# Water levels



## masmba (May 18, 2013)

Sorry, I know these type questions get asked a lot. I have searched on these forums, but I'm still confused. I have a 10 gallon tank. Set up about 3 weeks ago and fish were added 2 1/2 weeks ago. We have a young dalmation molly that is only about an inch long, an albino cory that is about 1 1/4" long and a few pond snails that stowed away on the plants. We had a crystal red shrimp that unfortunately died last night. We also have a small amount of anacharis and one dwarf lily. I'll admit, I didn't know anything about cycling until after we set the tank up and added fish, but I have read a ton since then and regret not doing a fishless cycle. I have been testing the water with test strips, adding some healthy bacteria and doing 25% water changes every day. I haven't disturbed the gravel too much, but I did get some dead leaves out. I also haven't changed the filter, but I did rinse it in some of the tank water, because there were dead leaves stuck to it. At first the ammonia was up around 4, then it started dropping and yesterday, ammonia was 0, the nitrites were about 2, the nitrates were about 20, and Ph was 7.8. Today I finally got my API liquid test kit in the mail and these are my readings. 
Ph 8.2
Ammonia .25
Nitrite .5
Nitrate 10-20 (The colors look almost exact on the chart.)

I was kind of shocked at the high Ph. Maybe that's what killed the shrimp? Also is my tank still somewhere in the cycling process or did it stall out somewhere? What can I do to get the Ph down a bit? I don't really want to start adding chemicals. Thanks in advance for any help.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Don't worry about pH. The molly and shrimp won't mind it. Ammonia & nitrite are much better killers, watch them first


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## fishyfriend1706 (Jan 11, 2013)

Do frequent water changes, and hopefully your fish will be fine. Do not worry, I made the same non-cycling mistake when I first started out.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

i am not sure i am really qualified to answer about your readings as i don't really know much about where your ammonia , nitrite and nitrate levels should be..i don't own a test kit , so i never test...not do i do fishless cycles...
as far as PH is concerned , it is not always a big deal except when relative to the needs of the species you keep ..different places have different PH out of the tap..but often if you have things like plants , driftwood and leaves in the tank the higher PH levels will gradually come down...i maintain different needed PH levels with Dolomite for higher PH and driftwood and leaves and peat for lower PH...the only chemicals that ever go intoi my tanks are for dechlorinating and treating disease....
one of the things i always tell folks new to the hobby..........
" THE MORE YOU MESS WITH YOUR TANK ; THE MORE PROBLEMS YOU CREATE FOR YOURSELF.. " 

if it were me , i would stop doing daily 25% water changes and go to once a week 30-40% water change...your tank is still cycling as your ammonia and nitrite readings indicate....let the cycle catch up to itself and settle in..there is such a thing as " too much of a good thing. "


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## weedkiller (Nov 18, 2012)

lohachata said:


> if it were me , i would stop doing daily 25% water changes and go to once a week 30-40% water change...your tank is still cycling as your ammonia and nitrite readings indicate....let the cycle catch up to itself and settle in..there is such a thing as " too much of a good thing. "


I agree here, your ammonia and nitrite levels are fairly low and the ph will find its own, get some bogwood and that will lower it eventually, im same as loha with the chems... the more you add the more problems sooner or later will arise and cause you stress, your fish will adjust to a point to what conditions they live in as long as you keep it clean for them


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## masmba (May 18, 2013)

Thanks so much for the help. I will cut back on the water changes although for my own peace of mind, I'll still check the water levels daily. I did not want to add more chemicals for the Ph, as I do believe less is better. I read some more about Ph and I'm going to try to find some bogwood or driftwood. Is there one that is better than the other?


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## C. King (Dec 14, 2012)

I have driftwood and it works well to keep Ph less high. Boiling it will help remove some of the tannins so it wont stain the tank water brown. I boil it until the water is brown, drain, and repeat with fresh water until it is lighter. Also, I have used "ammo chips" in the filter to reduce ammonia, just rinse before using. You maybe will not need it once the tank has cycled, but until then, some ammo chips will keep the ammonia from spiking.


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## weedkiller (Nov 18, 2012)

can take a few weeks sometimes months to completely remove tannins from the wood, don't worry it wont harm the fish, and most fish like it anyhow apparently


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

yep ; fish love the tannins...i have several tanks that look like dark and the fish in them are breeding like crazy and their colors are amazing.....
in the UK they call it bogwood because they collect it from the bogs.here in the US we call it driftwood because it is normally collected from the shores of lakes and streams as well as the oceans...and no matter where it actually comes from we still call it "driftwood"..


