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Re: New RIO 300 tank

Posted: 29 Dec 2008, 02:02
by Richard B
Then the ammonia problem is caused by your tapwater & water changes will have no effect as you are putting back what you take out.

Re: New RIO 300 tank

Posted: 29 Dec 2008, 13:07
by slakey
So nothing I can do then?

How do I know when I can add fishies?

Re: New RIO 300 tank

Posted: 29 Dec 2008, 14:57
by Richard B
Your tank will still be cycling so the water will be slowly improving all the time. If you are doing water changes you'll need to remove the ammonia from the water you intend to use to replace the tankwater. Maybe filter the tapwater in a bucket with some ammonia remover before the change.

Re: New RIO 300 tank

Posted: 29 Dec 2008, 17:48
by slakey
Right so its just choosing which ammonia remover to buy

Seachem Prime
Seachem AmGuard
Prodibio Stop Ammo

Also how long will Moss Balls last in a bowl of water? No filter or air pumps?

Re: New RIO 300 tank

Posted: 29 Dec 2008, 21:14
by racoll
Reading from tapwater says: Ammonia: 0.25ppm
Not sure what the legal limit is, but I would say that there shouldn't be any detectable ammonia in tapwater!

Try to get a second opinion on the reading (e.g. at your LFS), and maybe contact your water supplier for some more information.

Are you using dechlorinator on your tapwater before you test it?

It is possible that your water is disinfected with chloramine (chlorine + ammonia) rather than just chlorine. When you add standard dechlorinator to chloramine, you end up with ammonia. This might be your problem, but it can be solved by using a dechlorinator that deals with chloramines.

:D

Re: New RIO 300 tank

Posted: 30 Dec 2008, 00:09
by MatsP
I'd also suspect that most ammonia tests do detect chloramine as ammonia - since essentially it is ammonia and chlorine added at the same time to the water.

--
Mats

Re: New RIO 300 tank

Posted: 30 Dec 2008, 01:02
by slakey
nope, that was straight from the tap nothing added, nothing taken away.
unless im reading it wrong, looks both green at one point then yellow the next :/

Re: New RIO 300 tank

Posted: 30 Dec 2008, 01:23
by MatsP
Your water, if it has less than 0.50 ppm Ammonium or Nitrite at the tap, is, unfortunately, still acceptable drinking water:
http://www.dwi.gov.uk/regs/si3184/conso ... by2734.pdf (See page 38)

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Mats

Re: New RIO 300 tank

Posted: 30 Dec 2008, 12:54
by slakey
I best buy some Seachem AmGuard then to get it down and keep it down :(

Re: New RIO 300 tank

Posted: 01 Jan 2009, 18:12
by MatsP
slakey wrote:I best buy some Seachem AmGuard then to get it down and keep it down :(
Yes, however if you have a good working bacteria culture in your tank, it should "go away" by itself.

Also make sure that you double-check, e.g. by taking a water sample to your LFS - it may simply be that your test-kit is showing ammonia for "no ammonia". [Another way to check if your test-kit works would be to check with some bottled water from your local supermarket/corner-shop - still variety is probably best - it should have no measurable amount of ammonia].

--
Mats

Re: New RIO 300 tank

Posted: 01 Jan 2009, 19:19
by slakey
Okay will do. Since being off here over last few days, I got a timer for the lights and today sold the Rio 125 :)

Re: New RIO 300 tank

Posted: 01 Jan 2009, 20:33
by MatsP
slakey wrote:Okay will do. Since being off here over last few days, I got a timer for the lights and today sold the Rio 125 :)
Good. Then maybe you should remove the link in your signature...

--
Mats

Re: New RIO 300 tank

Posted: 01 Jan 2009, 22:38
by slakey
Now done, and I have got £80 to spend on something :/

Re: New RIO 300 tank

Posted: 03 Jan 2009, 13:15
by slakey
Right so far at aqua essentials my shopping basket consists of these:

1 EasyLife Easy Carbo 500ml - £9.99
1 Ferplast BluStart Bacteria Activator - £9.39
1 Tetra Fresh Delica Daphnia - £3.89
1 Sechem AmGuard 500ml - £15.99

Is there anything else...
Should I chuck the wood I have in their now, and buy some new stuff, or see if the fish and shrimp will clean it off?
Should I buy more plants, or wait until it's been 1-2weeks then get new plants?

