a substrate so would be ok if you just sat them on the media. Java moss can also be wrapped around the central column.. all three of those plants are basically impossible to kill! Worth considering

Hopefully your pH will settle out once the tank matures.. but I can't see anything which could be affecting it now..

p.s. I would advise you against cherry barbs because they should be kept in schools of 6+ and should have at least a 2 ft tank.. more shrimp would also look cool!

 

[Bromley]

I only have 4 silk plants in there currently, that's it. Not enough room for Bogwood and as I am still very new to fish keeping I don't think real plants are an option for me at the moment. (everything about my tank is in my signature!)

Actually, live plants are still an option Anubias and Java fern can't be grown with a substrate so would be ok if you just sat them on the media. Java moss can also be wrapped around the central column.. all three of those plants are basically impossible to kill! Worth considering

Hopefully your pH will settle out once the tank matures.. but I can't see anything which could be affecting it now..

p.s. I would advise you against cherry barbs because they should be kept in schools of 6+ and should have at least a 2 ft tank.. more shrimp would also look cool!

Thanks Kitty, will look into the plants, Impossible to kill = I haven't had them yet so there is still time, I could kill a plastic plant

I have actually decided against the Cherry Barbs, I was told they were ok in a Pair (male & female) but am thinking of Green Neons instead now and also a Tiger shrimp to go with the Bumble Bee Shrimp (great minds think alike

Will update my Sig!

Thanks

J

 

[karin]

Ph jumps around a bit in the cycling so don't get too excited about it. Just keep it in the range which it sounds like it is. Also, I have a steady Ph of 8 in my two home tanks and it has never affected my ability to keep most fish. I would not go with really Ph sensitive fish (discus and GBR come to mind) but any others I'm willing to try. Maybe I'm taking a few months off their lives but given many other possible tanks they could have ended up in, I know my fish have it good.