# information please



## paulranha87 (Dec 4, 2008)

hey i just started my tank up and i was surfing the site and came across some discussions about the ph level, nitrate, NH3, NH4, ammonia ... what are these and what causes them??? please help me i do not want my tank to be a big failure. thanks alot


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## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

You might want to start reading this. Explains it in a nutshell. ClickMe As far as pH, explaining it is as simple as this. Pure water has a pH around 7. When an acid is dissolved in water the pH will be less than 7 and when a base, or alkali is dissolved in water the pH will be greater than 7.


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## paulranha87 (Dec 4, 2008)

cool ... what should i keep all my levels at??? for example whats a good number for the ph, nitrate, nitrite, ammonia to be at?


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## Murphy18 (Oct 17, 2008)

Nitrite and ammonia should always be at 0. Nitrate, it would be excellent at zero, but very rarely you will get 0 nitrates, so anything below 40 is acceptable and not concerning. I would say try and get it more around 20.

You want to keep your ph at a stable level, as the fish cant cope with the acidity of the water changing constantly. So IMO in the sixes or sevens is good. But as long as it stays at a stable reading.


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## dschoter05 (Oct 14, 2008)

Murphy18 said:


> Nitrite and ammonia should always be at 0. Nitrate, it would be excellent at zero, but very rarely you will get 0 nitrates, so anything below 40 is acceptable and not concerning. I would say try and get it more around 20.
> 
> You want to keep your ph at a stable level, as the fish cant cope with the acidity of the water changing constantly. So IMO in the sixes or sevens is good. But as long as it stays at a stable reading.


^^^This man knows what he's talking about


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## lovemyreds (Feb 18, 2009)

here is a good link to help you understand http://www.firsttankguide.net/cycle.php


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

paulranha87 said:


> hey i just started my tank up and i was surfing the site and came across some discussions about the ph level, nitrate, NH3, NH4, ammonia ... what are these and what causes them??? please help me i do not want my tank to be a big failure. thanks alot


staring: pH stand for potential hydrogen, and is basically how much hydrogen is in your water. More makes it acidic and less is basic. This is a scale of 1-14 where 1 is acid and 14 is basic. 7 is neutral. 6-8 is the recomended range. piranhas should have appox 6.5, but a unit over or under is ok as long as its stable. 8ph is used in some african cichlids and marine tanks. You should deffinitly buy a test kit with this becasue fluxuations are not good.

Nitrate (NO3) and nitrite (No2) are both toxins that can kill fish. Nitrite needs to be at zero all the time and nitate should be under 30ppm. You also need to deffinitly test these.

Ammonia (NH4) is another toxin that needs to be kept at zero. all of these toxins need to be monitored. waste and any decay can raise these levels and can be brought back down through water changes or consumed by plants (w/c's should be the main way).

Ph will generally stay constant if you arnt adding any chemicals, so unless its wayy off which it probably isnt, i would just leave it and focuss on keeping water clean. For p's get fore filtration then you would for other fish since they make more waste. A general rule is 10x turnover per hour for hob filters and weekly water changes of 10- 20% are recommended to keep nitrates, nitrites and ammonia undetectable.


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