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October 9th, 2009
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| | Fish Mentor
| My readings are weird
I know you aren't really supposed to test the water for a week after adding TSS, but I was curious since I added 4 new fish yesterday.
My readings for pH were 7.2 and everything else was 0! How is that possible? I just looked on my API master kit, and all the bottles say 0609 as the last 4 digits of the lot number. Could them being 4 months old be the problem? Before, I wasn't doing the tests right, but this time I did for sure.
Or could I really just have no ammonia, mitrites, or nitrates, even with a bottle of TSS?
Thanks, guys!
edit: and yes, I know to wait until the cycle is complete until I add new fish, but it was a schooling emergency. And the tank is 30 gallons, in case it matters. | 
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October 9th, 2009
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| | Fish Lore Newbie
| The cycle requires ammonia, what was ( prior to the just added fish ) the source of ammonia?
Cycle with fish:
Fish -> Ammonia -> nitrite -> nitrate
Cycle wihout fish:
Liiquid Ammonia -> Nitrite -> Nitrate
No ammonia, no cycle.
Hope this is usefull, if your tank already had fish then your readings do sound strange.
BassNFool
Last edited by BassNFool; October 9th, 2009 at 07:33 PM.
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October 9th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| hmm... did you shake the test tube really well? The date shouldnt be a problem, as they eventually reach that age once you buy them and they still work properly. i would wait for the 7 days to pass, and do a test.. unless you want to do it again, shake the bottle really well!! | |
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October 9th, 2009
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| | Fish Mentor
| Tetra safe start and 2 danios is what I started wth. No readings from before I added them, because it turns out that I had done the tests wrong before. | |
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October 9th, 2009
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| | Fish Mentor
| Tony, I shook the bottles for 30-45 seconds each. | |
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October 9th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| 
hmm... i dont know... since there is no ammonia chances are the TSS is starving so you need to add something (i.e. food to feed the danios so they can poop) to get it going... that is all i can suggest...  | |
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October 9th, 2009
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| | Fish Mentor
| I'm totally confused! I feed them, they poop, I even see a little food at the bottom of the tank. I feed flakes, granules, and freeze-dried bloodworms.
4 of the danios were added 24 hours ago but the other 2 have been there a week. | |
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October 9th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| hmmm could it be a faulty test kit...
i am out of ideas... | |
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October 10th, 2009
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| | Moderator
| Hello MommyBaby. One reason that it is suggested not to test your water for 7 days after using TSS is because there will be no accurate readings during this time. They will be all over the place. As long as you added the fish right after adding the TSS there shouldn't be any problems. How long has it been since you added the TSS? If it hasn't been 7 days then I wouldn't worry too much just yet.
If it has been more than 7 days then there is a possibility that the TSS hasn't worked as suggested. It doesn't work for everyone.
Let us know.
Have a great weekend!
Ken
Last edited by aquarist48; October 10th, 2009 at 04:37 AM.
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October 10th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| I agree, you really shouldn't test before 7 days, and even then, I recommend waiting a full 10. It's really just wasting test chemicals before that time because the readings will jump all over the place across ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate, from readings of 0 - 200.
It will drive you bonkers if you test right now. Remember - don't change the water and don't add any chemicals until after 10 days.
GL! | |
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October 10th, 2009
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| | Moderator
| this is why its NOT recommended to take test early  ...you can go crazy wondering why this and why that lol...leave it the 7-10 days and enjoy the fish establishing their pecking order | |
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October 10th, 2009
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| | Fish Mentor
| Okay, I won't worry about it - I added the TSS tuesday morning.
The fish are really cute, seem to be very healthy. They swim very fast and are all over the tank. This is a great hobby. I'm really enjoying it so far. | |
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October 10th, 2009
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| | Fish Lore Newbie
| I've got danios to. They are indeed very fast, very active and use my entire aquarium. I'm glad you are enjoying yours as much as I am mine.
Be glad you got the TSS. Mine has yet to be delivered and I've got a just about maxed-out tank.
Daily water changes for me 
1. Fish -> Ammonia ( no bacteria ) -> more ammonia
2. water change
3. repeat  In the battle between good ( me ) and evil ( toxic ammonia ) I'm barely holding my own.
BassNFool | |
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October 10th, 2009
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| | Fish Mentor
| Okay, here's what I think may have been happening. Since you only have two danios in a 30 gallon tank, the small amount of ammonia they produced were readily consumed by the bacteria in the SafeStart. Since you just added additional fish, you may get a bit of a spike, so I would wait a full 10 days rather then 7 before tetsing again. | |
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October 10th, 2009
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| | Fish Mentor
| okay, thanks. | |
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October 11th, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by jdhef  Okay, here's what I think may have been happening. Since you only have two danios in a 30 gallon tank, the small amount of ammonia they produced were readily consumed by the bacteria in the SafeStart. Since you just added additional fish, you may get a bit of a spike, so I would wait a full 10 days rather then 7 before tetsing again. | I second this. There aren't enough fish in that 30 gallon tank to produce a readible amount of ammonia with the TSS bacteria consuming whatever ammonia it gets its hands on. You should see nitrates in a week or so. With 2 starter fish in a 12 gallon I never had an ammonia or nitrite reading when I used TSS. But after 4 days I had 5 PPM nitrates. | |
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