fishingman001

i test my water every month and i tested it today and the ammonia level shot up. ammonia is at 4. pH is at 7. nitrate is ~10. nitrite is 0.

i tested it several times to be sure because my ph is neutral and i thought the ph changes when the ammonia changes.

my fish are not acting weird. they don't seem to have any ammonia poisoning affects.

Lucy

Wow, was the tank cycled at some point?
What test kit are you using?

fishingman001

i am using API test kit. the tank cycled before i put fish in.

mommybaby295

Good morning!
I have a couple of questions:
What kind of test are you using?
Your tank is about 2 months old according to your Info - do you know if it cycled?
How often do you do water changes? Do you change the water or top off the evaporated water only?

Just a suggestion - I would try to check the parameters a bit more often if I were you.

I think your best course of action would be to go ahead and add Prime or Amelquel Plus, and start water changes until your parameters are better. Seems to me that even if the fish aren't showing signs of poisoning, it's still not a good environment for them.

As far as the pH, I think I remember reading that pH goes lower if water isn't changed frequently? Not sure.

edit: by Lucy

fishingman001

i change 5 gallons of water every 2-3 weeks. i add prime to the water when doing changes. it did cycle.

Lucy

Did you add all of the fish at the same time? Could be you overwhelmed the bacteria.
I agree, daily water changes with Prime until you get your cycle back.
Once you do, weekly water changes are recommended to keep things in check.

One thing, with the #2 nitrate bottle. Unlike the other tests, it contains crystals. If it's not mixed correctly, you could have a false 0 nitrate reading.
You really have to bang it against a table and shake the heck out of it.

fishingman001

no. i added only a couple fish at a time and haven't added fish for about a week or so. i did bang the bottle on the table and shook it for about a minute. can i add prime directly to my aquarium? i usually just add it to the jugs of water going into my tank. thanks for the responses.

mommybaby295

Yes, you can add prime to the tank. However, if you are using tap water with chlorine, I would add it before putting it in the tank, so that the fish aren't exposed to the chlorine even for a bit.

Lucy

According to the bottle, You can add the water to the tank then add the Prime.
If you do this, add enough to dose the tank not just the amount of water you add.

I always feel safer adding Prime to the new water before putting it in the tank.

fishingman001

3 questions....when changing the filter media, do i just rinse out the sponge in some old tank water and get new carbon and biomax?
i have ICH in my tank now (ammonia is stressing the fish causing ICH probably) so do i have to get all new media when I finish treating ICH?
and would the ammonia remover that goes in the aquaclear filters remove all the ammonia?

thanks again.

Lucy

1) Yes, but only when it's gunky. (I don't know what bio max is, so I can't answer that)

2) No, if you treat the ich with temps slowly raised to 84F, increase aeration and leave it there for at least 2 weeks, do frequent water changes and gravel vacs to pick up any ich spores. (If you treat with meds, this could kill any benefical bacteria)

3) I'm not sure what ammonia removers come with aquaclear filters.

fishingman001

the weather loach is the only fish in the tank that has visible signs of ich. she also keeps rubbing her self on the gravel. it also looks like the back left side of her is moving...almost like the scales are shifting. the other fish are fine. the ammonia lvl is going down. it is at 1 now. nitrates,ph, and nitrites stayed the same from the first test on this page.

AlyeskaGirl

No, you don't need to replace the biomax, that's where most of your bacteria colonies establish, just rinse in bucket of tank water to get any gunk off. If and when you need to replace put a new one in for about 2-3 weeks before throwing the other out. I haven't replaced any of mine at all and my aquaclears have been runnin for quit awhile.

I am sorry you had an ammonia spike and brought an ICH attack. You've gotten some good advice, hang in there.

aquarist48

Hello FishingMan. Sorry to hear you're having some problems.

Never rinse or change your bio max or sponges in tap water and don't replace them. These house most of your good bacteria. Only rinse them in siphoned tank water about once a month. Just gently swoosh them around in the bucket and you can give the sponge a gentle squeeze or two.

I would suggest daily 30 to 50% water changes and add some Prime to detox the ammonia for 24 hours until it's time for another water change. Continue with the daily water change until you have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and under 20 nitrates (5 to 10 even better).

pH naturally lowers over time. To my knowledge ammonia has nothing to do with your pH levels.
Properly Maintaining the pH in a Freshwater Aquarium - Rate My Fish Tank

Ich: Raise the tank temperature to 84/85 degrees and leave it there for two weeks. Make sure the water temperature for your water changes is the same as in your tank. Also match your pH levels as close as possible. Ich cannot reproduce in temperatures over 82 and will die off during the two week period. Do two gravel vacuums each week to remove the Ich spores that fall off the fish and into the gravel/substrate. Warmer water requires more oxygen so you may need to add an air stone/air supply if you aren't currently using one.

Test more frequently.

Best wishes and I hope you can get things back on track soon.
Ken

fishingman001

the ammonia is now at .5 but when i woke up there was an ich explosion. the weather loach is covered and so are the swords. the temp is still at 85. i have quick cure. should i use that? thanks.

mommybaby295

Sorry about the ich! I wouldn't use the medication. Just try the temp / gravel-vac method for a couple of weeks

fishingman001

the weather loach is a cold water fish. could the heat be stressing it enough to cause the ich?

mommybaby295

Oh, I don't know. Hopefully someone else can answer that.