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HI all, I have been ammassing tanks ( 8 now LOL, MTS rules in my house now) since I started back to fishkeeping in August. I got loads of great advice here to get me started succesfully, thankyou.

Now everything is running smoothly and all tanks are cycled please could you tell anything as how to run things better.
I have been testing the newer tanks daily, but now they are all cycled and the fish appear happy and healthy, so

1)How often should I do water tests, if all appears well?

2) Is it ok to just test for Ammonia and Nitrite and only test for Nitrate if the first two show readings above 0? I ask this as I am spending a fortune on test kits and would like to cut my expenses a little if it wont compromise the fish. It also takes three times as long to test for all 3. The Nitrate test kit runs out quickest. Can there be lots of Ntrate in the water if other readings are at 0?

3)Or, as all my tanks have had 0 for Ammonia for a week now, can I get away with just testing for that on the premise that if there is no ammonia, there will be not Nitrite forming?

4)As smaller tanks are supposed to be harder to keep balanced should I test my 25L breeding tanks more often than the 60 and 120L tanks?

5)Is 25% water change once a fortnight ok if readings stay good or should it be done weekly? I have fry in some of the tanks.

Thanks in advance.:-)

Hi,
Once you have the tanks cycled and stocked the way you
want them, then you can cut back on the testing. In fact,
some would say that you could cut "way" back.

Keep in mind that the tank reaches equilibrium. Things
are balanced between the amount of fish, and feeding, and
fish waste and any excess foods & dying plant material.
If you add a large fish or a bunch of small fish, then
the waste products increase and the bacterial colonies
will increase.

Personally, I would stop testing for Ammonia, and "spot"
check for nitrites and nitrates. MTS can lead to NOT
performing regular maintenance that includes 10-20% water
changes, and vacuuming the gravel. That will lead to the
build up of "gunk" in the bottom of the tank and high
nitrate levels.

Conversely, too aggressive a clean up can destroy or
deplete the bacterial colonies and cause another cycle.
When vacuuming a tank, clean only the areas that are not
planted. Mentally divide the unplanted sections into
quarters, and every month vacuum one of the quarters
that way the tank is cleaned regularly, and the cleaned
area has a chance to "recover" before it is cleaned again.

Decide what is important. For instance, with my heavily
planted tank, I check the pH and KH because I inject CO2
and want to plot them on a chart to monitor the CO2
saturation. About once a quarter, I check my nitrate
reading, and never check ammonia or nitrites. But then
the tank is 12 years old, lightly stocked, and chock full
of plants.

Frank


Last edited by FRANK at 31-Oct-2005 10:08

-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Can there be lots of Ntrate in the water if other readings are at 0?

as all my tanks have had 0 for Ammonia for a week now, can I get away with just testing for that on the premise that if there is no ammonia, there will be not Nitrite forming?

Is 25% water change once a fortnight ok if readings stay good or should it be done weekly?

Hey Frank. Your friend the cycling dummy here. What about these questions? Im gonna get this sooner or later.

~~~The more I learn about cycling,
The more I get confused~~~~~~~~

Hi,
Absolutely... if the tank is cycled, then both the
Ammonia and Nitrite readings should be Zero.

As far as the Nitrate readings are concerned...
IF you do not do frequent water changes, or IF you are
over stocked, THEN the nitrate readings in a tank will
climb as the converted wastes accumulate.

A nitrate level of 40ppm or less is recommended for
freshwater tanks. Readings over 50 are a problem and
need to be corrected. Readings 100 and over indicate
Old Tank Syndrome (OTS) and immediate attention is
necessary. Tanks with live plants should run around
10 or under. Zero readings in a planted tank can lead to
algae problems as there is a nutrient defficency and the
algae will fill the niche.

Excessive readings indicate poor maintenance,
over stocking, over feeding, and lack of cleaning.

What's a "fortnite?" It's like fourscore..antiquated
english.

Finding what works for you and your schedules is what is
important, along with changing the water and cleaning the
tanks. You may want to devote a period of time each
Saturday, for instance, and clean "X" number of tanks.
Then the following Saturday do the remainder. Depending
on the stocking level, you could do 20% water changes
instead of 10%. When you go past 20% water changes, for
cleaning purposes, then you are waiting too long between
cleaning sessions. Massive water changes are for disease
remediation, or to encourage breeding, and should not be
a way to rectify a cleaning problem.

Frank


Last edited by FRANK at 01-Nov-2005 09:24

-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--