My water sucks! (HELP)

[lnelms2]

It always has and I'm beginning to think that it always will.
I've had all my current tanks setup and running for months, but for some reason my water levels have never been good. My fish are all beautiful and healthy, they eat like I've never fed them. My convicts just had fry and they're all swimming around healthy and well. But my nitrAte is always off the charts, my nitrIte is always at 0, my ammonia is always at 1.0, my hardness is 250, and my pH is so low that it doesn't even register on this color scale... I do water changes weekly, I use Prime with all my water changes, but nothin helps... Any suggestions? Again all my fish are alive, and eating well with no signs of stress and no bad fins...

 

[chesterthehero]

have you tested your tap water?

 

[lnelms2]

have you tested your tap water?

No, didn't know you had to... What does testing my tap water do? I still gotta treat it to remove ammonia and stuff....

 

[lnelms2]

Any help?

 

[Knowdafish]

What size tank and what do you keep in it? The previous poster was asking if you have tested your tap water to see if it has nitrates already in it!!

 

[lnelms2]

What size tank and what do you keep in it? The previous poster was asking if you have tested your tap water to see if it has nitrates already in it!!

All my tanks. They're list in my sig, 220, 55, 20, and 10. The fish are color coded to the tank they're in. Thanks.

 

[chesterthehero]

testing the tap water lets you know what sort of numbers you are starting with..
its not unheard of to have nitrate readings over 20ppm and ammonia readings over 1 straight from the tap..

your ph should be somewhere around neutral (6.5-7.5)

are you using test strips or a liquid kit... if you are using test strips throw them away and get a liquid kit (personal choice is the API kit).. if you are using a liquid kit try bringing a sample of your tank and tap water to a LFS and have them test it just to double check your findings

you can also contact your water department and ask them what the levels are for just about everything

 

[Tommydeal]

All my tanks. They're list in my sig, 220, 55, 20, and 10. The fish are color coded to the tank they're in. Thanks.

I like your sig. That's some really good advice from chester. How often do you do waterchanges and how much do you change? Also, try aging the water for a week before putting it in the tank and test before and after aging. Make sure you're circulating the water while it's aging.

 

[TwistedPenguin]

Yes, hopefully you're using the API liquid test tube kit. Test strips are worthless.
Sounds like you've either got ammonia in your tap water or......is there a cat litter box in the house? That'll do it every time. Water absorbs ammonia from a cat litter box like a sponge. If the tanks are cycled most goes straight to nitrate, the excess will show up as ammonia in the water. Just a thought.

 

[lnelms2]

testing the tap water lets you know what sort of numbers you are starting with.. its not unheard of to have nitrate readings over 20ppm and ammonia readings over 1 straight from the tap..

your ph should be somewhere around neutral (6.5-7.5)

are you using test strips or a liquid kit... if you are using test strips throw them away and get a liquid kit (personal choice is the API kit).. if you are using a liquid kit try bringing a sample of your tank and tap water to a LFS and have them test it just to double check your findings

you can also contact your water department and ask them what the levels are for just about everything

I've been using these test strips, which I was beginning to think were useless. I'll get a liquid kit asap. Thanks!

I like your sig. That's some really good advice from chester. How often do you do waterchanges and how much do you change? Also, try aging the water for a week before putting it in the tank and test before and after aging. Make sure you're circulating the water while it's aging.

Thanks, I do water changes weekly to bi-weekly about 20%. I'll trying aging it before I my next change. Thanks!

Yes, hopefully you're using the API liquid test tube kit. Test strips are worthless.
Sounds like you've either got ammonia in your tap water or......is there a cat litter box in the house? That'll do it every time. Water absorbs ammonia from a cat litter box like a sponge. If the tanks are cycled most goes straight to nitrate, the excess will show up as ammonia in the water. Just a thought.

No cats, my wife wants one though and you've just given me another reason to tell her why she can't have one. Thanks!


So to sum this all up... Get an API Liquid Test kit, and try aging my water. I appreciate the replies and all the advice.