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Help & Advice_ Nitrite/Nitrate levels
- Thread starter brads
- Start date
MikeG747
Member
Hi Billy,
I hope there is no livestock in your tank with those readings, the nitrite and ammonia will be quite unpleasant for them if there are? Has the tank been recently setup and how mature/big is the filter?
Mike
I hope there is no livestock in your tank with those readings, the nitrite and ammonia will be quite unpleasant for them if there are? Has the tank been recently setup and how mature/big is the filter?
Mike
MikeG747
Member
Billy,
When was the last time you cleaned the filters then?
If you fish are ok then it is probably likely that Henry is right and your test kit is not telling the truth.
Mike
When was the last time you cleaned the filters then?
If you fish are ok then it is probably likely that Henry is right and your test kit is not telling the truth.
Mike
MikeG747
Member
You clean the filters twice a week?
I do mine about once every 8 weeks!
Do you clean them in tank water or tap water?
I do mine about once every 8 weeks!
Do you clean them in tank water or tap water?
Is the drop checker lime green before the lights come on?
All this is fairly irrelevant anyway. The results your test yielded are almost certainly wrong. Worry about healthy plant growth and regular water changes, and everything else will be taken care of.
All this is fairly irrelevant anyway. The results your test yielded are almost certainly wrong. Worry about healthy plant growth and regular water changes, and everything else will be taken care of.
Healthy fish, healthy plants, two 50% water changes a week, very clean filter.. V ... totally unreliable test kits!
As long as your tap water is not polluted it would be hard to imagine how Ammonia of 2.0 ppm would come from your tank.
As long as your tap water is not polluted it would be hard to imagine how Ammonia of 2.0 ppm would come from your tank.
rodley
Seedling
I would suggest that you forget about the test kit, but worry less about cleaning your filters twice a week. The bacteria that inhabit your filter and are responsible for the nitrification process are not fast reproducers (I speak as a microbiologist). Many people have the impression that bacteria double in number every 20 to 30 minutes - yes they do if they are some of the fast growing pathogens in mammals at temperatures around 37C. Not our filter bacteria which grow at lower temperatures and utilise inorganic materials as a source of energy. You might be lucky and have them double in number every 2 to 3 hours. The consequence of washing your biological filter medium so frequently is that you are washing some/many off the surface (not inside the pores) AND you are removing the sludge/mulm which also contains many of these bacteria.
Cleaning/replacing the mechanical filter material such as matting every couple of weeks is fine, but cleaning the biological every 3 to 6 months, depending on the fish load, is more appropriate.
Cleaning/replacing the mechanical filter material such as matting every couple of weeks is fine, but cleaning the biological every 3 to 6 months, depending on the fish load, is more appropriate.
Hi Rodley, there are a few discussions about the effects of rinsing bio media in tank water & even under the tap!
Some people believe that bacteria that inhabit your filter are a lot more hardy than has been thought before & are not washed away at all!
I would personly recommend cleaning the mechanical media at least once a week & the bio media once a month.
Some people believe that bacteria that inhabit your filter are a lot more hardy than has been thought before & are not washed away at all!
I would personly recommend cleaning the mechanical media at least once a week & the bio media once a month.
