That was a massive water change, and while it did improve the test results, do you have town or well water? If town water, did you use a dechlorinating product, such as Start Right?chrisusvi said:
understanding API water test results
- Thread starter chrisusvi
- Start date
i just asked the same question a sec agocapewind said:
The water source here in the Virgin Islands maining comes from the rain collection. We have cisterns that hold the water for consumption. I can take some readings from it, but don't know if that would make a difference.
The hyacinth floating on the pond is starting to die. Its seems to do that a couple times a year. Would the dying hyacinth/decaying plant matter affect the water readings too?
3/23/13 7:00am readings
PH - 7.6
NItrite - 2.0ppm roughly
Nitrate - 10-15ppm
Ammonia - .25-.30ppm
water temp. - 81.5 degrees
air temp. - 77 degrees
pond fountain has been off for 2 days with 3/4 water change 2 days ago.
The hyacinth floating on the pond is starting to die. Its seems to do that a couple times a year. Would the dying hyacinth/decaying plant matter affect the water readings too?
3/23/13 7:00am readings
PH - 7.6
NItrite - 2.0ppm roughly
Nitrate - 10-15ppm
Ammonia - .25-.30ppm
water temp. - 81.5 degrees
air temp. - 77 degrees
pond fountain has been off for 2 days with 3/4 water change 2 days ago.
With rain water, I doubt there is chlorine, etc added, so that's a good thing, but I am concerned with your current results.
Your ammonia reading makes sense from a 75% water change, but now your nitrite is through the roof ... that to me implies the basic cycle/nitrification process... not related to the fountain ...
From what you have said for how many fish you have/had, and the size of your pond, my (under educated) view is whatever you are running for a filter can't handle the huge fish load. I dont like seeing things added to a pond, but this may be a time to add bacteria to the pond ... Will let those better able to explain clarify that.
Your ammonia reading makes sense from a 75% water change, but now your nitrite is through the roof ... that to me implies the basic cycle/nitrification process... not related to the fountain ...
From what you have said for how many fish you have/had, and the size of your pond, my (under educated) view is whatever you are running for a filter can't handle the huge fish load. I dont like seeing things added to a pond, but this may be a time to add bacteria to the pond ... Will let those better able to explain clarify that.
crsublette
coyotes call me Charles
I bet they did fine so long due to water hyacinth is a very good bio-filter, but, as the fish grew, the plant couldn't keep up with the waste produced by the fish. Ponds can go fine without a man made bio-filter for a long time until the fish grow bigger or multiply.chrisusvi said:
chrisusvi said:
Are you absolutely positive that there are no chemicals, no chlorine or chloramine, added to the cistern water ?? I wouldn't think so, but always good to make sure.
The presence of nitrite will be poisoning your fish. To protect your fish from the Nitrite poisoning, you will need to raise the salt level of your water to .10% salinity. This is not high enough to harm the water hyacinth. From using a salinity calculator, for 285 gallon pond, you would need to use approximately 2.5 pounds of salt to reach .10% salinity. Get your self a salinity tester.
The salt needs to have zero additives and needs to be pure salt such as Morton solar salt water softener crystal All Natual. Harvested natuarally from salt water. Contains no additives. Composed of high purity sodium cloride. It is an ocean blue white color 40 lbs bag.
To help nuetralize the ammonia and the Nitrites, you can use Amquel Plus or Seachem Prime.
Since now you're registering higher nitrites, this concerns me that your bio-filter is not working or is too small. The bio-filter is what helps turn Nitrites into Ntrates.
There are many examples in this forums DIY section and Internet on how to build a bio-filter. The most expensive piece of equipment might be the pump and the container.
I would keep on doing water changes until you figure out how to build or buy a bio-filter.
What are you using for your bio-filtration ??
How many fish are left in the pond? I know goldfish tend to breed like crazy and the koi are sizeable enough to add to the waste in the pond. Each year that goes by with increasing fish levels in your pond, will add to the wastes produced by the fish. This would in turn affect the load that your filtration would be handling, which would also spike your water parameters.
I have a Laguna Max Flo 800 pump and a Laguna Pressure Flo 700 filter. Don't know if its a BIO filter though. Do I need to change the foam rings on the filter? I haven't change the rings for at least a year or maybe 2 years. Could also the UV bulb need changing? There is 4 large goldfish, 1 Black moore and a 1.5 ft. sucker/catfish. 6 total fish in 285 gallons of water. I've never had a problem since I built the tank a few years ago. My suspicion is on the filtering.
