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Post by friedegg45 on Dec 29, 2009 12:29:09 GMT -5
hi all just checked my water gh/60 kh/0 Ph/6.0 nitrite/0 nitrate/40/80 the nitrates are coming down slowly considering it was at 80/120 2/3days ago. do you think another couple of gravel vacs and 30% water changes should bring it under control? obviously ive not been thorough enough in my gravel vacs and it has taken 3 fish to die for me to realize this (i feel so bad). i am starting to keep a journal of when i do my water changes and what readings i get before/after.is there anything else i should be taking note of/doing. cheers Brian
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Post by fishfever on Dec 29, 2009 17:56:18 GMT -5
Hmmm those numbers look really strange... KH is 0? Is the pH really only 6.0 (very acidic)? Why are there two numbers for nitrate, is that a range in ppm? I think it would be a good idea to check your tap water and post the numbers also to see where you started from (assuming you don't modify pH with buffers). The only time I've seen pH drop that low (if your tap water isn't just naturally really low) is when I missed some cleanings and got overstocked in my fry tank a couple of months ago. The organics built up and I lost about 20 or some baby mollies (although no baby platies were lost). Maybe you just have really soft, very acidic tap water so I think it's worth checking that.
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Post by babygeige on Dec 29, 2009 19:12:05 GMT -5
A journal is a great idea! I use it to keep track of when I buy fish, when fish die, what kind of plants I put in, etc. It's also helpful for knowing how long it's been since you've cleaned your filter or changed out filter media. I love looking up when I bought a fish to find out how old it is. For example, I looked in there yesterday to see when I bought my female VT, Sally. 2 years ago tomorrow! I'm a little confused by your nitrate reading too. What kind of test kit do you use? If they're at 40, a few more good gravel cleanings should do the trick. If nitrates are 80, it'll take a little longer.
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Post by Carl on Dec 29, 2009 19:37:23 GMT -5
Ditto fishfever and babygeige. I would add that your KH, pH, & GH numbers concern me. I would recommend testing your tap water as a starting point (or control). If you tap water is very low in these parameters you definitely need to add buffers and additional minerals. If not or if somewhere in between, I suspect that there is still a lot of organic mulm/sludge in your aquarium, (possibly under gravel, rocks, decor, etc.). Water changes with vacuum will help, but you will still need to buffer and mineralize the aquarium (the best way to mineralize is with constant supply whether it be a mineral block such as a Wonder Shell or a drip method using products such as Aragomite or Replenish. Carl
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Post by goldenpuon on Dec 29, 2009 19:53:18 GMT -5
I agree. Those numbers are very low. Are you sure your test kit is accurate? Sometimes if you use test strips and they get wet, are expired, or are defective they will give false reading. Liquid tests are much more reliable for this I hear. Maybe you should try those.
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Post by fishfever on Dec 30, 2009 17:29:59 GMT -5
I have to concur that some test strips don't seem accurate. I'm not sure why but I have a vial of Tetra 5 in 1 test strips and the pH always comes out quite low (like 6.4 when the liquid test shows about 7.2). They do seem to work okay for the nitrite and nitrate tests though so I use them when I'm in a hurry and need a reading in less than a minute. Also I personally find it easier to match the color from a test vial in the blue-green spectrum than the yellow-orange-red spectrum that is on the tiny test strip square even if the test strip is working right.
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