about to get a water tester to test the amonia/nitrate/nitrite/ph levels.......?

Question

I have a 10 gallon tank with,well too much fish in it, like about 20 various tetras(i forgot about the inch:gallon rule for fish tanks, but oh well this is not what i am talking about right now I know I need to get another tank and will soon) anyways, like I said I want to get a water testing kit or whatever they have to test the levels of amonia/nitrate/nitrite/ph. Is there one kit to test all of that? I just got my tank about 9 days ago, about what levels should that all be at right now? what do I do if they are all too high? thanks for your info all....... and how long normally until the tank is cycled?

Answer 1

The Aquarium Pharmaceutical's Freshwater Master Test Kit is the way to go - it has your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, high-range pH, and regular pH tests, as well as the color cards, 4 test tubes, and an instruction booklet. Do yourself a favor and print out the following ad and take it to PetSmart:

http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441776772&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302036904&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023693&bmUID=1159912696294&itemNo=1&Nao=0&In=All&N=2+4294966849

With that ad, they'll only charge you $13.49 plus tax (they price match their own online prices). If you don't take the ad, I think it was something like $35 in the store - so remember to take the ad with you.

A 9-day-old tank should be starting to show nitrite at this point, and ammonia should be going down. In another week, nitrite will peak, and then start lessening while nitrates start to go up. Your tank is cycled when ammonia and nitrite are at 0ppm, and nitrates are at less than 20ppm. Keep in mind that ammonia is very toxic to fish, nitrite is less toxic but still causes permanent damage, and nitrates are the least toxic. You should really consider doing daily 20% water changes if your ammonia is over 1ppm, your nitrites are over 1ppm, and whenever your nitrates get over 40ppm (though less than 20ppm is ideal).

Tanks normally take up to a month to cycle. Next time, consider doing a fishless cycle - ammonia and nitrite causes permanent damage to the fish, so not using them to cycle your tank would be far more humane.

Answer 2

Start with a master drop kit, AP is good. For basic you need the Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate, PH. Drop kits are more accurate then strips. Monitors are very spendy, and even then, you'd still need more then one. Those will range up in the 100 up bracket each depending on the monitor. Gh & Kh, and add in a salt level test kit also. You'll have to get a 02 test kit online though, but its also handy to have.

A inch a gl is very outdated, some of the tropicals get too big for that even. Its better to go with more info in regards to species and how big they get fully grown then to rely on that old rule.

It takes 6-8 weeks for a tank to cycle in, and depending on the species of fish, some can't handle salt, while others can, same with meds. Then you may be needing to salt dureing the Nitrite phase to offset brown blood disease , do check and go through this on a good board with the folks who know! Then you'll be monitoring & changing frequently, do use a good binder/dechlor such as prime, I would also recomend looking for a product called Bio Spira, its the actual bio bugs, the rest of the so called cyclers are a waste of $.

If the readings are high, WC (water Change, at least 50%, bind the ammonia!)
Nitrite is generally (check with a board and the experts to help you with your species) and salt to 0.1% (check first) thats 1 tsp per gl. Cycles done when you get 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite. And Nitrates are ok from 40 ppm and under. The lower the number there the better of course but is only harmful longterm in the 80's and over.

Answer 3

Fish tanks are little ecosystems, asking how long it will take for your tank to cycle can vary a lot depending on how many fish, what type they are and what type of filter system you have and how much you feed. I wouldn't bother with a testing kit. Just have your water tested at the pet store when you have a problem. I would suggest that you change a tiny bit (one gallon) of your water daily for a week, then every other day from now on as our tank is too overloaded. Just buy two milk jugs, fill one at night and the next day, take out a jug of water and put one back in. Twice a month, clean the gravel with a gravel siphon, removing up two half of the tanks water. Don't feed your fish the day of and the day after a major water change like that and the same goes when you change the filter media.
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Answer 4

You definitely need to get a test kit. The AP freshwater master test kit would be good. It's more expensive up front than test strips, but it's cheaper per test and more accurate.

Also, pick up some prime or amquel. Either of those would help detox ammonia. Take a sample of your tank water to the store and have them test it for pH. If your pH is closer to 8, get Amquel. If it's closer to 7, get Prime. (Amquel can lower your pH).

I'd suspect at this point ammonia is still pretty high and you may be starting to see nitrIte. Here's an article on what happens in a new tank and how to keep the water from getting toxic.
http://thegab.org/Articles/WaterQualityCycling.html

You'll want to feed sparingly for now. more food results in more ammonia.

It'll take somewhere around a month to get your biofilter bacteria up to speed.

Answer 5

right now your levels all should be high you need to do small frequent water changes like 10-20% every other day for about a week or so. it can take 4-8 weeks before your tank is done cycling you can go to the pet shop and get a master water tester from 18-$35.00 and will test every thing.

Answer 6

Yep, your like me, have too many fish in your tank, I have 3 tanks, and like 25 guppies in each, BUT my tanks are 20,20,10
I have a test kit that I got at a petstore its called Freshwater Master Test Kit by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals
The ammonia should be 0 ppm's, Ph should be 7.0 or close
Nitrates, & nitrites should be 0 ppm's

Answer 7

You can buy yourself a test kit at most PET STORE.
It all depends on what type fish you have in it-as to the levels. They make drops to lower the levels. Let it cycle at least 2 weeks to be safe.