Water Testing Kit
#1
Posted 17 October 2016 - 03:45 PM
#2
Posted 17 October 2016 - 03:47 PM
ph, ammonia, nitrate, nitrite are the essentials.
If you are planning to keep african cichlids, then I would also recommend Kh and Gh test
- bigjohnnofish likes this
#3
Posted 17 October 2016 - 05:00 PM
#4
Posted 17 October 2016 - 08:11 PM
0 ammoniaOk great thanks. I'm in the process of s new tank so going the water cycling. Can you tell me what the levels should be please
0 nitrite
traces of nitrate (means its cycled)
pH - depending on what fish you are keeping
it can take up to 1 month to fully cycle so gotta be patient.
after about 2 weeks you'll see a spike in nitrite. after another 2 wks you should see ammonia and nitrite drop to 0 and nitrate start to build up.
what are you using as your source of ammonia?
#5
Posted 17 October 2016 - 10:20 PM
#6
Posted 18 October 2016 - 08:35 AM
if it doesn't have any fish or source of ammonia it won't be doing anything.It's not got any fish in yet it's been running for almost 2 weeks now so I will take a water sample to the fish shop. What should I use for the ammonia
what fish do you plan to keep? how big is your tank?
Some people use fish food, some use pure ammonia which is used as a cleaning product i think but haven't been able to find any :/
#7
Posted 18 October 2016 - 09:42 AM
#8
Posted 18 October 2016 - 12:28 PM
thats a good idea. that's a pretty light bio load so you shouldn't run into too much troubleI might put some neons in to get it started then it's a 200 lt tank I want to put cichlids in there eventually
#9
Posted 18 October 2016 - 02:10 PM
Just be careful if you go neons, I found them a bit delicate.
#10
Posted 18 October 2016 - 02:45 PM
If you want a fish to start the cycle buy a few Gold Fish and put them in ... they are very hardy and will survive the cyclying of the tank also they are very dirty fish which is what you want
Cheers Rich
#11
Posted 18 October 2016 - 03:22 PM
#12
Posted 18 October 2016 - 06:16 PM
If you set 12 or around that, it's highly likely that your ph will automatically hit 8.4 or so,, higher is fine,,, and ph will become very stable.
This is why your KH additive is called a buffer, it buffs the ph, or stabilising it for no fluctuations.
Added bonus is that carbonates (KH),,, is part of the process for the bacteria's nitrification.
So basically in lay mans terms, it supercharges your filters by improving the nitrification process.
This is why I like to even run medium and semi-soft water fish in higher levels "especially for breeding".
I believe my high success with stingrays has been due to higher KH levels,,,, as every single fish including Rays are sitting in the same water, every tank and every pen runs through the main centrifugal sump.
So I tend to say,,, you are a master of water, but the water is the master of the fish.
The KH trick makes medium keepers look pro...
- bigjohnnofish likes this
#13
Posted 18 October 2016 - 08:11 PM
I'd also suggest seachem prime just in case unfamiliar as it detoxifies most (or a similar product). Seachem safe is the dry product and very good value (except I've been using the same container for the last one hundred years and it's one less excuse to hit the fish shops ).
http://www.seachem.com/prime.php
#14
Posted 19 October 2016 - 12:02 PM
Just add a couple of apple snails for cycling.
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