Re: New RIO 300 tank

Posted: 08 Jan 2009, 13:20
by slakey
anyone?

Re: New RIO 300 tank

Posted: 08 Jan 2009, 13:41
by MatsP
I would clean the wood off manually with mild scrubbing - nothing too agressive - just make it look good, as the algae will come back either way if you do not solve the original problem: Too much nutrients, too much light and not enough CO2 for the plants. The algae will also die off if you make the conditions for the algae less good.

Leave getting plants to later on.

--
Mats

Re: New RIO 300 tank

Posted: 09 Jan 2009, 08:11
by grokefish
Have you solved the amonia in your tap water problem?
Is your water hard or soft?
If it is soft it is more likely to be mostly ammonium and your plants will strip it out almost immediately, especially floating plants and amazon swords. I have a type of amazon sword that I can't ID that strips water of nutrients (ammonium, nitrate iron etc.) like a nutrient sponge and grows at a hell of a rate, give it a prune, et viola, removing ammonium and nitrates from the system completely.
Also a funny thing about this type of amazon sword is that neither Uarus or silver dollars do more than nip at it.

Matt

Re: New RIO 300 tank

Posted: 09 Jan 2009, 22:15
by slakey
Tomorrow, I'm doing a 25% water change, should I replace the white sponge?

Also I've bought some Seachem Prime and some Seachem AmGuard.

I'm guessing I'll add the Seachem AmGuard first, and leave it at that?

Re: New RIO 300 tank

Posted: 09 Jan 2009, 22:23
by racoll
Also I've bought some Seachem Prime and some Seachem AmGuard. I'm guessing I'll add the Seachem AmGuard first, and leave it at that?
I would follow the instructions on the packaging, assuming that your tests are correct and you have noticeable ammonia in your tapwater.
Also make sure that you double-check, e.g. by taking a water sample to your LFS - it may simply be that your test-kit is showing ammonia for "no ammonia". [Another way to check if your test-kit works would be to check with some bottled water from your local supermarket/corner-shop - still variety is probably best - it should have no measurable amount of ammonia].
Have you done this yet?
Tomorrow, I'm doing a 25% water change, should I replace the white sponge?
I've never had a Jewel filter - what does the white sponge do?

Re: New RIO 300 tank

Posted: 10 Jan 2009, 14:16
by slakey
I bought some still natural mineral water to test for ammonia on.

Re: New RIO 300 tank

Posted: 10 Jan 2009, 14:51
by slakey
Here are the results, one from the tank, one from the bottled water that I bought:

Image

I would say they're the same colour?

Re: New RIO 300 tank

Posted: 10 Jan 2009, 15:20
by Richard B
It might be the lighting source from the room, but the one on the right look a lighter shade to me.

Re: New RIO 300 tank

Posted: 10 Jan 2009, 15:48
by slakey
Think the lighter one is from the tank, the one on the left is the one from the bottled water which had longer before I looked at the result.

Re: New RIO 300 tank

Posted: 10 Jan 2009, 20:46
by racoll
Here are the results, one from the tank, one from the bottled water that I bought:
You still need to test the tapwater right?! This is where the ammonia might be coming from.

Re: New RIO 300 tank

Posted: 11 Jan 2009, 14:32
by slakey
Right tested all 3 just now, awaiting results.

If my tapwater does have ammonia, what can I do about water changes... RO Unit's are out of the question.
Image
Left - Tap Water
Middle - Tank Water
Right - Bottled Water

(now I'm pretty sure I didn't get the tank and bottled water mixed up, but it looks like the bottled is the very light green colour which suggests: 0.25ppm?)

Re: New RIO 300 tank

Posted: 11 Jan 2009, 20:48
by racoll
So yellow is clear and green is ammonia right?
If my tapwater does have ammonia, what can I do about water changes
This is why you bought the Seachem AmGuard :?

You just dose the new water as per the instructions.

In the meantime carry out a few more tests, preferably with different test kits to see if your problem actually exists.

Re: New RIO 300 tank

Posted: 12 Jan 2009, 23:51
by slakey
Image
Todays results.

Left - Tap
Right - Tank