# Water Parameters



## Tyrone5797 (Aug 25, 2007)

Hey everyone...its been a while since i have posted on here...glad to see the site is still as brilliant as it has always been









i recently got my hands on a rhom...and may i start by saying that this fish is god damn awsome









now when he was at the pet store...even tho he was in a ridiculously small tank...we had wonderful colouration and glowing red eyes...so i bought him home...climatized him and dropped him in his (temporary) new home...the next day i woke up to find him really pale and absolutely no colour to his eyes...i didnt think much of it to be honest...i expected him to be stressed after the move and everything...but 3 weeks later and he still hasnt got his colour back...i know in some circumstances they can take months to come out of there shells...but he has been surprisingly active and so so so agresssive...he eats live fish the second they touch the water (if the lights are off)...he eats muscles and whitebait and generally has a great appetite...but i just get the feeling he is really quite stressed...

the water parameters are as follows

PH - 7.5
N02 - 0
N03 -200
GH - 180
KH - 180

Now im not 100% sure what they should EXACTLY be at...but could some plz give me an idea? and what could be the reason for my rhoms lack of colour...?

Heres a pick of him 5 minutes after i put him in his new tank...


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## Grosse Gurke (Jan 3, 2003)

I would say you need to do some water changes. You want to get your Nitrates (NO3) in the 40ppm range. That might help the guy relax a little. Nice looking rhom BTW!


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## NegativeSpin (Aug 1, 2007)

Performing 30% water changes per day for 12 days should get you down to 20 PPM nitrate. Make sure you use some sort of chlorine neutralizer such as amquel and if you are using the python hose to refill the tank make sure no one in your house is using hot water while doing the water changes (laundry, dishwasher, shower) or you may have an accident and the refill water could be either dangerously cold or hot.


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## Tyrone5797 (Aug 25, 2007)

Thanks for the advice guys

So wow my nitrates are way out! im going to do a 30% water change everyday for the next few weeks

GG are the other parameters ok or are there any supplements i should use to sort it out...i really want them to be as accurate as possible to keep the little guy as comfortable as possible

thanks again


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## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

gH and kH is fine indicating you have well buffered water. as gg said get those nitrates under 40ppm. i would do smaller water changes like 20-25% daily. during this time you can stop feeding the fish. he wont starve. nice fish.


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## Grosse Gurke (Jan 3, 2003)

Tyrone5797 said:


> Thanks for the advice guys
> 
> So wow my nitrates are way out! im going to do a 30% water change everyday for the next few weeks
> 
> ...


Like the good Doctor said...your water is fine for these fish.


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## Tyrone5797 (Aug 25, 2007)

> Like the good Doctor said...your water is fine for these fish.


Wonderful news!







Cheers GG



> gH and kH is fine indicating you have well buffered water. as gg said get those nitrates under 40ppm. i would do smaller water changes like 20-25% daily. during this time you can stop feeding the fish. he wont starve. nice fish.


Thanks for the reply Dr. G...I dont mean to question your expertise but do you mean stop feeding him for the two weeks im doing the water changes? surley that would starve him!?

Well i done a 30% - 40% water change when i finished work today...left the tank for about and hour and did another test...the results were as follows

GH - 180
KH - 240
PH - 7.5
NO2 - 0
NO3 - 80

now how could the nitrates dropped and the KH risen so much in such a short space of time?

Tyrone


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## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

Trust me, a fish not eating for 2 weeks is nothing to be concerned about. Unless of course his immune system is week from a recent battle with disease or something. A healthy fish, it will be no problem. In fact you may be pleasantly surprised on how he eats after fasting a couple weeks. In our info section there is a good article by a guy named John i believe his name is, goes by the name of Knifeman. The article is about growing out large beasts and part of the process is fasting periods, even longer than the 2 weeks that you are concerned about.

The nitrates drop as soon as you perform water changes. Continue to do 25% daily until you get to about 20 ppm if possible. The kH is a different story. The kH out of your tap is apparently higher than what is currently in your tank, therefore the rise. No need to be concerned as long as your pH is stable.


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## Tyrone5797 (Aug 25, 2007)

Dr. G your a diamond...thanks so much for your time and advice









Tyrone


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## onebaldguy (Dec 18, 2007)

What should the water parameters be??????


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## Tyrone5797 (Aug 25, 2007)

They are all as they should be except for the No3 which should be at 20ppm MAX


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