The water in the cistern readings are:
PH - 7.6
Nitrite - 0 ppm
Nitrate - 0 ppm
Ammonia - 0 ppm
High range PH - 8-8.2 ppm (if this matters)
The water in the cistern readings are:
PH - 7.6
Nitrite - 0 ppm
Nitrate - 0 ppm
Ammonia - 0 ppm
High range PH - 8-8.2 ppm (if this matters)
An over stocked pond can run for quite some time before showing serious trouble, and that is where I personally feel that you are at now. Especially if you havent "cleaned" your filter, you SHOULD have all kinds of hungry bacterias in there to gobble things up...
I want to say that the ammonia has or is dropping, but we cant say that to be true due to the massive water changes, but ammonia is converting to nitrites, which is good, but the number is high which is telling me you dont have a healthy bacteria load in the filter.
I would be doing 25% water changes daily (immediately), and get some bacteria to load the filter with. If you want to CLEAN the filter, take a large bucket of FISH WATER, and just rinse them well in that, and then put them back into the filter. You'll get all the large debri out, but not kill any healthy bacteria that are still alive in the filter....
I want to say that the ammonia has or is dropping, but we cant say that to be true due to the massive water changes, but ammonia is converting to nitrites, which is good, but the number is high which is telling me you dont have a healthy bacteria load in the filter.
I would be doing 25% water changes daily (immediately), and get some bacteria to load the filter with. If you want to CLEAN the filter, take a large bucket of FISH WATER, and just rinse them well in that, and then put them back into the filter. You'll get all the large debri out, but not kill any healthy bacteria that are still alive in the filter....
I generally clean the filter and pump once a month. The foam rings I clean very thoroughly, but I rinse the container lightly.
Cleaning the foam rings thoroughly is a major mistake. You could very well be killing your good bacterias in your cleaning. You shouldnt need to REPLACE the foam rings for many many years. They only need an occasional, gentle, rinse.
I have some serious issues going on on the home front, and am too exhausted to clearly spell things out. It would not come out as anything resembling a clear explaination. Hopefully someone else has the time to jump in and get you on track before you lose all of your fish.
I have some serious issues going on on the home front, and am too exhausted to clearly spell things out. It would not come out as anything resembling a clear explaination. Hopefully someone else has the time to jump in and get you on track before you lose all of your fish.
crsublette
coyotes call me Charles
I think your Laguna bio-filter is failing you.chrisusvi said:
Generally, if you are reading Nitrites and a noticeable amount of ammonia, then this means the bio-filter is failing you by not converting these two elements into Nitrates.
Laguna Pressure Flo 700 filter is fine if all you had were around 3~4 gold fish in that 285gal pond, but you have many more critters.
Also, the more critters you have then the faster your KH is consumed. To simply put it, KH is the "energy source" to keep your bio-filter alive and happy. If KH is near or at zero, then this will prevent your bio-filter bacteria from working properly. Take your pond water to a pet store or somewhere to get it tested or you can look into getting a KH test kit. Once you do the test, then you will be more familiar with what I am talking about in regards to the results. Generally, you want the total number of drops to be above 5 drops (which means the KH is above around 80ppm); it is safer to keep it at around 11 drops (which means the KH is above 200ppm).
It doesn't take much to build yourself a new bio-filter. Often times, it is tremendously cheaper to build it your self than to buy it at the store. You have many many options available to you.
Where can I get a materials list and instructions on how to build a larger biofilter? I ordered a GH and KH test kit from API. It should be here by next week.
The water temp. got up to 91.5 degrees today. WOW! It was hot today anyway.
I noticed one of the goldfish was swimming in a circle at about a 20 degree angle. I moved it to a 30 gallon tank with better water conditions hopefully to see some improvement.
The water temp. got up to 91.5 degrees today. WOW! It was hot today anyway.
I noticed one of the goldfish was swimming in a circle at about a 20 degree angle. I moved it to a 30 gallon tank with better water conditions hopefully to see some improvement.
