How can I encourage breeding?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Sorry, I get the terms mixed up
what I meant was that the last time I did a water test, EVERYTHING came out zero.
nitrate nitrite and ammonia came out zero which I was told was odd
 
yeah thats odd. It means your water came out of tap not tank.
 
The first comment sounds more likely. A bit of ammonia with no nitrate or nitrite. That means your tank isn't cycled.

There's no way it will all come out zero unless either:
Your test kit is bad
You're using test strips, which are never accurate
You are doing 100% water changes daily
Your tank is so heavily planted that the plants absorb nutrients before they build up
You're running some kind of strong chemical filtration media

The only time I had NEARLY 0 readings on everything is when I was doing large scale water changes and treating with a med that killed off my biobacteria. This was in a lightly stocked 75g. The ammonia was still around .25 or a bit less.
 
ok... I did a test right now using the freshwater master test kit..

ahhh... it seems that ph is 6.0.... I know for a fact that my tap water is slightly acidic (New York water)

I have a bag of crushed coral that I used to dip into the tank to raise Ph but now... I used it so much that I think the effectiveness wore off

NITRATE - 0 PPM
NITRITE - 0 PPM
AMMONIA - 0 PPM
PH - 6.0

wierd huh? When I do the tests, the color doesnt change whatsoever except for PH
 
ShadowBass;1281943; said:
The first comment sounds more likely. A bit of ammonia with no nitrate or nitrite. That means your tank isn't cycled.

There's no way it will all come out zero unless either:
Your test kit is bad
You're using test strips, which are never accurate
You are doing 100% water changes daily
Your tank is so heavily planted that the plants absorb nutrients before they build up
You're running some kind of strong chemical filtration media

The only time I had NEARLY 0 readings on everything is when I was doing large scale water changes and treating with a med that killed off my biobacteria. This was in a lightly stocked 75g. The ammonia was still around .25 or a bit less.

Well. I just bought this master test kit a few weeks ago

Im using drops

I do water changes probably every week or when I feel like it needs to be changed

I have no plants

Strong chemical filtration....

well recently, ( a month ago ) I replaced my old crappy chemical filtration with Premium Activated Carbon by SeaChem

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...challpartial&Ntk=All&pc=1&N=0&Ntt=carbon&Np=1
 
richardhmc;1282186; said:
Well. I just bought this master test kit a few weeks ago

Im using drops

I do water changes probably every week or when I feel like it needs to be changed

I have no plants

Strong chemical filtration....

well recently, ( a month ago ) I replaced my old crappy chemical filtration with Premium Activated Carbon by SeaChem

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...challpartial&Ntk=All&pc=1&N=0&Ntt=carbon&Np=1

Be careful, if you're using strong chemical filtration and all parameters are 0 you may not have any biological bacteria anymore. If you let it go a little too long without replacing it you may have a large ammonia spike (I've had this happen when running zeolite)

Watch your parameters closely and replace it as needed. :)
 
so are you saying I should take out the activated carbon?

But I dont want the fishy smell and the clear water is nice
 
well.. I added a plastic flowerpot on the females side...

good news... shes in it
bad news... shes acting up... I woke up and turned on the lights to see her slowly lay down sideways in the pot..
 
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