# tested water ...now need help with results



## dmackey (Jan 26, 2010)

iight guess by now it's pretty clear i didn't know what the hell i was doing starting out to many p's in a 46 for now(upgrading soon) but for now..i'm a bit concerned and ready to get this problem solved and gain some knowledge . rushed out and bought a testing kit and here are the results . hopefully i can do something to help this until i find a proper tank i want and can afford.

Nitrite N0-2 1.0

Nitrate N0 -3 4.0

Ammonia 1.0

PH 6.6

High Range ph not on chat but yellow dun't know what that could mean


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

yikes... you REALLY need to get another filter on that tank A.S.A.P. perform small volume water changes daily to keep the nitrite and ammonia levels in check, add a bit of salt to help with nitrite poisoning, and cross your fingers and hope your fish can tough it out until you get a larger tank (ideally that should be within the next few days).


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## FEEFA (Nov 19, 2007)

How long was the tank running before the p's? Was it cycled?

What a surprise


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## dmackey (Jan 26, 2010)

Feefa said:


> How long was the tank running before the p's? Was it cycled?
> 
> What a surprise


 i've had my 6 rbp in the 46 for like 9 months no problems . had a clody tank once with a algae problem a few months ago since tank is near a window. bought a few pleco's and did a water change and left the light off a few days and it was sparkling in 2-3 days. just added 2 piraya's a few weeks ago now cloudly , and added another piraya today, had a sweet deal i could really pass on it so yea i bought it. so how do i address this problem ? for now til i get a new tank which may be another 2 weeks honestly.


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

dmackey said:


> *yikes... you REALLY need to get another filter on that tank A.S.A.P. perform small volume water changes daily to keep the nitrite and ammonia levels in check, add a bit of salt to help with nitrite poisoning, and cross your fingers and hope your fish can tough it out until you get a larger tank (ideally that should be within the next few days).
> *


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## FEEFA (Nov 19, 2007)

dmackey said:


> How long was the tank running before the p's? Was it cycled?
> 
> What a surprise


i've had my 6 rbp in the 46 for like 9 months no problems . had a clody tank once with a algae problem a few months ago since tank is near a window. bought a few pleco's and did a water change and left the light off a few days and it was sparkling in 2-3 days. just added 2 piraya's a few weeks ago now cloudly , and added another piraya today, had a sweet deal i could really pass on it so yea i bought it. so how do i address this problem ? for now til i get a new tank which may be another 2 weeks honestly.
[/quote]

Joe already replied with advice several times.

Get a canisterthats big enough to do your new tank and get it on your current tank now so it will be cycled and full of Beneficial bacteria.

Do some research on the Nitrogen cycle and the differnt types of filtration, Mechanical, Biological and chemical and it will all make sense to you then


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## dmackey (Jan 26, 2010)

kool thanks fellas


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## dmackey (Jan 26, 2010)

joedizzlempls said:


> yikes... you REALLY need to get another filter on that tank A.S.A.P. perform small volume water changes daily to keep the nitrite and ammonia levels in check, add a bit of salt to help with nitrite poisoning, and cross your fingers and hope your fish can tough it out until you get a larger tank (ideally that should be within the next few days).


table salt? and how much ? how often ?


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## dmackey (Jan 26, 2010)

Feefa said:


> How long was the tank running before the p's? Was it cycled?
> 
> What a surprise


i've had my 6 rbp in the 46 for like 9 months no problems . had a clody tank once with a algae problem a few months ago since tank is near a window. bought a few pleco's and did a water change and left the light off a few days and it was sparkling in 2-3 days. just added 2 piraya's a few weeks ago now cloudly , and added another piraya today, had a sweet deal i could really pass on it so yea i bought it. so how do i address this problem ? for now til i get a new tank which may be another 2 weeks honestly.
[/quote]

Joe already replied with advice several times.

Get a canisterthats big enough to do your new tank and get it on your current tank now so it will be cycled and full of Beneficial bacteria.

Do some research on the Nitrogen cycle and the differnt types of filtration, Mechanical, Biological and chemical and it will all make sense to you then
[/quote]

did a small research , seems a lil complicated will take a deeper look at it in the morning , but looks like great info. thanks


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## Winkyee (Feb 17, 2003)

dmackey said:


> yikes... you REALLY need to get another filter on that tank A.S.A.P. perform small volume water changes daily to keep the nitrite and ammonia levels in check, add a bit of salt to help with nitrite poisoning, and cross your fingers and hope your fish can tough it out until you get a larger tank (ideally that should be within the next few days).


table salt? and how much ? how often ?
[/quote]
A teaspoon completely dissolved in water BEFORE adding to aquarium.

Get your filtration squared away and get a bigger tank.


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## Us And Them (Dec 4, 2008)

If You could get rid of Your Plecos' I would do it instant. Those things will create so much more waste than whats actually needed. and another thing You need to know is that Pleco Wont eat all your algae , or infact even any. they need certain types and require nutritious food and not just waste.

Hikari makes "ALGAE WAFERS" which have the algae Pleco require and eat.

