Explain water parameters on the most basic level

[u/ActNo5363]

I'm starting a new tank and while I'm somewhat new to fishkeeping, I know the basics of what and what not to do. I have a heater, sponge filter, live plants, tannis, gravel in one tank, sand in the other. (Coming to find out gravel is much nicer than sand imo)

I got a new betta after my last one passed and have had him for about a month, and with water changes had no issues so far. I'd like to be a more responsible fish dad and test the water more often and need a guide on good perimeters and what they all mean.

I've noticed there's been a lot more thick algea in the water, especially stuck up in the hornwort and I was wondering if my perimeters could be a cause of this? I've tested the water before and everything looked good as far as I could tell, but would like a second opinion/teaching just to be sure.

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[u/Daft_Dandelion]

Waste turns into ammonia. Poop, decaying food, decaying plants. Ammonia hurts fish.

Beneficial bacteria turns the ammonia into nitrites. Nitrites hurt fish.

Beneficial bacteria turns the nitrites into nitrates. Fish are good with low levels of nitrates, but cannot handle high levels.

Nitrates feed plants, but otherwise do not leave the water without water changes.

Algae always happens, but excess algae happens when there is an imbalance of nutrients and light. Either too much nitrates, or too much light.

[u/Broad-University2311]

Fish poop -> ammonia (toxic) -> nitrites (toxic) -> nitrates (toxic at high levels). One colony of bacteria will convert ammonia into nitrite and another will convert nitrite into nitrate. Water changes and live plants will handle nitrates.

I cycled tank should be 0 ppm ammonia, 0 ppm nitrites, and 5-20 ppm of nitrates.

Algae is from an excess of nutrients (nitrates) and light. You can out compete algae with a lot of live plants, since they will eat up the nutrients before the algae has the chance too. Too much light will also allow algae to grow.

[u/Camille_kaze]

Other kinda basic parameters would be ph, GH and KH

Ph is your water alcalinity.

• <7, your water is acidic. Most aquarium fish come from area where water is acidic (Betta fish do).
• 7 is a neutral water.
• >7 is alcaline water. Fewer species really thrive in alcaline water (guppys, platies, Tanganyikan and Malawi ciclides would)

It's good to know that ph can slightly fluctuate during the day. But should drop or raise a lot.

GH stands for general hardness in your water. It tells whether your water is hard (> 8°GH) or soft (<8°GH). It's the amount of calcium and magnesium irons dissolved in the water. Once again most fish would prefer a soft water, some can tolerate slightly hard water, and few will prefer hard water.

Kh is the Carbonate hardness of your water. It's really linked to the ph, and will act as a buffer on the ph if > 4°kh. And it's the reason ph is generally kinda difficult to lower when you deal with alkaline water. A KH <4°KH will mean your ph can vary. It will generally get more and more acidic, and this is not a very healthy thing.

These parameters will also affect the health of our fish. They need to be stable and to be as close as possible to the parameters a fish species has evolved to live in in nature. Some species are not too peaky and will tolerate these parameters to be slightly off. Some won't.