Mad1

Hello again everyone!!!

As advised I have bought the API master Kit for my new 125 litre (33 gallon) tank. It has been set up since Boxing Day with Live and plastic plants. I used the 5 in 1 test strips to test water and got way confused so all you helpful guys and girls on here suggested that i get the API Master Kit and now I have so.................

The Results!

nitrate - 0 - 0.25 (couldn't decide which colour best represented my sample!)

Nitrate - 0

ammonia - 0

pH - 8.4!!!!!!! I assume this is v bad as I had to use the high range pH test and it was almost the top of there!

I have no fish in my aquarium yet and i'm afraid to put them in. I have some guppies that I could put in to start with but I don't want them to stay in there as I want a couple of bigger fish and I'm afraid they will get eaten!!

Can anyone help? I think I decided I was going to get a pair of Dwarf Gourami's when all is ready and a loach or pleco of some sort but other than that not sure yet. Would love an Angel fish but apparently they are aggresive Any advice?

Thank you as always, I love fishlore experts!!

xxx

Chief_waterchanger

You could mix distilled water with your other water and use trial and error method until you find how much distilled water versus other water to use to get the pH that is best for the fish you want to keep.

Dwarf gourami pair ---or--- 2 angelfish would be fine for a 30g, could do either pair and a pair of bristlenose plecostomus and be fine also.

Good luck.

sirdarksol

You have nitrate listed twice. Is the first nitrate or the second?
Have you been doing anything to cycle your tank?

The distilled water idea is actually pretty good. I may have to consider that.

COBettaCouple

Did you get the guppies at a shop close to you? That is pretty high pH and I wonder if the shop has water of that same pH.

Mad1

oops sorry the first is nitrite the second is Nitrate.

The guppies are in a different tank but the water round here is naturally of high pH.

I'm going to do another 50/50 water change for the Nitrite and see what happens.

I used the Nutrafin Cycle to try and cycle my tank although some people have said that its no good and others said its fine??

jsalemi

Cycle isn't the best -- it doesn't have much of (if any at all) of the bacteria you really need. And most folks have found it causes constant mini-cycles to break out.

The best is Bio-Spira, but that's refridgerated, and most LPS or LFS don't carry it. You can order it online, but the shipping cost usually equals the cost of the product, as it has to be shipped overnight. I've used Seachem's Stability with some success, and if you can't get Bio-Spira, it's a decent alternative.

susitna-flower

Hi , I hate to tell you this, but if you have
0 ammonia

.25 nitrite

0 nitrate

Your tank is no where near cycled!

First you have to have a constant source of ammonia in the tank.

If you are doing a fishless cycle, it has to come from somewhere to feed the (hopefully increasing) bacteria. If you don't feed the bacteria that convert ammonia to nitrite, they will die off, and you have to start all over..... Re-read the article on the nitrogen cycle as it gives specifics on how much of what you need to use.

Once you have a constant ammonia source you will always read some ammonia, until the tank is cycled. The ammonia goes up, then the nitrite, then when they both go down to 0 and the nitrate is up between 5-10 ....your tank will be cycled.

Its a good thing you got your API kit, it will make doing the tests a lot easier. Good luck and take your time. It will be worth it in the end.

sgould

THREAD HIJACK!!!

What is Boxing Day?

COBettaCouple

Boxing Day is the day after Christmas.

It's when families get together and box each other for the last bit of leftovers.

From Wikipedia:
It originated as a day for giving gifts to employees and poor people. It has sporting traditions, especially fox hunting and the famous boxing day round in the English Premier League, and is the day when stores launch the most significant sales period in the retail cycle.