But again , Please for the sake of your fish get a new tank asap ! those fish are producing far more waste and those pleco dont help at all. Clean Your sand and small water changes everyday. but you gotta stay on top of that , no joke.


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## dmackey (Jan 26, 2010)

Jon87 said:


> If You could get rid of Your Plecos' I would do it instant. Those things will create so much more waste than whats actually needed. and another thing You need to know is that Pleco Wont eat all your algae , or infact even any. they need certain types and require nutritious food and not just waste.
> 
> Hikari makes "ALGAE WAFERS" which have the algae Pleco require and eat.
> 
> But again , Please for the sake of your fish get a new tank asap ! those fish are producing far more waste and those pleco dont help at all. Clean Your sand and small water changes everyday. but you gotta stay on top of that , no joke.


gave away pleco today to a friend. i'm on i thanks....


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## dmackey (Jan 26, 2010)

after adding a second filter yesterday from my frogs tank and covering up the tank all day , leaving the lights off , turning down the heat and did a small water change last night , also added some conditioner. the water looks alot clearer today but still not perfect ( i know i need another tank bigger and a filer it's on the way very soon). gona run some test again in 20mins or so.


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## Armand_caribe (Sep 9, 2009)

dmackey said:


> How long was the tank running before the p's? Was it cycled?
> 
> What a surprise


 i've had my 6 rbp in the 46 for like 9 months no problems . had a clody tank once with a algae problem a few months ago since tank is near a window. bought a few pleco's and did a water change and left the light off a few days and it was sparkling in 2-3 days. just added 2 piraya's a few weeks ago now cloudly , and added another piraya today, had a sweet deal i could really pass on it so yea i bought it. so how do i address this problem ? for now til i get a new tank which may be another 2 weeks honestly.
[/quote]

OMG!!!







I'm surprised your fish are still alive dude.

Ammonia and nitrite should be 0.0 in a cycled tank and nitrate wouldn't likely causing a problem unless it was high, 80 ppm or over You need to upgrade filters at once an in the meantime make 20% daily WC.


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## dmackey (Jan 26, 2010)

okay just tested water today.

ammonia 0.25 from 1.0 so that's a lil better for now

nitrate 10 was a 40 last night so that's better also

nitrite was a 1.0 still a 1.0

ph still the same 6.6


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## Armand_caribe (Sep 9, 2009)

dmackey said:


> okay just tested water today.
> 
> ammonia 0.25 from 1.0 so that's a lil better for now
> 
> ...


Ammonia got better or "less" dangerous but yet nitrite is too high, Make a 50% wc asap and test again.


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## dmackey (Jan 26, 2010)

okay just did a 40% water change and cleans gravel again. added some stuff called prime made by seachem. it's suppose to help with my issues. i will do a test in the morning and hope all is well or better. pleco is out the tank and i also had 2 small zebra dino's in there with my p's the past 3 weeks, they are now gone to. so just the p's in there. oh yea and i let a teaspoon of salt desolve in a cup of water for 5 mins and put it in there. getting a new tank and canister very soon !!!


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## Jay-Piranha (Jan 14, 2010)

You have to remeber a Piranha is a hardy fish ..they live in the amazon river and flooded rain forrest temp's can soar to above the the 90's and these fish can live and in worse envirorments than your tank at home. Keeping in mind that the cleaner the water and the more controlled envirorment the healthier the fish ...


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## dmackey (Jan 26, 2010)

Jay-Piranha said:


> You have to remeber a Piranha is a hardy fish ..they live in the amazon river and flooded rain forrest temp's can soar to above the the 90's and these fish can live and in worse envirorments than your tank at home. Keeping in mind that the cleaner the water and the more controlled envirorment the healthier the fish ...


yea i know, lucky they are a hardy fish or i would be out of a lot of money and time invested !! i'm gettin my s**t together tho, i kinda stumbled up on the hobby ya know. probably would have got em if i knew how much i had to go thru and the expenses , but f**k it i'm here now, ain't no turning back, can't go but up from here. besides what life without a challenge???


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## dmackey (Jan 26, 2010)

ammonia 0.25 from 1.0 so that's a lil better for now

nitrate 10 was a 40 last night so that's better also

nitrite was a 1.0 still a 1.0

ph still the same 6.6

these were my result almost 2 hours ago before my 40% water change and adding a small amount of salt and some prime to my water.

so just tested again and here are my new results

ammonia 0.25

nitrite no-2 0.25

nitrate no-3 5.0

ph 7.0

finally something positive !! mannn....


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## Johnny_Zanni (Nov 8, 2009)

just keep doing your daily water changes and keep testing everyday

get a new tank soon 120g+


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## Armand_caribe (Sep 9, 2009)

dmackey said:


> ammonia 0.25 from 1.0 so that's a lil better for now
> 
> nitrate 10 was a 40 last night so that's better also
> 
> ...










Much better brotha', now keeping in mind you' ve got to upgrade filter to one that provide with a flow rate of 5 to 8 turovers, keep a 10% daily wc routine to sort this out.

Don't forget to upgrade your tank too, you've got so many pygos in there you'll need a 150gal al least I would say.

Good luck.


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