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## masmba (May 18, 2013)

C. King said:


> I have driftwood and it works well to keep Ph less high. Boiling it will help remove some of the tannins so it wont stain the tank water brown. I boil it until the water is brown, drain, and repeat with fresh water until it is lighter. Also, I have used "ammo chips" in the filter to reduce ammonia, just rinse before using. You maybe will not need it once the tank has cycled, but until then, some ammo chips will keep the ammonia from spiking.


I don't really want to add anything unless it's just out of hand and water changes aren't bringing it down. I haven't changed the water since Thursday and my levels today were 
Ph 8.2
Ammonia 0
Nitrite .25
Nitrate 20
So for now, I am leaving it alone. 



lohachata said:


> yep ; fish love the tannins...i have several tanks that look like dark and the fish in them are breeding like crazy and their colors are amazing.....
> in the UK they call it bogwood because they collect it from the bogs.here in the US we call it driftwood because it is normally collected from the shores of lakes and streams as well as the oceans...and no matter where it actually comes from we still call it "driftwood"..


Ah ok, that makes sense. I bought a piece of wood from Petco. It didn't say what kind it was, so hopefully it's good and brings down the Ph gradually so it doesn't kill the fish. So far the fish love it and are using it as another hiding place. The water color hasn't changed at all, but it's only been in the tank for about 24 hours.


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## weedkiller (Nov 18, 2012)

I found Mopani wood doesn't change the colour very much but is very hard, have seen it mentioned too hard for pleco's to munch on...
a softer bog/driftwood would be far better if you have one of our messy litte friends 
check your ph in about 3 weeks and see if it has reduced at all


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## masmba (May 18, 2013)

weedkiller said:


> I found Mopani wood doesn't change the colour very much but is very hard, have seen it mentioned too hard for pleco's to munch on...
> a softer bog/driftwood would be far better if you have one of our messy litte friends
> check your ph in about 3 weeks and see if it has reduced at all



Water levels today were:
Ph 8.2
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 20

I think that means my tank is cycled.  I will check again tomorrow just to be sure.

Thanks, I was wondering how long it would take for the wood to do anything. My kids and I are headed out of town for a few weeks so my husband will be taking care of the fish. Let's just hope everything is ok until we get back. If it is, I will gradually add a few more fish so the molly and cory will have some friends. 

My kids are wanting another shrimp since they miss the crystal red. I was researching cherry shrimp since they seem to be easier to care for. Do you think the molly would mess with it or try to eat it?


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## kcrunch (Aug 17, 2012)

While you are away does your husband plan to take care of the tank?


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## masmba (May 18, 2013)

kcrunch said:


> While you are away does your husband plan to take care of the tank?


Yes. I'm writing out detailed instructions and I plan to go over them with him before we leave on Thursday. I'll be talking to him every day as well, so I'll know if something happens.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

best thing to do when having another feed your fish is to get a bunch of little plastic bags and put a single feeding in each...one bag a day should be fine..all he has to do is open the bag and dump the food in...


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## weedkiller (Nov 18, 2012)

lohachata said:


> best thing to do when having another feed your fish is to get a bunch of little plastic bags and put a single feeding in each...one bag a day should be fine..all he has to do is open the bag and dump the food in...


lol seen it before.... husband says... "they kept coming to the glass wanting food, so I kept feeding"


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## kcrunch (Aug 17, 2012)

Loha....
That was my next suggestion to set up bags or small containers with the food. My son overfed my tank with pleco food a ways back and it took me some time to recover mentally from that but it took a toll because I lost fish which hurt me the most.

Making things idiot proof so to speak really helps, especially if you want things to work out for the best.


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## masmba (May 18, 2013)

Yes, I could see my husband doing that. He is smart, but he doesn't know anything about the fish. That's why I'm writing detailed instructions and I'm also writing things on the calender.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

remember............a pinch for you may be very different to him...like half a can...lol


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## masmba (May 18, 2013)

My directions do not include a "pinch." I'm telling him to count the flakes and pellets.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

One suggestion I've heard is to use those weekly pill containers, put the right amount of food for each day in each little box.

Tell him, 

1. the fish won't starve in a week even if you don't feed at all.

2. When it doubt, get it out and change water. Dead looking plant, fish, strange fuzzy stuff, whatever. Train him in water changing, it will come in handy later.


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## masmba (May 18, 2013)

emc7 said:


> One suggestion I've heard is to use those weekly pill containers, put the right amount of food for each day in each little box.
> 
> Tell him,
> 
> ...


Thanks! I wouldn't have thought of the weekly pill containers. I wrote out detailed instructions today and printed them out. I plan to go over it all with him tonight.


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## yannis2307 (Apr 23, 2012)

lol someone has homework hahaha


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## masmba (May 18, 2013)

yannis2307 said:


> lol someone has homework hahaha


 He's got it. I just didn't want to come home to dead fish.


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## yannis2307 (Apr 23, 2012)

Nobody does. Kudos on your early planning of the away time.


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