Post by angelminx on Mar 19, 2015 0:42:13 GMT -5
Greetings!
I just did my water changes yesterday, so I drew some of my tap water so I could test it today--I always try to test it after 24 hrs. Also, after doing my water changes yesterday I emptied out the remaining water (~ a gallon or so) from the holding container (an 18 gallon Rubbermaid Roughneck tote) to clean it out (I refilled it ~ an hour after drawing the tap water for testing, and I tested the container water today, too). I don't add anything to the water in the holding container, just fill/top it off from the tap.
I've noticed that the airline and parts of the heater were kind of slimy...I don't know if it's just from dirt that's "naturally" in the water, or something else, but when I wiped the container out, the paper towels revealed an orangish-brown colored residue. I also replaced the air diffuser and wiped down the heater (and its cord and suction cups). I hope I haven't "messed things up" by doing this, but I've always assumed that since nothing was done/added to cycle it, and since it's the same water straight from the tap that there was no nitrogen cycle going on...however, I have noticed when I've tested the container water that sometimes ammonia and nitrite are unmeasurable. Anyway, when I tested the tap and the container water today the results were
[tap/holding container]
pH: 7.6/7.7
KH: 4.75/4.5 degrees
GH: both 9 degrees
Nitrate: both 6
Ammonmia: just under 1/0.75 (the sample in from the holding container was ! 1/2 way between 0.5 and 1)
Nitrite: 0.125/0.625 (on the color chart the tap water result was 1/2 way between 0 and 0.5, and the other was ~ 1/2 way between 0 the tap result)
Results from testing the holding container water before doing my water changes yesterday were:
pH: 7.8
KH: 4.25 degrees
GH: 9 degrees
Nitrate: 7
Am/Nitrite: 0
I forgot to test the tap water last month (I usually do it once, sometimes twice, a month to see if there have been any changes) In January the tap results were
pH: 7.5 (in December it was 7.3)
KH: 4.5 degrees (Dec: 3 degrees)
GH: 8 degrees (Dec: 7degrees)
Nitrate: 5 (Dec: 6ppm)
Ammonia: 1ppm (Dec: I forgot to record the result)
Nitrite: 0.125 (Dec: 0.5)
One other thing: Gillespie adds chloramine to its water, but when Prime is added and breaks down the chlorine-ammonia bond, does the chlorine evaporate, or can it be measured? I was wondering because I noticed the test strips that used to be Jungle's 6-in-1 tested for chlorine (I've heard of tests for chlorine before, but that's the only test I've seen where it's available), and if it was even worth while doing that test...every once in a while (every few months or so) I can really smell a strong chlorine odor coming from my tap.
Thanks for your oppinions.
Angelminx
I just did my water changes yesterday, so I drew some of my tap water so I could test it today--I always try to test it after 24 hrs. Also, after doing my water changes yesterday I emptied out the remaining water (~ a gallon or so) from the holding container (an 18 gallon Rubbermaid Roughneck tote) to clean it out (I refilled it ~ an hour after drawing the tap water for testing, and I tested the container water today, too). I don't add anything to the water in the holding container, just fill/top it off from the tap.
I've noticed that the airline and parts of the heater were kind of slimy...I don't know if it's just from dirt that's "naturally" in the water, or something else, but when I wiped the container out, the paper towels revealed an orangish-brown colored residue. I also replaced the air diffuser and wiped down the heater (and its cord and suction cups). I hope I haven't "messed things up" by doing this, but I've always assumed that since nothing was done/added to cycle it, and since it's the same water straight from the tap that there was no nitrogen cycle going on...however, I have noticed when I've tested the container water that sometimes ammonia and nitrite are unmeasurable. Anyway, when I tested the tap and the container water today the results were
[tap/holding container]
pH: 7.6/7.7
KH: 4.75/4.5 degrees
GH: both 9 degrees
Nitrate: both 6
Ammonmia: just under 1/0.75 (the sample in from the holding container was ! 1/2 way between 0.5 and 1)
Nitrite: 0.125/0.625 (on the color chart the tap water result was 1/2 way between 0 and 0.5, and the other was ~ 1/2 way between 0 the tap result)
Results from testing the holding container water before doing my water changes yesterday were:
pH: 7.8
KH: 4.25 degrees
GH: 9 degrees
Nitrate: 7
Am/Nitrite: 0
I forgot to test the tap water last month (I usually do it once, sometimes twice, a month to see if there have been any changes) In January the tap results were
pH: 7.5 (in December it was 7.3)
KH: 4.5 degrees (Dec: 3 degrees)
GH: 8 degrees (Dec: 7degrees)
Nitrate: 5 (Dec: 6ppm)
Ammonia: 1ppm (Dec: I forgot to record the result)
Nitrite: 0.125 (Dec: 0.5)
One other thing: Gillespie adds chloramine to its water, but when Prime is added and breaks down the chlorine-ammonia bond, does the chlorine evaporate, or can it be measured? I was wondering because I noticed the test strips that used to be Jungle's 6-in-1 tested for chlorine (I've heard of tests for chlorine before, but that's the only test I've seen where it's available), and if it was even worth while doing that test...every once in a while (every few months or so) I can really smell a strong chlorine odor coming from my tap.
Thanks for your oppinions.
Angelminx
