Water quality question

Had a few issues with my tank lately, filter problems but all is sorted now, thank god.Have 6 yellow labs and 2 juwels in it at the moment. The water is in the tank 4 weeks, it was originally cycled by a mature filter from another tank and everything was going fine , then filters started leaking.

I kept the filter running during the leaking eposide and 2 weeks ago finally got new working filters so water cycled the tank and added safe start to the tank for a helping hand. I also moved over all the filter material from the old filter to the new filter.

I have being testing the water to keep a eye on things and this is where my question is coming from. My Nitrite, Nitrate and pH readings are all as expected.

Nitrite Always 0
pH Fairly constant about 8.5 - 9
Nitrate never above 15

My ammonia readings are as follow
0
0
0
1.2
1
1
1
1
1
0.6

I have done several water changes all about 30% each time, i have done some of these
on back to back days to try and get my ammonia down to zero but it is only today it dropped slightly to 0.6.

Is this normal or is there something i am missing? i taught with a mature filter i would only get a nitrate readings.

I tested my tap water today, i had it lying for 24hrs. i got a ammonia reading of 0.6 and a nitrate reading of 5, so now i am totally confused. I feel i am doing water changes to lower ammonia levels and all i am doing is replacing what i am taking out with the same as what i am putting back in.

Anyone any ideas or taughts?

Cheers

GB

Did you have the fish in the tank while you cycled it with the original filter that leaked?
If you didn't then maybe the bacteria are just adjusting to the increased ammonia load.
The ammonia reading from your tap is a bit suspicious. Do you know your neighbours? Could you do a check on their water too?
You can't rule out the test kit you're using either, maybe you could get a sample tested in the LFS or if you have a friend with another test kit? Or maybe there's an ammonia residue on your sample test tube? A good clean in plenty of hot fresh water and quickly dried should do it.
You've probably thought of all that already but maybe worth mentioning anyway/

R

Cycling a tank from new is a long process. but having seeded it from a new filter should have speeded it up!! Mine took 4 weeks from start using the fishless cycle. did you add any flake food to the tank to feed the bacteria?? Ammonia will be the first readind to drop then nirate and finaly nitrite. it takes a while for the nitrate to convert it to nitrite, and nitrate can sometimes take a while to drop to 0.
Even droper test kits can be dubiuos at times, my reading were way out and when I checked the Date on them they were two years old. after getting a recent batch and checked the date was o.k I found the perams were mormal. if you look at the code on the bottle the last 4 numbers are the date code so if it said say 1700407 then the date would be 04 07 i.e April 2007.

Thanks for the response lads much appreachiated, i must check out the date of my test kit, never even entered my head to do this. i never really give my test tube a good clean either so i must clean things up and retest.

Hopefully it is just a minor problem and i suppose it is a kick up my ass for my aquarium cleaning skills:dry:

Thanks again

GB

Hi GB, also when it says shake for 30 seconds etc. this is important,as over time solutions can become solidified and you need to bang them abit to dislodge/stir the solutions!!!!

Cheers Drew thanks for the advice.

Have being abit of a mad scienist lately doing a lot of experiments on my water. I found that when i test from the hot water tap i get ammonia readings.When i test from my cold water mains tap i get no ammonia.

Anyone have a similar experience or any ideas what causes the ammonia reading from my hot water tap??

My house is plumbed in copper piping and at water changes i usually mix boiled mains water and cold mains water together in a bucket with conditioner. i then use hot tap water to set the temp to my tank temp.
I have a sneeky suspicion that the hot tap water i am adding to the tank is the source of my ammonia readings. Anyone ever run into the same problem.


Cheers

GB

I've never used or tested my hot tap water. My method of water prep (11 or 12L per change) is to fill a bucket from the cold tap. Using a aquarium heater and pump in the bucket I leave it sit overnight to dispel the chlorine. In the morning I add the conditioner and leave it go for the rest of the day. When I get home from work I do the water change.
Every now and again I'll test the Ph of the water I'm about to put in but I wouldn't check for Ammonia, Nitrites or Nitrates as I naively assume there's not going to be any.
The hot water in your house goes through the immersion tank usually so maybe its during this different route that it picks up the ammonia?

Thanks rclerkin, i had a tank setup last year using organic aqua so never tested as my results were all over the place, a common side effect of OA. Guess i have a bit more digging around to do, think i will test my neighbours water to if their water is the same.

Thanks again

GB