Hi guys, i got a new water testing kit the other day. so i checked my water after i did a water change, it read
Amm - 2
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 4
(Cant mind if the nitrate or nitrite was 4, watever the lest harmful is)
i thout this seemed ok but i was told that after a water change it is not realy an accurate reading so i tested it the next day
Amm - 4
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0
this is bad seem that my cycle aint doing much i have been doing regular water changes and treating the water with stress coat and stress zyme.
HELP
Super Tank
Water reading
5 posts
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Tmercier834747 - Posts: 887
- Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 8:33 pm
I'm sorry I'm betting you've already been through the drill but I forget where/what to look for in posts for previously posted Nfo. What are you filtering with? Does it have biological media (i'm assuming so)? lastly, how long has your tank been cycling, and how much of a bio load does it have (how many fish, etc)?
Honestly I'd stop treating with that coat/zyme stuff. I've never found a need for it in any tank.
If you wish to rely on anything there's a product by seachem that supposedly contains dormant bacteria which becomes active after being exposed to your tank/oxygen/etc. I used it in my 30gal to speed up the cycle. I'm not sure if it did or not honestly but it did seem as though I arrived at a cycled state sooner than I would have had I not used it. It's called seachem stability.
There's a big debate on these ''bottled bacterias'' and honestly I don't know who to believe, I just know things went quickly once I started using it.
Side note...strange you'd be showing nitrate right AFTER a water change and none a day or so later. Almost like you kicked the bacteria in the ass accidentally or something with the water change...
Honestly I'd stop treating with that coat/zyme stuff. I've never found a need for it in any tank.
If you wish to rely on anything there's a product by seachem that supposedly contains dormant bacteria which becomes active after being exposed to your tank/oxygen/etc. I used it in my 30gal to speed up the cycle. I'm not sure if it did or not honestly but it did seem as though I arrived at a cycled state sooner than I would have had I not used it. It's called seachem stability.
There's a big debate on these ''bottled bacterias'' and honestly I don't know who to believe, I just know things went quickly once I started using it.
Side note...strange you'd be showing nitrate right AFTER a water change and none a day or so later. Almost like you kicked the bacteria in the ass accidentally or something with the water change...
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jweb1369 - Posts: 547
- Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 2:55 am
I've used the stress zyme only because it came free when i bought a bottle of stress coat which I use to treat chlorine. I didn't notice much of a difference, but im sure it does something and is more than just water in a bottle. Stress zyme contains live bacteria and is supposed to increase biological filtration so i'm sure it has some effect even if it is very minute. I would just give your tank some time. After a bit the ammonia will go all the way down and the nitrite and nitrate will be very little. Eventually the ammonia and bacteria will equalize and counter act each other.
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supertank - Posts: 46
- Joined: Sat Aug 23, 2008 11:57 pm
so you guys saying that the stress zyme is not really essential??? the filter a have is a power head thing that pump the water up a colum trough 4 different sponges and that a little white pad too not sure if any of that is biological.i no there is a carbon pad in there. i have have the tank for about 1 month and currenly has bout 12 fish all pritty small and hardy. i added fish as and when advised it was ok by my fish store guy. i have decided to do daily water changes for a week and feed the fish a little less then this will be easier on my cycle.i assume.ha. oh and for stress coat i assume i will always need thsat as it is used when doing water changes..
supertank
supertank
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Peterkarig3210 - Posts: 1980
- Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2007 3:04 am
Dechlorinators usually have a slime coat protectant which does nothing for the ammonia and nitrites, but it's good to use. It's not essential unless the fish are stressed and they may very well be with the ammonia.
As others have indicated it looks like the cycle had started and you were getting nitrates and then it took a dive. If you have toxic levels of ammonia it can kill the cycle and you'll need to start over with minimal feeding and frequent water changes. Always use dechlorinator and the way I do it is I just squirt some in the bucket, fill it with water, and dump it in.
The best way to get the cycle going again is to underfeed. It's the food that eventually pollutes the water, either by it rotting or when it becomes fish poop, so by reducing feeding you allow the bacteria to get established.
I agree with the posts above in that many people think the cycle products of dormant or non-dormant bacteria are questionable. I wouldn't waste the money, but put it into a supplemental filter.
As others have indicated it looks like the cycle had started and you were getting nitrates and then it took a dive. If you have toxic levels of ammonia it can kill the cycle and you'll need to start over with minimal feeding and frequent water changes. Always use dechlorinator and the way I do it is I just squirt some in the bucket, fill it with water, and dump it in.
The best way to get the cycle going again is to underfeed. It's the food that eventually pollutes the water, either by it rotting or when it becomes fish poop, so by reducing feeding you allow the bacteria to get established.
I agree with the posts above in that many people think the cycle products of dormant or non-dormant bacteria are questionable. I wouldn't waste the money, but put it into a supplemental filter.