Seachem Alert Vs Api Ammonia Test

Ok. An awesome fitting by Gardena. Fits into the faucet head and allows the use if a normal hose. Made filling the tank super easy and at a perfect temperature.

Along with that, my latest pre-change test.



-G

Evening test... is that a hint of a drop in Nitrite?

 

Tonight's readings. Oh... and saw some yellow shrimp today...so snuck 2 in...

Oh...and bought my wife an 87L Fluvial to put on the other side of the living room. Will do a fishless cycle and boost it using one of the extra pads I put in my filter a few weeks ago.

 

Tonight's readings. Oh... and saw some yellow shrimp today...so snuck 2 in...

Oh...and bought my wife an 87L Fluvial to put on the other side of the living room. Will do a fishless cycle and boost it using one of the extra pads I put in my filter a few weeks ago.

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THAT LOOKS SO MUCH BETTER CONGRATS MATE!

you must be relieved.

watch for a bump in parameters with the shrimp. but I bet otherwise your nitrite will be gone in 24 hours.

you may see bumps up to .25 every other day after now for a week.... or nothing ever again unless you add a silly number of critters at once. just dose with prime & stability if you do, no need for wc's -beyond weekly for nitrates - if those little bumps happen.

 

Sooo close.

 

Sooo close.

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mate you're basically there. stability & time. cycled.

how many fry now?

edit: that yellow? that exact yellow for your ammonia? memorize it. that's 0ppm. it's a beautiful color & really distinctive. if you're wondering if you see slight green, you probably are. because when that colour comes up, there's no mistaking it imo.

 

I wouldn't 'steal' any pads for a few weeks, it could send your newly balanced tank back into a mini-cycle.

 

I wouldn't 'steal' any pads for a few weeks, it could send your newly balanced tank back into a mini-cycle.

I have the standard filter pads, then 3 additional ones I placed on top. 2 large, 1 small. I'll be moving the small one across to the other tank to get it going. I understand the risk, but I believe it won't impact the overall performance of the main tank - maths:

The 2 big pads/filters are between them, the size of 3 small pads. So I'm taking out 1/8 of the pad material. 12.5%... a calculated risk.

-G

how many fry

When we released them, there were 20+... can still see plenty around, so they're doing fine.

-G

 

Full test (except KH). GH of under 100. Before feeding and water change.

 

Full test (except KH). GH of under 100. Before feeding and water change.

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hmmm. is your pH dropping? by "under 100" on gH do you mean under 1 drop?

test your kH mate. I have a theory. are you on mains or city water? or another source?

slight bump in nitrite from last night? maybe double dose stability?

 

You need to get that pH up. BB won't grow well that low. Try for 7.4 at least.

 

You sure? I think my tank just finished its cycle?

KH started showing tinge of yellow from the first drop. Definitely yellow by 3 or 4.

 

You sure? I think my tank just finished its cycle?

KH started showing tinge of yellow from the first drop. Definitely yellow by 3 or 4.

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your BB will be fine as long as your pH doesn't drop below 6. BB can still grow between 5.something and 6, but mine didn't when our pH plummeted.

does your kH turn blue or greenish at all with the first drop? or is it yellow/clear immediately?

if it's yellow/clear immediately with no blue or green, then I highly recommend going to get oyster grit from a FS. also get mesh filter bags (the small ones). bring it home, put a bunch into the filter bag, and rinse it in tank water for a while (that stuff is cloudy). then insert the bag directly into your filter next to your other media. it will gradually increase your kH (and therefore pH) slightly.

the reason kH is concerning is because if it is low, then your water doesn't have the ability to "buffer" against pH swings. low pH won't really hurt your fish, but swings in pH can. (there's also the concern about BB not doing well in pH below 6...again, that's not a rule, just my own experience.)

the reason i'm concerned is simply because your pH has seemed to drop since you started posting.... i'm not trying to unnecessarily worry you.

the other option is crushed coral straight into a mesh bag in your filter. but i've found oyster grit more readily available in NZ and effective.

PS: CONGRATS on your cycle btw! as expected, it seems your nitrites did just suddenly drop over night!

 

Yes, you're right, it has been slowly dropping. That said, I do have some peat moss in my filter because the water appeared to have a high GH and pH right at the start (before I started posting) - so I figure I should maybe remove that now. Initially the water was neutral, but then jumped up quite a bit to high 7's, so I read up on how to lower it and went and got peat moss from Bunnings and stuck it in a stocking in the filter area.

Yes, the kH was yellow/clear from the first drop.

I'll do that tonight, then see how things change now that I'm likely going to change to weekly 50% WC. I don't want to suddenly over compensate and have the pH spike.
But thanks for the grit idea, will definitely look up where I can get that for in case things continue to drop.

-G

 

Sorry, the picture above you had nitrites so I figured you were still cycling. If it was slow, that would explain it.
You can also add a little baking soda to get it up a little if you can't make it to the store right away.