I feel so awful for you. You've already lost four 6-10" fish, posted another was in trouble, and now yet another in trouble... sigh....
crsublette
coyotes call me Charles
First, you need to stabilize your water as soon as possible. Once this is done, then you can spend a day or so building your new bio-filter.chrisusvi said:
Go to your local fish store or big pet store to get a product to neutralize the ammonia and nitrite as soon as possible. There are products that can do both at once like the ones I mentioned such as Amquel Plus or Seachem Prime and there are many other products. Get a product that will not give false positive tests on your API testers. Tell the store clerks this and they should know what you are talking about... hopefully.
If your cistern water is noticeably cooler than your pond water, then this big temperature swing can be very stressful to the fish. If the difference is only within a few degrees, then you'll be ok to continue to do daily big water changes.
Next, get the salt I described in post#20 and increase the salinity of the water to .10%. It would be best to get a cheap salinity tester at the store. As you do water changes, you might have to add a little more salt with each water change.
To make sure your bacteria have some KH fuel to grow, then add only 1 ounce of household baking soda, that has zero additives, and is labeled as sodium bicarbonate. For a 285gal pond, 1 ounce will raise your KH by a little over 1 drop (or 20ppm). Then, 3 days later add one more ounce or, if you are doing a big water change, then add the baking soda with each water change. When you get your KH test, it should read at least 3 drops of KH (or 54ppm). If you can get some crushed coral or oyster shells from your local fish store or pet store, then I would sprinkle 8 ounces of it on the pond floor. At the end of the week, you will have very slowly and safely raised your KH by 4 drops (or 71ppm)
This will stabilize your pond water and your fish will most certainly be better if there has not been any permanent damage.
crsublette
coyotes call me Charles
Also, STOP feeding your fish. If you think you must, then just extremely little. Fish food adds to your ammonia and nitrite levels. Once your ammonia and nitrites are zero, then ya can feed as much as ya like.
There are many approaches, but I will list some of the simplest options for ya.
1) Bio-filters and material list of some are in the sticky threads in the DIY section here. These are pretty basic filters and quick to build within a day since the material is quite common. To simply put it, these bio-filters just put some strapping or hair curlers or foam pads into a rubber trash can (or other container) around 20 to 50 gallons. Then, you simply circulate your pond water through this. Try to enter the pond water into the bottom of the container and then let it gravity flow over the container's spillway into your pond. It would be best to use a container that has some sort of spout so that it can easily pour back into the pond.
2) Get a hanging basket or a wire basket and fill it up with lava rock. Gently flow the water over the top of it and let this water gravity flow back into the pond.
These are two of the simpler ones since the materials are quite common.
Once you get your KH test, definitely share the results. If your KH (that is the bio-filter's energy source) is low, then it will take a while for the bio-filter to start showing results. If you keep on slowly and safely increase your KH, as I described above, then your KH will be high enough to allow your bio-filter to properly function.
With your warm temperatures and once your KH is right, then the bacteria in your new bio-filter will start growing quite fast within at least a week or less.
That's it. Pretty simple.
Keep your Laguna Pressure filter. You can use the pads in this filter to help clean the water. Just have the water coming out of this filter go into the new bio-filter.chrisusvi said:
There are many approaches, but I will list some of the simplest options for ya.
1) Bio-filters and material list of some are in the sticky threads in the DIY section here. These are pretty basic filters and quick to build within a day since the material is quite common. To simply put it, these bio-filters just put some strapping or hair curlers or foam pads into a rubber trash can (or other container) around 20 to 50 gallons. Then, you simply circulate your pond water through this. Try to enter the pond water into the bottom of the container and then let it gravity flow over the container's spillway into your pond. It would be best to use a container that has some sort of spout so that it can easily pour back into the pond.
2) Get a hanging basket or a wire basket and fill it up with lava rock. Gently flow the water over the top of it and let this water gravity flow back into the pond.
These are two of the simpler ones since the materials are quite common.
Once you get your KH test, definitely share the results. If your KH (that is the bio-filter's energy source) is low, then it will take a while for the bio-filter to start showing results. If you keep on slowly and safely increase your KH, as I described above, then your KH will be high enough to allow your bio-filter to properly function.
With your warm temperatures and once your KH is right, then the bacteria in your new bio-filter will start growing quite fast within at least a week or less.
That's it. Pretty simple.