newby with questions

[drewby]

sorry if these seem like stupid questions, im just starting this hobby. when im testing my water, what if the parameters are too high? like what would i do if the ammonia is too high? do i just change the water? what abou ph?

 

[cheapfish1]

it sounds like from your post you are just now cycling the tank so its ok for the parameters to be high since you more than likely have no livestock in the tank. The ammonia will be high for a while then it will decrease and nitrites will come up and then they will go away and the nitrates will go up. After that cycle then you should change some water out for now though unless there is livestock in the tank allow the levels to be this high.

 

[jsgreer1]

if the ph is high there is some stuff called proper ph that is what i use to get mine right. it says on the packet how much it will treat so just get how much you need and put it in it will fix the ph and as for the ammonia cheapfish was right. welcome to the boards

 

[drewby]

thanks for the help. what happens when my tank is cycled and the parameters went down but then came back up? i understand that if the ph is too high i would u se the proper ph stuff as said by jsgreer1, but what about the other stuff? would it just stay the same (0) after it has cycled or can it go up? if it did go up, what would i do? sorry for all the questions, im just thinking ahead.

 

[alyssia]

When you are cycling your tank I have heard that it is pretty hard to keep your ph right.
If your ammonia goes up after the inital cycle you need to look for anything that could be dead and do a water change. If your nitrates are high you need to find the reason and start water changes to bring them down. Your nitrites should only be above 0 during your cycle. Sometimes when you add a new fish you will get a "mini cycle" your levels may go up a LITTLE, that is okay.