Water Test Results

Tank A
This tank had a blue UV light in it, this brightened the tank a little, but it was still too dark for the live plants in the tank. There were a lot of algae on most of the things in the tank. Only 2-3 real plants, some of which were dying, and the rest were fake plants. The bottom of the tank was lined with pebbles and the tank had 2 underground filters. There were about 30-40 fish in the tank and 5-6 different types. There was water snails spread out throughout the tank. The tank had 2 pumps, 1 oxygenator, 1 trickle filter and a heater that kept the water temperature at a stable 28°C. This tank seemed to be the worst out of all three tanks and these are the results from the water test we did in groups last week Thursday:



Groups 1          2         4
pH     7.2     7.2        6.8
NO3   250       250       250
NO2   0           1          0
KH     6          6          6
GH    10-16   16 16




Tank B
This tank had a dull normal light. It had blue pebbles on the bottom of the tank that was covered with algae and dead plant matter. It had only 3 types of fish and a few snails. The tank had real floating plants, no fake ones and a filter. It had an oxygenator and a heater that kept the tank at 28°C. This tank wasn’t the worst, but it had a lot of algae. These are the results from the water test:



Groups 1         2          4
pH      6.4      6.4       6.8
NO3   100      250       100
NO2   0          1          1
KH     0        6         6
GH    10-16 16       10




Tank C
This tank was the smallest of all 3, and was the tank in the best condition. It had only real plant and lots of them. It had many little snails and 5 different types of fish. There were algae on the plant but the water had really good circulation. The tank had a florescent light, as well as good natural light. The water seemed clear and the tank had a black sandy substrate on its base.  This tank also had a heater that kept it at 28°C and it had filters. This tank had the lowest nitrates count, these are its results:



Groups 1         2        4
pH     6 7.2       7.2
NO3   250     50 50
NO2   0         1 1
KH     3 3          3
GH     6       3         3




My Tank
On Friday last week we had to bring our own water samples from our fish tanks at home to test the water. My results weren't exactly what I was expecting, but then again, I don't really know what I thought I was expecting... Here are the results:


pH      6.4
NO3    0
NO2    0
GH     3
KH     6


From these results I think the Zeolites helped with the zeros for the No3 and NO2. I was expecting the pH level to be more neutral or basic, not acidic, but I realized that Friday, the day we took the water test, was my water change day,so the pH level makes sense.