Tank Parameters Guidance

HI all. First off I want to thank those who helped me yesterday (if you’re reading this). My fish seem to be doing OK now. I was a little worried about Jake, who was exhibiting symptoms Terry had before he died, but he seems a little less stressed now and seems OK. He still seems a little irritated, though, he is picking at the plants and he has some darkening on his body from earlier.

I will never know what my tank parameters were last night because I’ve changed 40% of the water since then but I got an API test kit today and I want to know if my parameters sound OK.

pH: 8.0 (kind of high? is that OK?)
Ammonia: 0.25ppm (I will continue with 10-20% daily water changes, is this OK?)
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 0ppm

 

Hello. How long has your tank been going?
Keep doing the water changes. Did you test the ph of the water you’re adding? Your source water? (Tap, well)

I’m going to listen to your other posts.

 

With the API liquid kit make sure you are shaking the immortal heck out of that Nitrate bottle #2 and be sure to shake the test tube really well. The ammonia sounds manageable. And if not already keep feedings very small 3-4 days in between. If you have a few bucks to spare there are a couple “Bacteria in a Bottle” products that some swear by. You could always hit up anyone that lives relatively close for some gravel or filter trimmings to help the Nitrifying bacteria get off its lazy behind

 

Hello. How long has your tank been going?
Keep doing the water changes. Did you test the ph of the water you’re adding? Your source water? (Tap, well)

I’m going to listen to your other posts.

It has been going since mid/late July. Evidently, I caused an ammonia spike last weekend when I changed the filter cartridge & then left the tank for 5 days. At least this is my assumption. I did not realize changing the filter would disrupt the cycle.

Apparently my tap water is 8.4. Is this bad? I know this is the high end of what they can tolerate.

 

For now keep an eye on the ph. You’ve got more immediate issues to deal with. It’s most likely ammonia poisoning that got Terry. Guppies can take a lot. But it will eventually kill them if not corrected. And, yeah, we don’t throw out our filter media until it’s truly rotten. But just before that, we add it to the new filter media and let it “seed” it.
Keep testing for the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels. Daily water changes until the ammonia/nitrite are 0. Dose with the prime for the amount of water in your tank when you do the water changes. You may want to invest in aquarium salt and methylene blue if any of the others succumb.

 

It has been going since mid/late July. Evidently, I caused an ammonia spike last weekend when I changed the filter cartridge & then left the tank for 5 days. At least this is my assumption. I did not realize changing the filter would disrupt the cycle.

Apparently my tap water is 8.4. Is this bad? I know this is the high end of what they can tolerate.

. The beneficial bacteria are going to colonize every surface they can find. Including filter media; so changing a filter cartridge per manufacturer instructions Is going to cause you trouble. Definitely let those things ride till the are about to fall apart. I assume this is a HOB filter in which case; I bet there is room to shove some bio-rings in behind the cartridge. It would def help to have a secondary surface in the filter that is not thrown away every time you change a filter cartridge.

 

For now keep an eye on the ph. You’ve got more immediate issues to deal with. It’s most likely ammonia poisoning that got Terry. Guppies can take a lot. But it will eventually kill them if not corrected. And, yeah, we don’t throw out our filter media until it’s truly rotten. But just before that, we add it to the new filter media and let it “seed” it.
Keep testing for the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels. Daily water changes until the ammonia/nitrite are 0. Dose with the prime for the amount of water in your tank when you do the water changes. You may want to invest in aquarium salt and methylene blue if any of the others succumb.

I actually have some aquarium salt. Should I add some?

I just tested my tap water for the other chemicals and apparently it has 1.0ppm ammonia. I have already been treating my water with Prime conditioner and letting it sit out overnight before water changes. Should I still add more Prime?

Thank you, I will keep these tips in mind.

. The beneficial bacteria are going to colonize every surface they can find. Including filter media; so changing a filter cartridge per manufacturer instructions Is going to cause you trouble. Definitely let those things ride till the are about to fall apart. I assume this is a HOB filter in which case; I bet there is room to shove some bio-rings in behind the cartridge. It would def help to have a secondary surface in the filter that is not thrown away every time you change a filter cartridge.

Thank you, I will get some bio rings when I can, and I will not be changing filters so often. It really sucks how it says that on the packaging

 

When you do your water changes make sure you dose the prime for the whole tank. Only use the salt if one of them starts getting ill. Then in a separate container. Getting the tank cycled is the important thing. Adding to your filter media is an excellent idea.
Oh, and when it’s time to clean the filter media, rinse it in tank water you’ve removed for your water changes.

