# 160L tank with ammonia & nitrate levels at 0



## lolstep (Jun 13, 2013)

Hi guys,

So I've had the tank set up for about a month now, and I've been testing the ammonia, nitrate, phosphate and pH levels pretty religiously. My ammonia and nitrate levels have been 0 from the get go. I bought the tank from a mate and it came with some fish, so I wasn't able to do a fish-less cycle with the water. I have 1 male Metriaclima Zebra, 1 female Metriaclima Zebra, 1 male electric blue, 1 peppermint pleco and 1 male Alunocarra Firefish. Should I be worried that my ammonia and nitrate levels have been 0 and have never changed? I haven't add anything to remove either, but I did add a filter substrate to remove excess phosphate as my levels were quite high. I added a Texas Holy Rock today to act as a pH buffer as well.

I dived head first into owning an aquarium and didn't do any research prior to purchase, but like they say, hindsight is 20/20 isn't it?


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## cichlid-gal (Apr 27, 2012)

Hi and welcome to the forum. From your description of your acquisition (the fact you were got the tank from a friend that had fish in it) it sounds like you might have acquired a cycled tank. Did the original filtration come with the tank? Did the old decorations come with the tank? Did the old substrate come with the tank? If so, it is very possible that the tank was completely cycled when you purchased it.

As for having 0 ammonia...that is a good thing. That is what you want in your readings. You should have *0 ammonia and nitrites* and some nitrates. A lot of times when people get 0 on their nitrate tests it is because they are not doing them correctly. Make sure to follow the directions carefully (step 4 seems to be the one that gets people, instead of shaking the bottle, they shake the tube) if you are using the API test kit for the nitrates. Here's the directions for the API nitrate test kit:

1. Fill a clean test tube with 5 ml of water to be tested (to the line on the tube).
2. Add 10 drops from Nitrate Test Solution Bottle #1, holding dropper bottle upside down in a completely vertical position to assure uniformity of drops.
3. Cap the test tube and invert tube several times to mix solution.
4. Vigorously shake the Nitrate Test Solution Bottle # 2 for at least 30 seconds. T*his step is extremely important to insure accuracy of test results.*
5. Now add 10 drops from Nitrate Test Solution Bottle #2, holding dropper bottle upside down in a completely vertical position to assure uniformity of drops.
6. Cap the test tube and shake vigorously for 1 minute. *This step is extremely important to insure accuracy of test results.*
7. Wait 5 minutes for the color to develop.

If you are now adding/changing things on the tank like the filter and such, I would recommend reading some the forum library articles on tanks and cycling so that you don't end up with a problem by making changes to rapidly or the wrong way. Some changes can cause your tank to cycle or lose its existing cycle.

Anyway, until we know if you are doing the tests correctly, its hard to say if your tank is cycled or not. So let us know and then we can point you in the right direction for help.


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## walzon1 (Jun 17, 2013)

i think you mean Nitrite couldnt possibly be 0 Nitrate, If you didnt change anything when you got the tank then these readings are normal, your tank was already cycled with the fish in it, then when you just moved the tank, so your tank will remain cycled. You dont have to cycle water just aquarium and filter.


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## lolstep (Jun 13, 2013)

Hey guys, thanks for the responses. The filter substrate and decorations I got from him, but he cleaned everything before giving it to me.

Ahhhh, just checked and it is nitrite. Sorry for the confusion. So I'm assuming I should buy a nitrate testing kit as well?

I havent removed anything from the filter, but I've just replaced an ornament in the tank. He had a big aeroplane in there which I have changed for a 7.5kg Texas Holy Rock as I read they were good to use for a pH buffer.

Offtopic: How many more fish would I be able to add to my current stock?

Again, thanks for the info. It is much appreciated to an aquarium noob


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## walzon1 (Jun 17, 2013)

i'm not very knowledgeable on African cichlids but sound to me like your near capacity on your fish stock, what filters are you running ? and what is this filter substrate to remove phosphates that you added?


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## lolstep (Jun 13, 2013)

Sorry for the late response. The filter has 4 compartments which houses bio balls (I think thats what they are called?), 2 bags of what looks like carbon chips, 1 is wrapped in filter wool and the other is surrounded by some sponge material. The last compartment has some bone like things. Sorry for the lack of terminology, as I am an aquarium noob

As for the substrate to remove the phosphate, it was just a bag I had to add on to one of the compartments and it says to replace it every 2 months


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

lolstep, what are the dimensions of the aquarium?

What brand and model filter are you using?


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## lolstep (Jun 13, 2013)

Deeda said:


> lolstep, what are the dimensions of the aquarium?
> 
> What brand and model filter are you using?


Here is a link to the fish tank that I have and its dimensions. http://www.aquaticsupplies.com.au/blue-planet-serenelife-vista-160-aquarium-hpled.html

The filter came with the fish tank, so as for model and brand, I'm assuming its a BluePlanet product? I'm not 100% sure as I bought the tank off a mate.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

OK, your tank is 90cm x 42cm x 59cm 160L or for the metric challenged, 35" x 16.5" x 23" & 58 gallons. You may be at the limit with your current stocking level with the species you have.

Is your filter a canister design or a sump that is below the aquarium?


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## lolstep (Jun 13, 2013)

Deeda said:


> OK, your tank is 90cm x 42cm x 59cm 160L or for the metric challenged, 35" x 16.5" x 23" & 58 gallons. You may be at the limit with your current stocking level with the species you have.
> 
> Is your filter a canister design or a sump that is below the aquarium?


