Interpreting water test results?

[xobettaox]

Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
Ammonia: .25
Chlorine: 0
pH: 8.4
Hardness: 150, hard
Alkalinity: 300, very high

I have 1 betta in a 5 gallon tank

[Kytkattin]

I never test the last two, so I don't know what they should be in. What the other results tell me though is:

You don't have a cycled tank because you have no nitrate. If you don't have fish I would not do a partial water change, if you do have fish, you might want to do a partial one.

That PH is high. I know that generally fish are able to adapt, but geez, that is high. I am not sure if it is going to be a problem for keeping bettas, but do keep in mind that the higher the PH the stronger the effect ammonia will have on the fish. You will need to ask someone who knows water params better what they suggest for that high PH.

[Hallyx]

OldFishLady keeps fish in liquid rock like you have. Ask her if there a re any special considerations.

[Oldfishlady]

Originally Posted by Hallyx

OldFishLady keeps fish in liquid rock like you have. Ask her if there a re any special considerations.

Laffs...you got that right...lol.....

What kind of testing products are you using and what are your base-line results on your source water-both with and without the normal additives you use. What kind of additives used and how long has the tank been setup. Is the Betta having any problems in your source water. Type of filter, if one is used and filter media care, any live plants, if so, number, species and growth state.

Most Betta will adapt to our source water chemistry and be fine, however, we do have some exceptions. Unless you can use soft water from either R/O or even rainwater if it is safe to collect in your area-You can have rebound issues when using the chemical additives to lower pH-since it usually doesn't do anything for the hardness and the pH swings can sometimes be stressful on the Betta.

As for the ammonia-this could be due to either ammonia in the source water or due to additives-since some can skew test results or limited water changes, cycling process or overfeeding and/or poor quality food.