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Hi I promised I would let you no what the water test came back as here go's (P.H-6.8) (AMMONIA-0) (NITRITE 0.25PPM) (NITRATE- 80 PPM) AND THEY TESTED FOR HARD WATER IT WASN'T IT IS SOFT
Well if you have any ideas just let us no. I also go the test kits for it all
Edith

edith

well, you REALLY need to bring those nitrates down. I woudl do a water change, and maybe add some live plants, i belive those will help with high nitrates a little bit

its me sk8freak20...i need to get premie so i can change my name back

Can you do several good 30-40% water changes 3-4 days appart? Also a very good filter cleaning using the old tank water. When did you do a deep gravel vac? What is in the tank, fish & size of tank, plants live or artifical, airation and any orniments. Have you been over feeding what and how often do you feed the fish.
When you do a water change do you put any additives into the water?
I always add a measured amount of a cycle product to keep the good bacteria in its origional state.

As you can see I am trying to establish how this happened so that it will not happen again.


Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith:

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

Yea I am going to do the water change. And yes I can change the water 3 or 4 times this week but you see we have a rena filstar xp2.And top fin filter on top. Our fish we have 8 angels and 4 swordtails one candy and abuenos aires and our algy eater. we are takeing our canaster in to get checked this week end I don't think it working wright.Oh our first to angels are a little biger then a toonie the rest are just small the size of a loony. We are also cleaning the gravel tomorrow. You see we were told not to change the water only every 4 weeks now we no better. We have 3 bunches of live plants to them I just planted to days ago. We have a casel in it and fack plants they are all geting cleand
Edith

edith

Hi,
High nitrates, as you have, generally indicate poor
maintenance and/or over crowding, and over feeding.

The previously mentioned water changes will help dilute
the "soup" but you have to also tackle the source.
With the water changes you should also vacuum the gravel,
all the way to the glass bottom using a siphon similiar
to the Python brand. Mentally section off the unplanted
parts of the tank into four sections and each week as you
change the water, vacuum a different section.
Cut back on your feeding so that there is less fish waste
and less neglected food in the gravel. And, if your tank
is over crowded, thin out the population...
(buy another tank! )

Frank


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

We just cleaned all the gravel and 70% water change.That should help I don't no if I took the readings to soon but the nitrates went to 20 and nitrite is o.25

edith

Glad to say we did it.Nitartes are at 10 nitites 0 Ph 7.2 it comes out of tap at 7.6 ammonia .25 the same as our tap water so it will go down fast
Thank you every one for your help
Edith

edith

I need help to avoid another prublem with tank. We just started feeding our fish blood warms if we feed the blood warm do we still feed them the flakes. We feed at 8am and 8 pm. We have 8 angels 4 swortails one candy tetra and a buenos aires.I dont need sick fish againor and poor water
Edith

edith

Sorry to have not answer befor frank
we can't vacume to the glass we have a underground filter.
But we did clean really good
Edith

edith

Edith, I would feed the fish once a day and feed the blood worm maybe twice a week. Extra feedings is often what causes high nitrate levels.
What sized tank do you have these fish in?

---

Before you criticize someone walk a mile in their shoes. That way you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

Linda my tank is 55 gal and thank you for the help.
And GirlieGirl the meds I am giving my fish is from the pet store and I promise they looked up the simptums.
But ok how about if I just say she was sick the meds have started to help well gilles are loseing there redness and she is starting to eat again
Thank you all
Edith


edith

Certainly only feed once a day. When you feed the Blood Worms do not use any othere foods. It is not only feeding one a day it is how much you do feed the fish. I use a very small measuring spoon and make sure all the food is eaten within a few minutes. If you have a look in My Profile at the 5ft tank they get fed once a day. It is always 1/2 tea spoon of flakes and 1/2 tea spoon of another food plus a few algae chips. This might seem a lot but look at the number and size of the fish I have.
This does not include all the extras they get yesterday it was a soft pear core and it was all gone within 30 minutes.
The filtration is very effective a large Eheim and a UGF plus plenty of airation.

I always do a deep gravel cleaning right down to the UGF weekly. Because of the extreme heavy planting I can only vac the front of the tank.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

Thanks keithgh that is all we are doing now just once a day. We have the blood worms but they are in little packets so they get a little at a time
Thank you
Edith

edith

Hi.
I'm not sure about your sentence about not being able to
vacuum the gravel because you are using a UGF. I have been
using them for decades and I have always vacuumed the
gravel, one section at a time, right down to the filter
plates. You really need to vacuum the gravel or the
nitrate readings will go back up. It is a part of the
weekly tank maintenance. Just don't vacuum all of the tank.
The main source of the bacteria that maintains the nitrogen
cycle is found in the gravel bed. Massive cleanning of it
can cause the tank to mini cycle and you will have
ammonia readings, followed by nitrite readings and then
nitrate readings as the gravel bed repopulates with the
bacteria colonies. As I mentioned,divide the non planted
portions of the tank into four sections and do a different
section each week. That way, in a typical month, you will
have cleaned the gravel in the tank, and at the same time
allowed the cleaned section three weeks to recover
before you clean it again.

Frank


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

Sorry frank if I mudeld you up lol we did clean the grave down to the filter plates. and thank you I will secetion it of now I just didn't no.
Thanks
Edith

edith