The filter is exactly like this http://www.masterpet.com/NZ_Products/Fish/Fish-Tanks/Fish-Tank-Parts/Filter-Box-for-EG518/. It sits in the hood of the tank.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

That is what is commonly called an Over Head Filter (OHF) and installs above the tank rather than below a tank as a sump filter. They don't appear to be readily available as a commercial unit here in the U.S.A. but function similarly.

I wasn't able to find any literature on properly setting it up but it should be similar to a sump. Dirty water from the aquarium needs to pass through coarse media first, then through finer media and finally over any bio-media before returning to the aquarium. The pump is in the aquarium and pumps water up to the filter box. The pump size and the outlet port(s) on the filter box will determine how much GPH/LPH the filter is capable of handling.


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## lolstep (Jun 13, 2013)

Deeda said:


> That is what is commonly called an Over Head Filter (OHF) and installs above the tank rather than below a tank as a sump filter. They don't appear to be readily available as a commercial unit here in the U.S.A. but function similarly.
> 
> I wasn't able to find any literature on properly setting it up but it should be similar to a sump. Dirty water from the aquarium needs to pass through coarse media first, then through finer media and finally over any bio-media before returning to the aquarium. The pump is in the aquarium and pumps water up to the filter box. The pump size and the outlet port(s) on the filter box will determine how much GPH/LPH the filter is capable of handling.


Cheers for that Deeda. I was only able to find the following information on it myself


> Vista 160
> 
> Model: EG515 (Curve Front Aquarium)
> Aquarium Dimensions: 90 x 42 x 59 cm (LxDxH)
> ...


My filter is setup that the water first goes through the bio-balls -> charcoal enclosed in sponge -> charcoal wrapped in wool -> bio-noodles. I have recently replaced the wool (which I'm thinking of doing either fortnightly or weekly, not sure which is best), and cleaned the sponge. I made another rookie error and rinsed the charcoal and sponge in tap water, which have I have just found out that I should do it in water taken from the aquarium.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Normally, the water from the aquarium should go through filter wool or a coarse sponge first, before it goes to bio-balls or other bio-media. This allows any debris to be caught in the coarse media and prevent the bio-media from becoming fouled with debris.

If your source or tap water doesn't contain chlorine or chloramine, I don't see a problem with rinsing your media in tap water.


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## lolstep (Jun 13, 2013)

Deeda said:


> Normally, the water from the aquarium should go through filter wool or a coarse sponge first, before it goes to bio-balls or other bio-media. This allows any debris to be caught in the coarse media and prevent the bio-media from becoming fouled with debris.
> 
> If your source or tap water doesn't contain chlorine or chloramine, I don't see a problem with rinsing your media in tap water.


So you reckon I should change around the filter media? Maybe go sponge+charcoal -> bio balls -> wool+charcoal -> bio-noodles?


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Is there any chance you can post some pics of the filter on your tank and remove the cover? It was difficult to tell from the link you posted on the dimensions of the compartments in the filter and how the water from the pump enters the filter compartment.

Charcoal or carbon is usually used last in a filter like yours. I don't know if the charcoal filled sponge is part of the original media set up or if your friend got it separately. You don't usually have to buy the media that comes with a filter, unless the design of the filter only accepts cartridge style filter inserts. I'm not sure what brands of media are available to you in Australia but I'm sure there are some other options available to use in your filter.


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## lolstep (Jun 13, 2013)

Deeda said:


> Is there any chance you can post some pics of the filter on your tank and remove the cover? It was difficult to tell from the link you posted on the dimensions of the compartments in the filter and how the water from the pump enters the filter compartment.
> 
> Charcoal or carbon is usually used last in a filter like yours. I don't know if the charcoal filled sponge is part of the original media set up or if your friend got it separately. You don't usually have to buy the media that comes with a filter, unless the design of the filter only accepts cartridge style filter inserts. I'm not sure what brands of media are available to you in Australia but I'm sure there are some other options available to use in your filter.


Sorry for the delayed response, just been busy with work etc.



There is the picture of the filter as requested. The flow of water is from right to left. I'm not a 100% sure, but the compartments may be able to be made bigger or smaller.

Deeda thank you very much for all help, it is greatly appreciated


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## lolstep (Jun 13, 2013)

I also only just managed to get around to purchasing a nitrate test today, and did my very first test. Its sitting between 40 - 80ppm, which I'm assuming is too high


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Good picture! I am assuming that the water from the aquarium comes in on the top far right compartment and then flows through the dividers between each compartment and then exits the far left compartment through that pipe, correct?

Your nitrate level can be reduced through more frequent or larger amounts of water changes. I also suggest checking your source/tap water for nitrate to see if that may be contributing to your high nitrates. Are you using a liquid test kit or the dip strip type kit?


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## lolstep (Jun 13, 2013)

Deeda said:


> Good picture! I am assuming that the water from the aquarium comes in on the top far right compartment and then flows through the dividers between each compartment and then exits the far left compartment through that pipe, correct?


Yup thats correct 



Deeda said:


> Your nitrate level can be reduced through more frequent or larger amounts of water changes. I also suggest checking your source/tap water for nitrate to see if that may be contributing to your high nitrates. Are you using a liquid test kit or the dip strip type kit?


I'm using a liquid test kit. I followed cichlidgal's instructions when i did my test, to make sure it was as accurate as I could get it.


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## lolstep (Jun 13, 2013)

Another question. What would happen if I did add more fish? Im assuming it would be harder to maintain water quality and tank cleanliness, or am I off the mark?


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

I wouldn't recommend adding additional fish to the mix you currently have due to the footprint of your tank.


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## lolstep (Jun 13, 2013)

Deeda said:


> I wouldn't recommend adding additional fish to the mix you currently have due to the footprint of your tank.


Alright. What must I do to enable me to add more fish? Or is that possibility next to none?


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