 

Again this can’t be stressed enough. The more food that goes in the tank the more ammonia will build up. Fish like a certain feline of mine always act hungry. With fish it’s always difficult to guage how much to feed. I am currently battling a fungus infestation that I attribute solely on my over feeding. Sorry I got a little sidetracked; anyways the fish will fall to ammonia poisoning way before being malnourished so just keep that in the back of your mind as well.

talixlynn By the way; Welcome aboard there is always room for another Star Trek nerd here

 

talixlynn By the way; Welcome aboard there is always room for another Star Trek nerd here

Do not want to side track this thread at all. But. Did someone say Star Trek? As in TOS Star Trek?

 

Lol yea the profile pic is TOS screenname appears to be Voyager (Delta Quadrant) related.

 

Gypsy13 SaltyPhone Thank both of you very much My boys still seem to be doing OK and stable. I will continue with the water changes and conditioner and keep testing my water daily for now. And I will keep these tips about filtration in mind.

Lol yea the profile pic is TOS screenname appears to be Voyager (Delta Quadrant) related.

My profile picture is Yeoman Janice Rand from TOS. I actually just picked it because it defaulted me to an old selfie that I didn’t want to use and I had this saved on my phone and thought it was cute. But my screenname isn’t supposed to be Star Trek related, that’s just my name (TalI Lynn). I actually haven’t seen Voyager yet I am a fairly new Trekkie. Still working on TNG

 

I had to Google it Neelix was from Talax lol it seemed to good to be coincidence.!

Anyways best of luck with the glass box and keep us all in the loop good or bad!

 

Love Neelix! Thank you for Janice Rand!

Keep us posted? And lots of pics?

 

Good morning! My parameters today are:

Ammonia: 0.25ppm (maybe slightly less if I'm being optimistic about the color)
Nitrites: 0ppm
Nitrates: 0ppm (maybe slightly more like 1-2ppm)
pH: I guess 7.6-7.8ish. I think it is a bit lower than yesterday though I have no idea why.

I am very happy with their behavior. They are back to their normal selves, playing and chasing each other around and very interested in everything I'm doing (rushing over every time I take some of their water or to my finger when I press it against the glass). I'm adding some photos. You can see that Jake has some curve to his spine/some bloating. I don't know why this is but he has always had this. It's how I got him, so he's been this way for at least 7-8 months. (JYSK when I say this tank has been set up for 1 1/2 month, I completely reset it when I moved in July. I've had these boys since March or so). You can also see my snail Gina who has been completely and utterly unbothered this entire time. She has just been trucking around like crazy eating aglae and keeping things tidy.

 

Gypsy13 SaltyPhone

My ammonia has definitely gone down today.
Ammonia: less than 0.25ppm but more than 0ppm. Maybe around .15ppm
Nitrites: still 0ppm
Nitrates: I'm pretty sure it's above 0ppm. Maybe 1-2ppm.
pH: looks like 8.2 today

The boys seem happy and healthy so I'm very happy about that.

 

Thinking positive!

 

Again keep feedings light and spaced out a few days. Be doubly sure to shake the out of nitrate bottle two and the test tube. You are well on the way to a healthy tank!

 

Again keep feedings light and spaced out a few days. Be doubly sure to shake the out of nitrate bottle two and the test tube. You are well on the way to a healthy tank!

Nitrate readings are still low, but ammonia is still going down, so something must be happening I haven't tested today but yesterday it looked like ammonia .10ppm, 0 nitrites and nitrates. I also think my nitrates stay low due to my plants and I also soak my air plants in the tank sometimes.

Also, I tried to introduce a new guppy and it really did not work out, Jake absolutely hated him. I returned him but since then Jake and Charles are acting a little more aggressive than usual, nothing serious and no injuries, but they kind of stalk each other and charge each other more. One thing, when they get angry their tails and fins get really dark. I cannot find anything on the internet about this so I don't know if it's normal. I first noticed it happening a while ago, but they've both been getting **** at each other more since I tried introducing the third fish. Once they're calm, they go back to their normal coloring. They change colors in the span of seconds so it's not like an illness thing, it's ALWAYS connected with them being angry.

I'm not too concerned about it since they aren't hurting each other and I know guppies can be aggressive little fishies. But I wonder if this has to do with my ammonia spiking.

 

Lol more than likely they are just practicing their seduction techniques with each other. It’s quite funny to watch them flare their fins and arch their backs and chase each other through the tank. It’s normal male behavior and nothing to really be concerned about