 

Yes, you're right, it has been slowly dropping. That said, I do have some peat moss in my filter because the water appeared to have a high GH and pH right at the start (before I started posting) - so I figure I should maybe remove that now. Initially the water was neutral, but then jumped up quite a bit to high 7's, so I read up on how to lower it and went and got peat moss from Bunnings and stuck it in a stocking in the filter area.

Yes, the kH was yellow/clear from the first drop.

I'll do that tonight, then see how things change now that I'm likely going to change to weekly 50% WC. I don't want to suddenly over compensate and have the pH spike.
But thanks for the grit idea, will definitely look up where I can get that for in case things continue to drop.

-G

hmmm...good to know about peat moss. i'm suprised that your pH was high at the start with low kH. have you tested your tap source for all three? (pH/kH/gH)? the reason I ask is to figure out if your high pH at the start was an aberration due to low kH (eg, means your pH fluctuates), or if something in your tank is absorbing kH.

FYI, because we're on rainwater with 0kH/0gH we use kH buffers (oyster grit and seachem alkaline & acid buffers) to make sure it doesn't crash (again...this was the underlying cause of the Great Fish Massacre of NY 2017 btw). we don't want high pH, but we want a kH of at least 2-3. the highest we've had since we started using the buffer has been 4 drops but otherwise it's 2.8/3 drops. but it's been stable and consistent which is what we're aiming for.

EDIT - ps: message if you decide to go with seachem buffer products because a little goes a LONG way. doesn't sound like you're there yet...the peat moss is a start. but i'm not sure peat moss absorbs kH, so your water source kH at the tap will help us figure it out. if your kH is low, then peat moss will have a bigger impact on pH for your water. same is true for oyster grit or any other buffer. won't suddenly spike with things like peat moss or oyster grit or crushed coral (unless you really overdo it). will suddenly spike with the seachem chemical buffers. I learned that the hard way...unhappy fish.

 

pH can drop if CO2 is high, and I think oxygen is low. That's how some people control their CO2 injection from a tank, by setting a lower limit on pH.

 

Thanks TexasGuppy , will add a little BP after the water change tonight if it still shows as very low. If that doesn't work by tomorrow morning, will track down a kH buffer like Jenoli42 suggests.

And yes, the cycle basically completed last night... so now I need to keep it there.

-G

 

Thanks TexasGuppy , will add a little BP after the water change tonight if it still shows as very low. If that doesn't work by tomorrow morning, will track down a kH buffer like Jenoli42 suggests.

And yes, the cycle basically completed last night... so now I need to keep it there.

-G

read my edit to the last post I made about buffers...go natural first to have a gradual change your fish will handle

 

1.4tsp will raise a 55 gallon tank 1dkh. Shoot for 3dkh in your tank. I mixed with warmed tank water, let cool, then add 1/2 of the mix 20min apart.
I now use seachem Alkaline buffer.

I just realized you said 'BP'... Do NOT use baking powder... use 'Baking Soda'...

 

I just realized you said 'BP'... Do NOT use baking powder... use 'Baking Soda'...

Yes, sorry... that would have been a rather terrible outcome.

-G

 

Full test (no high range pH). KH is 1 drop. GH is 5-6 drops.




Tap water is basically identical (vials switched... KH on the right as opposed to first photo). I have bought shell grit and removed the peat moss. Will leave everything as is and test tomorrow evening again. If it stays the same I may then add some grit in a stocking.




-G

 

Right... so 2 days after removing the peat moss and no water changes. What's that look like, pH maybe crept up to 6.8?

Possibly the impact of removing the peat moss? Tonight I'll be doing a clean of all the ornaments - got a little algae hair starting to grow all over. A gravel clean and maybe up to 50% water change. Then add the shell grit to the filter (stocking) to see if I can get that kH up.

 

If nothing else, it’s interesting to see how the two tests dovetail nicely. The Nutrafin brand of ammonia test kit includes a chart (also found online) that converts total ammonia as measured to free ammonia, based on pH. If you consult that chart working backwards from 0.05 ppm free ammonia (per your Alert badge) with 7.4 pH (from your other badge), you get something in the area of 3 ppm total ammonia. Which is pretty close to what your liquid test is giving you. Science, ftw!
That said, I have no idea how to answer your original question about ammonia from your fert tabs. Sorry!

Can you link me to this chart?

 

Google “Nutrafin ammonia test chart”, which I just did, and here’s one of the hits from our very own forum, the pic is part way down the page.
How Do I Save My Tank?

 

Ok. Day 4.5 since I added the shell grit into the filter and I got a definite blue tint with the first drop of KH. Second drop turned it yellow. But a good start. Will have to see what happens after the next 25% or so water change. pH has climbed to safety since removing the Peat Moss.

KH, GH, pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate.

 

Just needed to add, that in those 4.5 days, we've lost two female guppies and a 3rd is surviving, but hardly eating. We suspect parasites (worms) due to their poo being stringy at some point. The 3rd is the biggest female, so is probably more resilient.

So even though your water may be perfect or near perfect, you can still lose some fish due to health issues.

We now have a QT, so if she continues to struggle, we might isolate her and medicate for worms.

-G