how do I check my tank for amonia, nitrite levels.

Question
I had 4 good sized gold fish in a 10 gal tank. everything was fine for over 6 months. I got a 30 gal and moved them. took some of the water from small tank to start 30 gal.I bought a 30 gal filter and and put the one from small. tank in too Added small gold fish,1 pocostmas Now it keeps getting cloudy. I feed every 2 days, flakes,tubeful worms oranges and peas.Not all at once. Please help

Answer
Hey Ruby,

Your tank could be clouding from over filtration. Sometimes, when your filter splashes too much water, it creates tiny little air bubbles that seem to make the water a cloudy pale white. Whats actually happening, is air bubbles are reflecting light from the top, and making the appearance of small gross little things floating around. To test to see if this is the case, unplug the filter for a few minutes and see if there is a difference. If there is no difference, the activated carbon filter may not be working. Try adding more carbon (or replacing the cartridge).

Next, feed the gold fish daily. They have a high demand for food, and will eat and eat, so keep the amounts moderate, but feed daily. You'll see they grow faster, and will be healthier and more active.

For all water quality tests, you can get a freshwater lab test kit, that covers a wide range from pH to Fe-, and some even have Phosphate! A good kit will run about 40$, but will do 350 tests. Test strips are also sold, and are fairly accurate. The strips often cover a wide range of things all in one easy to use paper tab.

If you notice you have water quality problems, AmQuel and NovAqua are powerful products that i use to control a multitude of problems the water may aquire over time!


Best wishes, and good luck.