Tylee

Hi everyone! just a quick question!

my tank (32Gallon) has been fully cycled but i am still getting a few high readings with my water test kit!

my readings are as follows:

PH = 8.0
Ammonia = 0.1
Nitrate = 50
Nitrite = 2.0

could anyone tell me why and how to lower them??

i have been doing frequent water changes and removing any fish waste and uneaten food as i thought this would help but STILL high readings!*

Wyvern10

I've read that adding peat to the filter can lower the PH but I have not tried it, yet.

Sarcastic

Wow, those are high readings.

The Nitrate level on your tank seems to me to be way too high. When you do water changes, do you vacuum the gravel carefully? How large are the water changes you are doing? Also, what type of filter are you using? Maybe you need to replace or clean one of the filter inserts.

What are you using to test your water? There may be some legitimate criticisms of the kit you use and you're getting bad readings. If its the API kit, you have to be certain that you follow the shaking procedure to get the accurate results on Nitrate levels.

I've never had the Nitrite level in my tank rise, before. I'll let someone wiser speak to that. A 0.1 reading on Ammonia isn't horrible, but you should try to get it back down to zero. Water changes are the best way to do this. If your ammonia level continues to rise, there are some treatments you can try to get it back down.

How long did you cycle your tank for - and are you sure it was fully cycled?

What type of fish are you keeping? And how are they doing? Some fish like higher pH levels than other fish. More important than any specific pH, though, is consistency. Don't rush to get your pH down to 7.0 - that will be too stressful.

Summing up: If I were you I'd do a 40% water change ASAP (make sure the replacement water has good values) and thoroughly vacuum the gravel layer in the tank turning up all the large decoration you have. I'd wait a week after that and take out the inserts in my filter and rinse them well and replace the ammonia insert (I use an Aquaclear 300 - this might not apply to you).

tan.b

so how are the readings now? any better? hope all is well...