# getting impatient..new aquarium



## g3mini (Apr 9, 2012)

hi everyone (first time aquarium owner)

so i set up my 36 gallon bowfront last sunday. i have all plastic plants (not ready to deal with live plants), a couple of slate-type rocks and ornamental driftwood (all bought from big al's). i filled the tank, added the big al's water conditioner, and thought i was supposed to add the bio support as well (no fish) so did that(oh well). of course several days later i had a bacteria bloom, but now the water has pretty much cleared up.
however, i live in brantford and we are notorius for extremely hard water here.
i was told by big al's that i should be ready to go by saturday (5 days of the tank up, heater on, filter running - aquaclear 50 with the carbon, foam, and bio filters). 
i used API testing kit (liquid testing) last night and here's what i got:

ph - 7.4
high ph - 8.0
Nitrate - 20ppm
Nitrite - 5.0

I didn't bother doing ammonia because i didn't think there would be any in it.

How can my nitrite be so high? other than adding the bio-support early, there's nothing else in there. how do i get it to come down? you're going to tell me to be patient right?

Is my ph going to come down or is this it for me since i have hard water? i tested the ph of regular tap water and it's at high ph 7.8

i was really hoping to get my 6 platys this weekend and get started. my goal is a very friendly tank (platys, guppies, white cloud minnows, albino corys or maybe red cherry shrimp)

any suggestions?

btw - i have the testing strips as well and according to the strips my nitrite was at 0.5 and my nitrate was at 0 - that's a big difference to the liquid kit!

also, i notice that the water level is coming down a bit - do i top up with conditioned water or leave? 

when do i do my first water change, after i add the fish and wait a week?

edit - just thinking, i just added the grey slate-type rock the day before...would that affect anything?

edit - just did my ammonia and it's at 0.25 for the tank water and 1.0 for my tap water!

thanks in advance!


----------



## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

I would highly recommend that you do some reading regarding cycling, as it will save you a lot of aggravation (and money).

You cannot add fish by Saturday. 

Your pH test seems to be off; are you sure you are shaking the reagents very well before using them?

As for the nitrites, it is likely due to the ammonia that is coming from your tap water.

I would not trust the results from a test strip kit; the results from the liquid test kit are more likely to be accurate (provided you followed the instructions and are mixing the reagents very well before use).

Your water level can be topped off with (dechlorinated) tap water or distilled/RO water. You could also leave it; it would not make much of a difference at this point in time.

The day you added the slate will not have any effect on water parameters.

For the ammonia in your tap water: are you sure you are using the test kit accurately? If you are certain, then is your tap water sourced from a well? Ammonia readings should not normally be that high for tap water (at least in the GTA).

Again, you cannot add any livestock yet.


----------



## g3mini (Apr 9, 2012)

yep, i'm using the kits correctly.
i'm not surprised by the readings for the tap water. not well water - it's brantford tried and true pure city drinking water!

i did reading up on new cycling but every big al's store that i called said i didn't need to do the ammonia cycling. just leave the water in the tank for 5 days and i should be good to go. good thing i did the water testing beforehand.

so i just wait it out for the nitrite and ammonia to = 0?

btw - i took a sample of water into the kitchener big al's and they used the strips to test the water (yesterday). so they got the same readings i did using the strips. i expected them to use the liquid test kit.


----------



## Zebrapl3co (Mar 29, 2006)

I wouldn't trust the strip. It's known to give you only an estimate with a wide error range.
Just redo your liquid test again.
But from your first post, your reading shows that your tank is far from cycled. Also, test for ammonia as well. Even if you didn't put ammonia in there, if your city is using chloramine (as are most cities now a days). Then there is ammonia in your tank.
So yeah, you have to wait out for ammonia and nitrite to hit close to 0. If the nitrate gets too high, as in 10 or something, then you need to do a water change. This will lengthen your cycle period, but high nitrate sometimes can stall your cycle and can lock up your tank with nitrate for months.
You will just have to be patient. Usually, it takes 3 weeks to a month (sometime 2 months if you messed up) for a tank to properly cycle.
4 days before you put in any fish. Stop adding any cycled product. The cycle product is used for one thing and that's to cycle your tank. Once your tank cycles, you shouldn't use it (despite what the bottle recommends).
I've know people to keep killing their fish and wonder why they have high nitrate to find out that they keep adding the cycle produce after a water change.
As for your pH, 7.8 is the same as Toronto. You'll do well for most fish. pH 8 is not so good. So make sure you get the reading correctly. You can lower the pH by adding R/O water. Buy a jug from the supermarket if you have to.

