Hello all,
I'm running a QT tank for my fish as I am treating for ich with copper (Coppersafe).
Becasue I wanted to get into medicating as soon as possible, I set up the QT with some water from the DT and a few matrix rocks from the sump.
Unfortunately that wasn't enough to have an instantly cycled QT so I have to keep an eye on my ammonia levels.
Since I am using Coppersafe, I read that the Seachem ammonia alert badge would be the only one that would be somewhat realiable with this treatment.
The issue I am having is that I am seeing 2 different things on the badge, depending on whehter I have the aquarium light on or off.
I am posting the 2 pictures below for comparison and what I am looking for is some info/direction on how to correctly read them.
When I have the tank lights on, the light is basically in the back of the badge and as it lights through it, I am seeing a yellow color on the indicator (showing a safe level).
If I turn the tank light off and turn the room light on to look at the badge, I am seeing a green color, indicating an "Alert" level of ammonia.
Which one should I go by? Looking at the fish, they seem ok. No heavy brething, not trying to stay close to the surface, so I assume the ammonia is likely in the safe level.
Yet, I don't want to just assume that they are ok, I want to be sure and the correct reading of the Seachem badge would give me some reassurance. I would hate to start losing fish because of a bad reading or a sign that I missed.
I'm only using a 10 gal QT so making water changes it's not that difficult in case I have ammonia spikes, but I would rather avoid these water changes if possible.
Done already a 50% water change yesterday and the same again today, but starting today I am counting the 30 day period for my copper treatment as I just got at 1.7 ppm last evening and I am a bit nervous because I don't want to somehow get below that therapeutic level with all these water changes.
It eats pretty quickly my reagent supply too becasue I do a test for the QT water before water change to see where my copper is at, and then another test for the new water that I am adding to make sure I have enough copper in it. a 3rd reagent bag goes in the evening when I check again the copper level in the QT. So 3 tests a day will have me go through almost 4 packs of reagent by the time I hit the 30 day treatment period.
Any input/advice on how to correctly read that Seachem badge would help a lot!
Thank you in advance!
I'm running a QT tank for my fish as I am treating for ich with copper (Coppersafe).
Becasue I wanted to get into medicating as soon as possible, I set up the QT with some water from the DT and a few matrix rocks from the sump.
Unfortunately that wasn't enough to have an instantly cycled QT so I have to keep an eye on my ammonia levels.
Since I am using Coppersafe, I read that the Seachem ammonia alert badge would be the only one that would be somewhat realiable with this treatment.
The issue I am having is that I am seeing 2 different things on the badge, depending on whehter I have the aquarium light on or off.
I am posting the 2 pictures below for comparison and what I am looking for is some info/direction on how to correctly read them.
When I have the tank lights on, the light is basically in the back of the badge and as it lights through it, I am seeing a yellow color on the indicator (showing a safe level).
If I turn the tank light off and turn the room light on to look at the badge, I am seeing a green color, indicating an "Alert" level of ammonia.
Which one should I go by? Looking at the fish, they seem ok. No heavy brething, not trying to stay close to the surface, so I assume the ammonia is likely in the safe level.
Yet, I don't want to just assume that they are ok, I want to be sure and the correct reading of the Seachem badge would give me some reassurance. I would hate to start losing fish because of a bad reading or a sign that I missed.
I'm only using a 10 gal QT so making water changes it's not that difficult in case I have ammonia spikes, but I would rather avoid these water changes if possible.
Done already a 50% water change yesterday and the same again today, but starting today I am counting the 30 day period for my copper treatment as I just got at 1.7 ppm last evening and I am a bit nervous because I don't want to somehow get below that therapeutic level with all these water changes.
It eats pretty quickly my reagent supply too becasue I do a test for the QT water before water change to see where my copper is at, and then another test for the new water that I am adding to make sure I have enough copper in it. a 3rd reagent bag goes in the evening when I check again the copper level in the QT. So 3 tests a day will have me go through almost 4 packs of reagent by the time I hit the 30 day treatment period.
Any input/advice on how to correctly read that Seachem badge would help a lot!
Thank you in advance!