Hi

This is the first test I've done on my own and to be honest they have worried me abit

Ph= 7.5-8
Amonia= 0-0.6 milligrams per litre
nitrite= 0.2-0.8 mg per l
nitrate= 20-50 millilitres per litre

I'm not sure what to do know with my water

Help please

Wait for the experts to reply, but I would get ready for a Partial Water Change (pwc) make sure you have clean equipment and do you have Prime by Seachem.... Good water conditioner that detoxifies the baddies... The mods will give you comprehensive advice...don't panic..good Luck....Shaz

As you may have read, your ammonia and nitrites should be at 0, when your filter is cycled properly.
i suggest to do a 50% waterchange, followed by 30% waterchange daily, until your ammonia and nitrites are back at 0.

And like Sharyn suggested, please do use Prime or waterconditioner when doing the waterchanges.
your ph is rather high, and ammonia will be more toxic then in a lower ph.
the Prime will turn the ammonia in a less toxic variety.
do you have Prime or waterconditioner?

what kind of filter do you have and how big is your filter/ what's the flowrate?

I've just got back from a trip to the fish shop were I brought my o and thy tested the water for me and they said it was fine and that my nitrate levld were a but high but it should sort out when I stet doing water changes as it is a new tank but thankyou for the advice

Oscarjonny94 wrote:


the nitates levels will indeed become lower once you do the waterchange.
I have to do a 50% waterchange every week to keep nitrates in check.
but with a good working and big enough filter, the bacteria in the filter should transform ammonia in nitrites, and nitrites into nitrates, and thus the first 2 should not show up on your testresults.
that means you should only get a reading on your nitrate test...
i think it's best to do the waterchange and test again 24 hours after that.

do not thrust any lfS telling you the waterquality is "fine".
it's a conspiracy, and they allways tell you things like "fine' or "good".

i'd still like to know what kinda filtration you have running and what the flowrate is.

Can I be a bit nooby and ask what if stands for and I have a juwel rio 240 tank which comes with a built in heater and filter it us described as a bioflow 600 filter

Do not clean your filter until your tank is cycled. And when you clean it use old tank water to wash it with- do not use water out of the tap!!1

that means your water passes the filter roundabout 2 times an hour.
It's possible the filter you have now, is not big enough to get all ammonia turned into nitrates.
But we can see that, after your waterchange, if you will still be getting readings for ammonia and nitrite.

Well I'm not Going to do a water change for about a week then I'll test again on the same kit I got my readings from as my o has only really just started to become confident around the tank and I'm looking into buying a second filter but I'm only 16 and don't have a job so I might have to wait a few months till I can afford it but I've been told and read that the levels should sort them selves out after a few weeks as it's a new tank and I only had it running for a week before I added my o

Oscarjonny94 wrote:

Cycling takes about 5-6 weeks...
During that time the ammonia will not be transformed by your filter.
This can hurt your fish.
You'll be looking at the ammount of waterchanges i adviced in the beginning of this thread, or your fish will have a hard time and will suffer during the completion of the cycling process.
Do you have Prime or waterconditioner to add during those waterchanges?

Yes I use nutrafin aqua plus made by Hagen and I also add nutrafin cycle also made by Hagen So how much water do you suggest I change per week

If you dont change the water while cycling your ammonia and nitrite will increase and your oscar could get ill. do daily 25% water changes until your tank is cycled