rottie98

Hello everyone,
Took a water test this morning and here are the results.
ammonia 0.25
nitrate 0.0
nitrite 0.50
pH 7.6
High PH 7.4
my tank temp is 78.6

I was wondering if somebody could tell me how to get my nitrite down or why you think it would be climbing. Im going to do a 15% water change today. I have had my tank for 3 years
I have 1 common pleco. 2 tiger barbs. 3 neons. 2 chinese algae eaters 2 ghost shrimp.
In the last 3 weeks I changed all 3 stages of my filter. changed each stage like once a week. Also I added 2 air stones about 7 inches long.
I am upgrading soon to a 75 gallon tank and i wated the water to be in good shape anybody have any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.
thank you

Shawnie

welcome to fishlore!!!

water changes are the only way...adding some prime water conditioner will detoxify the ammonia/nitrites for 24 hours but still keep it available to go through the mini cycle...but it keeps the fish safe....good luck!

rottie98

Thanks Shawnie for the info.. This might be a stupis question but i will ask anyway. What is a mini-cycle.

Shawnie

its what happens when your tank was cycled prior, and now you have ammonia/nitrites again..but as i look at your readings again, it looks like its still at the beginning phase of cycling..you have no nitrates... did you really bang that number 2 bottle of nitrates on a hard surface? those crystals are hard to mix up..maybe try that and retest nitrates again..if you still have 0, your tank is in the beginning stages of a cycle and you have a ways to go with daily water changes I think maybe you cleaned the filter too much maybe?

rottie98

Well went out and took your advice and bought some prime water conditioner, tested the water this morning and ammonia and nitrite reading are at 0.0
I guess i will have to keep an eye on it.

Shawnie

prime will NOT remove ammonia....only detoxify it..the water changes and the cycle process is what removes it....have you got any nitrate reading yet?

rottie98

Just did a nitrate reading and got 10. whats that exactually mean. is that good or bad. ugg i have to read again

rottie98

well im wondering if i was getting false test results yesterday, after reading more and more people are saying that you have to bang the bottle and shake very well , I tested the water as per directions today, yesterday i dont think i truly shaked the bottle for 1 minute. im going to test for ammonia and nitrite, will post the results soon

Shawnie

lol i know its all crazy numbers
a cycled tank has .... 0 for ammonia / nitrites and under 20 nitrates ....if you have a heavily planted tank, you could have 0 or very low nitrates as the plants will consume them..but it cant be just a few plants..you gotta have quite a few....ANYTIME you have ANY ammonia/nitrites, you are in a mini cycle(if you have had a prior cycle with the numbers above and you still have some nitrates) or the tank is still cycling (if you never had a nitrate reading and still dont )

platyfish

Thats good news! Your "beneficial bacteria" is converting the ammonia (very toxic) into a much less toxic form of nitrate..

rottie98

Did another test today. Ammonia 0.25 nitrite 0.25 and nitrate 40. what do these numbers mean. im going to do a partial water change and add some prime to the water.
Also had another question, about 1 year ago I had a bad algae problem where my water was totally green couldnt even see the fish. So what i did was I turned off the lights for 2 weeks and did 30 percent water changes every 4 days. I also bought a UV stertlizer rated for 70 gals. I have a 20 gal right now.
Anyway I just bought a new ornament from the LFS made out of a hard plastic about 3 weeks ago. I noticed that on the top of this ornament its getting a bad algae growth on it, I tested my water phosphate level and it is 5.0 which i believe is high. Everything else in my tank looks fine no algae.
Does anybody have anything that they could tell me or has had a problem likes this before. Do you think there is something wrong with my UV sterlizer, the blue bulb in the UV sterlizer is still working so i dont know.

platyfish

Hello rottie98!! It is nice to hear that your nitrate numbers have risen. However, it is definitely time for a water change. Water changes will remove ammonia/nitrite/nitrate. A cycled and healthy aquarium should always have a nitrate count of less than 30 PPM, and no ammonia and nitrite. I would do a partial water change and add some prime like you suggested! Give it 24 hours and re-test and then post your results again. Hopefully your ammonia/nitrite will have lowered.

About your algae problem, it is normal that algae grows in your tank. The higher the nitrate the more likely algae will bloom. The algae colony on your new ornament just decided to bloom. You can take it out and scrub it with some tank water and replace. Also think about getting some small algae eaters. Keep in mind that nitrate/phosphate have a direct correlation. at 2 to 3 ppm, algae is likely to begin to "overgrow". Water changes will definitely reduce your phosphate ppm. There is also filter media which can reduce phosphates very good. Lastly, make sure you don't overfeed, as this also causes the phosphate count to increase.

Good luck! and keep us posted.

rottie98

Got a question that I was thinking about. Now that I have a little bit of a problem with my tank, shawnie thinks it might be in a mini-clycle. Should I turn off my UV Sterilizer, does that effect the cycle at all. I wasnt sure if it was killing the seeds?? Might be a stupid question but I wasnt sure

platyfish

I have no experience with UV Sterilizer, but I agree with Shawnie who is such a great help!!

jingles230

did you use stress coat?? if not what did you use

rottie98

Actually I used API stress zyme+
and sometimes i will use prime or seacrem stability

callichma

Have you used the Stability lately? That bacteria will consume the nutrients that your natural bacteria need to live and grow, so that could be a cause for your mini cycle. The Stability bacteria is terrestrial and cannot reproduce itself underwater. It will starve off your beneficial bacteria and then die itself leaving nothing to convert the ammonia to nitrite to nitrate.

Meenu

I agree with callichma. I wouldn't use either product, as they both keep your tank from cycling naturally.

rottie98

Very interesting but very fustrating. I give up LOL
its amazing how much you can learn on these boards .

callichma

If the Stabillity is your problem, find some Tetra Safe Start at your LFS or online. It's the only product that contains aquatic bacteria. You can add that to your tank, following the instructions closely, and it will get you out of the minicycle. Otherwise, you can do PWC daily with Prime until the bacteria repopulate. Good luck with your tank.

rottie98

Thanks I think I will do that.

rottie98

well I picked up some of the tetra safestart today. Im going to wait 2 days to put it in, the label on the bottle says 2 turn off UV sterlizer and lights for 48 prior to putting it in the tank.
Did a test today on my tap water just for the heck of it.
Amm 0.0
nitrate 5.0
nitrite 0.0
phosphate 0.0
ph 7.2
high ph 7.4
How can i get the nitrate levels to 0.0 out of the tap??

callichma

Re the nitrate in your tap water--I don't think you can. You could, use part RO water to dilute the nitrate.

Re the TSS, there is a thread about its use, but I don't know how to post the link. Maybe someone can post the link or you can do a site search for it. It had a lot more info than is on the bottle and might increase your chances of being successful.

Lucy

Here it is:
Q & A With Tetra about Tetra SafeStart

callichma

Thanks, Lucy. I'll try to find where to learn how to post links, etc.