My tested Water for growing tank, what would you do?

[Esquire]

Tested with API kits

Out of the Tap

PH 7.6
PH high range 8.8
Ammonia 1.0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 8.
KH 6
GH 9.5

Tap after sitting overnight

PH 7.4
PH high range 7.4
Ammonia .25
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 8.
KH 6
GH 9.5

This overnight water will be the water going into the tank and which
( if any )
I will need to condition?
I'm getting ready to fill my bare tank and run the filter for a few days fish less getting ready for 6 juveniles

Thanks for any advice

[Fishguy2727]

That should be fine. My water also has a high pH. Are you going to fishless cycle?

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

My only concern with that would be that you really wouldn't want to do large water changes with that water. The ammonia and nitrate in the tap water could potentially be detrimental to the health of your Discus. When growing out juvenile Discus the water changes are supposed to keep the water near pristine for them so that they do not get stunted, my tank water doesn't even have those parameters after a week without a water change. You may want to look into getting an RO/DI unit for that. Just my opinion though, I just see those 2 levels as being a problem that will prevent large water changes.

[Lady Hobbs]

Curious as to how you plan to cycle the tank. The tank will not cycle just running the filter for a few days without an ammonia source. Your water would be of concern to me having discus.

[Esquire]

Let me give some more info.
I don't have fish and don't plan on getting any until I have a system in place.
One that will be consistent and easy to maintain.
I have 2 - 32 gal rubbermaid Brute ( safe for food ) trash cans that will be my water reserve & I have a pond pump to move and agitate it.

1. With the water above, how would you treat it in the trash cans to be comfortable to do large water changes? I plan on having a 150 gal display tank along with this 55 growing tank and large water changes are a must.

2. I know I need to cycle the tank ( with an ammonia source ) and I am looking into exactly how to do this. If you have a method for this, please share it.

3. I'm not sure if my water has Chloramine or chlorine. Is there a test?
Chlorine gasses off overnight does chloramine? I don't think it does.

4. Is Prime a good solution for this waters Ammonia & Nitrate problem?

[SpyderSpy6]

A couple of ways to cycle your water would be to either buy a couple of small fish to create waste in the fish tank. If you don't want to run the risk of losing the new fish, you can go purchase a product called bio-spira. This will establish your tank about 10 times sooner rather than cycling with fish. If you have a fish tank already you could take buckets of the water you take out and put this into your new tank. Along with a handful of rocks and even some filter media from the established tank, and that will kick start your cycling.

If you have the ability to get an RO/DI filter, I would do so. I have the same setup for reserve that you have (rubbermaid container). Since I am using RO I just add an akaline buffer and equilibrium. I put this in the water while it is in my reserve and test the water before you put it in your tank.

I'm assuming you don't have an RO, so you will need to buy Tap Water Conditioner. This is pretty much the same thing as PRIME. Both are a more aggressive water conditioners which I would reccommend for Discus. (More agressive than stress coat) Along with that, I would use Discus Buffer to stabilize the water. Let it agitate for a day, warm it up and use it for water changes. Stay away from the Black water extract's and softening additives. I went through all of them and nothing works. The only product I still use is called Instant Amazon. The only place I have found it is at www.drsfostersmith.com. I would only use this if you plan on having a planted tank.

If you are trying to remove the ammonia and nitrates from the tap, you can use a supplement called AmQuel+. This will drastically remove those levels and make it safe for the fish. Keep it as simple as possible. There are too many additives that don't work well and you will spend alot of money on them if you get hooked trying new things.

I believe all the additives and steps I've shared will make for safe water changes. I hope it helped!

[Halelorf]

Let me give some more info.
I don't have fish and don't plan on getting any until I have a system in place.
One that will be consistent and easy to maintain.
I have 2 - 32 gal rubbermaid Brute ( safe for food ) trash cans that will be my water reserve & I have a pond pump to move and agitate it.

1. With the water above, how would you treat it in the trash cans to be comfortable to do large water changes? I plan on having a 150 gal display tank along with this 55 growing tank and large water changes are a must.

2. I know I need to cycle the tank ( with an ammonia source ) and I am looking into exactly how to do this. If you have a method for this, please share it.

3. I'm not sure if my water has Chloramine or chlorine. Is there a test?
Chlorine gasses off overnight does chloramine? I don't think it does.

4. Is Prime a good solution for this waters Ammonia & Nitrate problem?

1. You can treat it using a water conditioner. A good one will remove chlorine, chloramine, and bind heavy metals in the water. You should be very selective of what container you use to store your water in. Plastics can leech contaminents into the water. Try to find a food safe container. It will have a label of NFS on it if it is a food safe grade container.

2. I would recommend doing what is called a 'fishless cycle'. There is a thread stickied somewhere the forumns that I will try to find a link for you. Basically you want to find pure ammonia at a store that doesn't have anything added to it. Look at the ingredients and don't get anything that lists surfactants or perfumes in the ingredients as these will kill your fish. You add this ammonia as your source to establish your bacteria colony for your filter. If you have another tank run a sponge filter or take a handful of filter media, I would recommend ceramic rings, and add that to the new filter. This will give you a instant cycle. Adding tank water from a established tank won't do a lot for you as the bacteria you want are not free floating n the water. All you would be doing is adding nitrates to the new tank. If you go with biospira, it also instantly cycles a tank if you follow directions. Only problem is you have to add a source of ammonia, fish or dosing, immediatly after using the product.

3. It would be best to just assume your water contains chlorine and chloramine. Chlorine WILL gas out on it's own. Chloramine is bonded and WILL NOT gas out on it's own. Add a water conditioner that says it will make aquarium water safe from chloramine.

4. Prime is a wonderful solution. It will remove your impurities and bind chlorine and chloramine.

Hope that helps!

[Halelorf]

Here is a very informative thread on how to fishless cycle.

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aquariumforum/showthread.php?t=16932&highlight=Fishless

[Fishguy2727]

There is an article on fishless cycling and the nitrogen cycle in my blog.

[Esquire]

Thanks for all the help, Im going to research all of this.
I need to keep it simple for stupid me.
Yes I'm going to do a fishless cycle ( high temp, adding ammonia, until the day before I add my 6 fish ) following the article from the link above.

I think maybe i should have posted my KH & GH as ppm but it seems everyone understood. Also the Rubbermaid Brute trash cans I'm using are NSF rated.

My 24 hour old water

KH 71 ppm
GH 161 ppm
PH 7.4
PH high range 7.4
Ammonia .25
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 8.

So am I correct here? I need to get my water to

Remove Chlorine/chloramine
KH below 50 ppm
GH below 50 ppm
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0

PH is high but I should leave it at 7.4

Prime or AmQuel+ will be all I need to get my water right for large water changes for my growing tank?

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

I wouldn't worry about that pH much at all. If you were keeping wild caught Discus then you would need to change it, however captive bred Discus are much more adaptable. The KH and GH are not something I would worry about either, however the Ammonia has to go. You might very well get away with nitrates that high, but personally I would want that level below 5ppm.

[Esquire]

The KH and GH are not something I would worry about either, however the Ammonia has to go. You might very well get away with nitrates that high, but personally I would want that level below 5ppm.

I don't understand what you are saying here
What level below 5ppm?

[Fishguy2727]

He means the nitrate concentration should be as low as possible, ideally undetectable. For some this is possible, for others it is not. Keep them as low as you can and you should not have any issues.

I also think that pH and hardness requirements are over-rated for discus. Unless that are wild caught or having issues breeding, in most cases (very extreme) they do not need to be altered.