I have a top fin 30 (ment for a 30 gal), an aqua clear 50 (ment for a 40 gal), and a small internal filter (ment for a 5 gal). So all together 75 gal of filtration. I dont know the gph cuz im at work and cant look it up. sorry. I did 30% water changes in both tanks lat night and tested imedatly after change and the test were still sky high. I am using a kit called master aquarium or something. It has all the diffrent types of tests sold in this one kit. Its the most common kit sold at petsmart.
My fish look fine and the water is so supper clear now. I am really wondering if its something wrong with the kit or my testing.
Water test help
16 posts • Page 2 of 2
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yasherkoach - Posts: 1306
- Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:24 pm
Seachem or API are the best liquid test kits. May want to look into this.
between the top fin 30 (150 gph) and the aqua clear 50 (270 gph), you have 420 gph and on a 20 gallon tank, this is excellent filtration, so you are set here
keep doing the water changes...but get another liquid test kit, individual test kits for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and ph (API is cheaper than Seachem, both perform quite well)...run about $40.00 offline. I bet this is the problem, because at 160 ppm, I'm telling ya, your fish should be dead.
Clear water does not necessarily mean everything is okay. A tank can be full of ich in a clear tank. Of course it is good you have a clear tank, but ammonia too can be at high levels and the water is crystal clear. JUst a thought.
Just get a new liquid test kit(s), I bet this is the problem
between the top fin 30 (150 gph) and the aqua clear 50 (270 gph), you have 420 gph and on a 20 gallon tank, this is excellent filtration, so you are set here
keep doing the water changes...but get another liquid test kit, individual test kits for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and ph (API is cheaper than Seachem, both perform quite well)...run about $40.00 offline. I bet this is the problem, because at 160 ppm, I'm telling ya, your fish should be dead.
Clear water does not necessarily mean everything is okay. A tank can be full of ich in a clear tank. Of course it is good you have a clear tank, but ammonia too can be at high levels and the water is crystal clear. JUst a thought.
Just get a new liquid test kit(s), I bet this is the problem
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yasherkoach - Posts: 1306
- Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:24 pm
API does expire after a year...but you just got yours, so it is not the liquid test kit
put more live plants in if you can (live plants will feed off the extra nitrates)
worse case scenerio is, breakdown the entire tank and start over again
put more live plants in if you can (live plants will feed off the extra nitrates)
worse case scenerio is, breakdown the entire tank and start over again
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yasherkoach - Posts: 1306
- Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:24 pm
well the bottles should last more than a year, but to get an excellent reading, it is best to test with chemicals that are not over a year old...every January 1 of each year, I throw out all the liquid test kits for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and ph...I use API, I get new tests, and I am absolutely certain of accurate readings
just a thought
just a thought