Lilwystynyra

Hi

Ok first thing. Yes I know about the cycle

I know that ammonia and nitrites should be 0, and they are toxic to fish. Also read that Nitrates should be 20ppm at highest. But I was wondering what are the red zones?

EG: What levels do you do water changes for? What levels do you wait out? When do you panic? Ammonia eg: when is it so high you should add something to lower it?

I've tried to find some info, but either I'm not searching in the right spots or it's just not there!

If someone could please share their knowledge or point me in the direction of it, would be much appreciated.

Cheers

aquarist48

Hello Lilwystynyra and Welcome to Fish Lore. The readings we all strive for are 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and under 20 nitrates.

Any amount of ammonia and nitrites in your tank can be fatal to your fish. Even nitrates over 20 can do harm in the long run.

Ken

Beth1965

Hi. Your info says your tank is a few months old. Have you not been doing water changes? To just add water when the tank has evaporated some is not the proper way to maintain your tank.
YOu should be doing a water change every week or so (weekly is recommended and more often of readings are out of whack).
You would syphon (with a hose or other like method) 5 gallons (of your 70 liter tank) or so from the tank and replace the water removed with your conditioned tap water. The conditioner I use is Prime. The prime makes the tap water safe for your litlle or big fishies.
The numbers of 0 for nitrites and amonia are correct that Ken mentioned above. My nitrates vary between tanks because of the wood I have or dont have in each tank (the wood and other items can alter the nitrAtes, plants too).
Perhaps you can post the readings of your water?

Lilwystynyra

Huh?

I'm not seeking help from my water having issues, I know how to do water changes and clean the sand and stir it etc.

I've just been reading up about fish in general. All I've noticed is there are lots of different answers and no real guidelines.


Example: Check my ammonia one morning and it's above 0 but below 0.25. Oh no, what do I do?!?!
I whip out my handy list...
Tadaaa....

Ammonia
0ppm = Good!
>0ppm = ?? Keep an eye out, if it goes above 0.25 start water changes ??
0.25ppm - 1.00ppm= ?? Do daily 50% changes until below 0.25 ??
1.00ppm> = Use some sort of ammonia break down
2.00ppm> = Theres no way you even still have fish alive
(Note: the above is an EXAMPLE of what I want, don't take it as advice please o.O)


I don't know, I've seen lots of different things. I just think it would be handy to have a nice clear reference for what to do if you wake up and find your ammonia or nitrite or nitrates is out of whack. I know the standard answer is water changes, what if the answer is more like "move your fish to a tank with better readings until the numbers have dropped" or "insert chemical here". Kind of an.. emergency don't have time to search around heaps or post on a forum need guidelines now thing. I'd probably print it and stick it in some sort of "fishie care file" so I could leave it behind if I had to go away. That way my housemates would know what to do.

Hope that makes more sense

Cheers

Beth1965

I understand now. I really don't think a "guideline" for everyone suites everyone. Not everyone has another tank to put the fish when your numbers are out of whack. Not everyone wants to use chemicals in their tank.
I wonder if this particluar want of yours is something you need to do yourself for your housemates?
Cheers.
Beth

jdhef

If I test my water and find that either my ammonia or nitrites are above zero, I would immeadiatly do a 50% water change with Prime to detox the ammonia or nitrites for 24 hours. I would do this daily until my readings for ammonia & nitrites were back down to zero.

mommybaby295

I agree with jdhef. So your chart could look like this:
ammonia/nitrites:
0: everything's fine
higher than 0: do water changes daily with the addition of the chemical Prime until readings are back to 0.

Nitrates:
less than 5: tank probably isn't completely cycled, needs daily water changes with Prime
5-20: everything is fine
over 20: do daily water changes until readings are back to 5-20

Is this what you want?

edit: If you aren't familiar with it, Prime is a water conditioning chemical which has the added benefit of making your tank safe for the fish for 24 hours at a time. It allows the ammonia to stay in the tank while detoxifying it. That's why it is recommended.

That's why I didn't put the advice to move the fish to another tank. Presumably, your other tank is stocked as well. If you suddenly move your fish over, I think you'd be creating a problem with the other tank, possibly starting a mini-cycle, not to mention fish compatibility issues. Then you'd have 2 tanks you are trying to get back on track at the same time. As far as the addition of chemicals, I don't think you should wait for a huge build-up before adding the Prime. I would treat a 2ppm reading of ammonia the same as I would treat a .25 PPM reading.

I hope this helps as a guideline for your housemates.

Lilwystynyra

Alright sounds good

I've never seen Prime at a pet store before though. I'll have to keep my eye out.

I hope my guppy births before I have to go away for Christmas I'd miss seeing my first babies!

ABCDemily

If I'm totally honest, any Ammonia or Nitrite readings above 0 PPM would worry me. For Nitrates, mine have sneaked above 20 PPM in the past, and if I'm totally honest, there have been no long lasting ill affects. But I do try and keep them under 20 just to be on the safer side of things.

Hope this makes things a wee bit clearer!