*Never pay again for live sex! | Hot girls doing naughty stuff for free! | Chat for free!*


----------



## df001 (Nov 13, 2007)

fwiw - take advice from the place who's sole desire to sell you stuff for what its worth... 

pull the carbon filter media out - you dont need it right now, it will adsorb the ammonia which you dont really want while trying to cycle the tank.

I second darkblades recommendation to read up about cycling - in a nutshell, you'll know you're tank is cycled when the ammonia/nitrite levels drop off to 0, and your nitrate level has gone up.

at that point you can start to add some fish, keeping in mind that your bacteria colonies need a chance to grow enough to support the bio-load of the fish - ie you can add a few at a time, but don't add ALL of them.

What would be really helpful is if you can meet up with someone local who can give you some filter mulm to help kick start your bacterial colonization. 
It wont eliminate having to do a cycle, but will help shorten the time drastically.

Another thing you might want to do is test the tap water right out of the tap, then put some in an open container - let it age over night, then re-test it. will help give you a better idea of where your water is at as it off gasses etc.

There are lots of helpful stickies on the forums here, but if you dont find an answer to something, and have no luck with googling it (As lots of the same questions are asked again and again on various forums etc) by all means shout out to the forum, you'll find lots of people willing to give you a straight answer and offer their help.

cheers.


----------



## Jelly (Feb 28, 2012)

See if someone from here lives by you and have them bring over a used filter. Squeeze the dirty juice out into your tank and away you go.


----------



## bob123 (Dec 31, 2009)

If you live in Brantford head down to The Tropical fishroom and talk to Jerry or one of the employees and you will get the best advice around. The Tropical fishroom is located at 166 Grandriver Ave. While you're there check out one of the best fish stores in southwest Ontario. Also ask about the Brant Aquarium Society, or google it at BAS.


----------



## g3mini (Apr 9, 2012)

thanks everyone
i'm going to the tropical fish room today. just found out about them yesterday! 
they use the same water i do so i'll see what they say.
apparently ammonia is drinking water is normal - it's part of the 'cleaning' process and there are no guidelines out there regulating the amount of ammonia that can be in our drinking water.


----------



## df001 (Nov 13, 2007)

g3mini said:


> thanks everyone
> i'm going to the tropical fish room today. just found out about them yesterday!
> they use the same water i do so i'll see what they say.
> apparently ammonia is drinking water is normal - it's part of the 'cleaning' process and there are no guidelines out there regulating the amount of ammonia that can be in our drinking water.


Hence the reason for letting tapwater age before use, as the water is under pressure in the system allowing it to rest gives a chance for degassing of the chlorine-ammonia(chloramine) and any other gasses.

Measuring the phand ammonia etc content after it has aged will be more accurate than at first out of the tap


----------



## Darkside (Sep 14, 2009)

g3mini said:


> thanks everyone
> i'm going to the tropical fish room today. just found out about them yesterday!
> they use the same water i do so i'll see what they say.
> apparently ammonia is drinking water is normal - it's part of the 'cleaning' process and there are no guidelines out there regulating the amount of ammonia that can be in our drinking water.


I'm originally from Brantford. You can expect your pH to be consistently above 8 and high on the hardness as well. Brantford water is liquid rock. They also dose with chloramine, so use a product like Seachem's Prime to condition your water as you add it to the aquarium.


----------



## Darkside (Sep 14, 2009)

Zebrapl3co said:


> I wouldn't trust the strip. It's known to give you only an estimate with a wide error range.
> Just redo your liquid test again.
> But from your first post, your reading shows that your tank is far from cycled. Also, test for ammonia as well. Even if you didn't put ammonia in there, if your city is using chloramine (as are most cities now a days). Then there is ammonia in your tank.
> So yeah, you have to wait out for ammonia and nitrite to hit close to 0. If the nitrate gets too high, as in 10 or something, then you need to do a water change. This will lengthen your cycle period, but high nitrate sometimes can stall your cycle and can lock up your tank with nitrate for months.
> ...


Chloramine is usually dosed only when the water is warm, but better safe than sorry.


----------



## mkblitz (Oct 12, 2011)

Its safe to say that people on this forum can give you better and more reliable information than most employees at Big Als. 

Having had my share of blunders and dead fish on my hands just starting out, I almost gave up on fishkeeping until I followed word for word what folks here and on aquarium sites online had to say. On my best planted tank yet. 

I would suggest you take your mind off waiting for the aquarium and go out and enjoy the weather unless you like fishing floaters out of the tank. Trust me on this.


----------

