General Care Discussion :: Ammonia/Nitrate levels test - What do these number mean?

[TheComputerGremlin]

Hi, I've developed cloudy water. So I went and bought an ammonia and nitrate level testers. Here's the numbers I got:

Nitrate: 60 ppm
Nitrite: > 0.5 ppm
Hardness: 175 ppm
Alkalinity: 100 ppm
pH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0.4 ppm

I can read what the bottle says these numbers mean, but how do I fix them? Is something up with my filter? Is it time for a total tank cleaning?

I changed out about 1/3 of the total water today for new water and those are the levels AFTER the change. My filter was last cleaned probably less than 4 weeks ago, when I replaced the BioChem Zorb. There's no algae buildup, the turtle doesn't seem to be in any stress, the water's just become very cloudy.

Thanks!

[grey goose]

Hardness, alkalinity and pH are things that you need not worry about. Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are the things you need to control.
It all starts with ammonia (turtle waste). Your filter, if it's working properly, converts this to nitrites, then the final conversion is to nitrates.
The filter needs to have nitrifying bacteria built up in the bio media (rings, stars). The bacteria is what "cycles" the waste. Once it gets to the final stage (nitrates) you have to do a water change to keep it under control.

Did you change out all of your media? When you change your water do you use a water conditioner to remove the chlorine? Chlorine will kill the bacteria in your filter. Do you rinse out the sponges and bio media in used tank water or conditioned water?

Nitrate is pretty harmless, but can cause the algae to build up in the tank quickly. 60 PPM is pretty high, but not all that unusual for a turtle tank, especially with multiple turts. To pull down nitrates quickly, do a 50% water change, wait about an hour or so, than do another 50% change. Unless your sponges are really dirty or your bio media is clogged, the level should come down to somewhere in the 10-40 PPM range.

Ideally, ammonia and nitrite should be at zero. If not, you may need to look at the media or maybe use a larger filter. The numbers you show tells me your filter is working, just not as well as it should.

[TheComputerGremlin]

I have a Rena XP3, with ceramic rings and bio stars, BioChem Zorb. When I rinse the filter, I leave the bio stars in tank water when changing the others. I give the BioChem Zorb a good rinse, use the sprayer feature on my shower head to fully clean out the sponges, and replace all back in. Maybe I'll do a couple more partial water changes and clean out the filter, maybe something's clogged ...

[grey goose]

Does BioChem zorb neutralize ammonia? You may be starving the good bacteria in your media and sponges.
When I clean my filters I take a 5 gal. bucket that's about 3/4 full with treated water and rinse my sponges and media out in it. I toss the old charcoal and put in fresh.

[TheComputerGremlin]

I don't think it does the ammonia. No, it does organic waste and pollutants. The ammonia is taken care of with the Bio Stars. I just changed my Zorb, less than 4 weeks ago. But the cloudiness started in the last maybe 2-3 days. Nothing else has been different, no different foods or anything like that, no external sunlight. I am going to clean out the filter tomorrow and do a couple partial water changes and see what happens. I'll report back tomorrow sometime.

[res08]

When you replaced the zorb, it is likely that a good deal of nitrifying bacteria went with it. Rinsing the sponges with tap water will also kill the bacteria. And when you place the tap water soaked sponge back into the filter, that can kill the bacteria as well.

Other things that can stress the bacteria is sudden temperature changes and large water changes. I wouldn't perform back to back 50% water changes within 72 hours.