warning on tap water

yip same as my readings

 

Hi @top dog OH WOW, I do water changes on a Saturday and on Sunday morning I had two dead convicts in one tank and a couple of Guppies in another, I could not understand it and was quite shocked as I struggled in the beginning of the year with water changes on the small tanks and got it all dialed in a couple of months ago (Combination of carbon block filter ans seachem safe and water flow control on refilling) and so was surprised to have this happen and found other excuses for this, but now I am wondering and I am not far from you and basically our water all comes from the same place. Going to test tonight straight out the tap!! Only saw the post now!

 

@Toy Where do you get your Bio-home-Ultimate from, I have been wanting to try some for a while now, but have never seen it in any LFS.

 

What area do you stay in as Greenstone seems to be an issue


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I am In Sydenham, basically about 6k from Green Stone. We have had many water outages in the area due burst pipes and broken valves etc. Water pressure has been itermittent the last couple of weeks and I know that their some lime has been added to the water due to dirty pipes etc. On my home shortly and will do tests from the tap. Will also do tests at the office tomorrow.

 

I just did another test. I got some water from the drinking jug that was filled last week. Ammonia is the same 0.4-0.6 so even if you leave it for a week the ammonia is still there


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My tank is running between 0.4-0.6 ammonia so I am gonna do this. I have added am guard to my 30gallon with 1 cap full. Will test later tonight and share results. I can confirm that prime definitely brings down the ammonia let’s see if amguard works in a running tank


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So with my tap water (avenues in edenvale) my NO3 reading was >0.5 and NO2 was between 0.025 and 0.05..
NH4 was at 0.2

Are these results bad for water straight out of the tap?

 

@top dog I can confirm your results. Checked my tap water and the pictures will speak for them selves. I even double tested the amonia levels with JBL and Sera. I am about to go and test my tanks.

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That is scary.

 

Added some SAFE. About to dose the tanks.

 

Would boiling the water help?
I know that's not ideal for big amounts of water, I'm just curious if boiling would help clear up so e of the nitrates nitrites and ammonias

 

Ok results are in

My tank was reading a level of 0.5ppm and I have added amguard and 5hours later did a test I’m my 30 gallon and the reading is now 0.3ppm and that is on the highest dose. 1 full cap for 200l and my tank is a 115l


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It recons that the test might not be accurate due to the changes done by the test to the water. But I do see that it dropped the ammonia to by 0.2ppm so I kind of trust my tester

I have added another cap and will do a test tomorrow morning

So that would mean I would be sitting on 0.1ppm and I will be happy with that


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yes it is bad, honestly that water would probably kill my rays

scary stuff exactly what i am finding
my ph was a bit lower

from my side
water being treated
last night at 6 ammonia level 0.4ppm
this moring at 5:30 ammonia level 0.2ppm
so it working slower than i was hoping but getting there
my fish tanks are holding steady at 0.05ppm with a ph8

 

As I understand it, every time you do a water change, you are changing your water parameters.
It is for that reason that you add Seachem Prime, and why Seachem recommend you add Stability after every major water change.

The Prime does not permanently neutralise NH3, NO2 and NO3.
It binds the Ammonia into a less harmful substance, that is then converted from NH3 to NO2, and then finally to NO3.
You remove the NO3 from your system by doing water changes, and plants also help with the uptake of NO3.

The beneficial bacteria in your filtration system are responsible for the conversion of the NH3 to NO2, and finally to NO3.
There should be enough bacteria in the system to deal with the normal chemical changes once the tank has settled, and has been running for a time.
It is for that reason that people are advised to take it slow when stocking their tanks.
The tank system needs a chance to build up the beneficial bacteria to a level where the system can deal with the chemical changes that need to take place.

Every time you do a water change, the chemical composition of the water changes.
Every time you feed your livestock, you are changing the composition of the system.

It is for that reason that the TDS will show a lower level after a water change, as there are less suspended particles in the water column.

Instead of doing major and drastic water changes every day to try and get an "ideal" level in your tank, let nature take its course.
Sit back, relax a bit, and test the tank water again after a few days without changing anything.

Should the livestock show signs they are stressed, then you can start worrying.

 

BTW, an interesting observation I just made was that the 2 convicts that died suddenly on Sunday after the water change on Saturday night, were the only 2 fish in that particular tank and the tank had no plants. only a bit of substrate and a few small rocks and also MTS snails. I did a 50% water change as I did with all the other tanks on the same night. All the live stock in this tank died. 2x fish and all the snails. It was a 50L tank. Its the only tank I have with no plants, except for my monster 400L which I did not change water on as this is only done on Wednesdays. Call me old fashioned but that tank got a big bag of activated carbon thrown into the overhead sump last night. Ammonia levels this morning were undetectable. I will be treating 250L of water over the next few days in preparation to change that water on Saturday instead of today.

@top dog where did you get the flow bin from, I am going to install one this weekend if possible?

 

To be honest a real good indicator is the water smell of the tank. If it does t smell like a chemical or a river it’s good.

Just as a side node I have found that Carbon improves clarity and removes tanins and ammonia stones doesnt do much to nh4 but does help no3 and no4


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