gcdj

ok i am having huge problem with onee of my tanks
thia one is 30 gallons .... the filters and structures in the tank are from an established tank (been running for a year ... i have had this up and running about 2 almost 3 months everything has been fine ... it only has about 6 smaller fish .... it has a few live plants. I addedsome java moss that i got on ebay about 5 days ago it came in a plastic bag and was damp i attached it to a piece of driftwood ...about 2 days later i did a 35 percent water change using the de chlorinate and ammonia lock ... i have 2 filter cartridges one was months old and one i added a month ago to try to ge bacteriagrowing on the new filter .... when i did the water change tholder cartridgegot rinsedin the sink ( i didn't do it my wife was tryingto help) a day in a half later i noticed the water getting milky (bacteria bloom i guess) (the ammonia was very high 2 PPM i used some ammonia lock and some API stuff that adds bacteria to your water. it is continuing to get milkier and the ammonia is at a deadlt level now ( about 6ppm i did a 50 percent water change on it yesterday however it keeps getting worse ...before i knew anything about tanks i use to rinse the filter off in tap water and i NEVER had this happen . you cannot even see the back of the tank now and it is reaching 8ppm. i can onl think perhaps the "java moss" is causing this terrible reaction ... my fish are stressed and probably about to die. could the plant have mildewed on the journey here and is causing the ammonia... the moss doesnt look dead but my fish will be soon ... i can not imagine that the rinsing on one of the 2 filters could cause this and i donot know how to fix this. in the morning i am going to pull the moss out ... up to this point the tank has been beautiful... but even wheni do 50 percent water changes it keeps on getting worse .... HELP... BTW i have stopped feeding the fish as well ...could it be my moss

aquarist48

Hello gcdj and Welcome to Fish Lore.

It sounds like your tank is experiencing a bacterial bloom which is very common in new tanks up to 1 year. I really don't think your java moss has anything to do with your current problems. If anything the moss will help.

Anytime you remove bio media from your tank or filter you are risking a mini cycle which is what your tank is experiencing with increased ammonia levels. Since your good bio media was rinsed under tap water, assuming you have chlorinated city water, it more than likely destroyed the good bacteria the tank needs to process the ammonia.

I would suggest daily 30 to 50% water changes. Add some Prime or Amquel + (or conditioner of your choice) to detox the ammonia for a 24 hour period until it's time for the next water change. The main concern now is getting the ammonia levels to 0 as the bloom will go away with water changes and once it has run its course.

Once you have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and under 20 nitrates you have regained your cycle.

Continue to feed your fish Just don't "over feed".

The test kit most recommended on this site is the API (liquid) Master Test Kit.

Best wishes!
Ken

gcdj

yes i use the api master test kit ... correct me if i am wrong ... if i use the API ammonia lock to control the ammonia it still shows onthe test as if the water is still fullof ammonia ... because even when i use the ammonia lock if looks as if the ammonia is still getting worse. the fish still look like they are active and not just "laying" on the bottom however the "bloom is to the point where you can not see the back of the tank

Thanks ... anymore help would be GREAT !!!

ynaggo

Yeah don't worry, its just ammonia bloom. It happens to everyone cycling tanks or who have ammonia.

When you use Ammo-Lock it will give you ammonia readings, it just converts the ammonia to ammonium I'm pretty sure which is a non toxic form.

gcdj

ok cool .... i guess i will just wait it out .... so just so i know this is right ... as long as i use api ammo lock at the proper amount i should be able to just wait it out for it to clear and for the ammonia level to drop ....

is this correct?

aquarist48

Hello Gcdj. The ammolock will detox the ammonia for 24 hours until it's time for the next daily water change. You may still get positive readings for ammonia even though you've added it but it will actually be ammonium which is not as toxic to your fish. Continue with your daily water changes until you get the result in post #2 and add the ammolock with each water change.
Ken

gcdj

i dont think i have pushed it into a full cycle because it has been looking good... i used water and filter out of a cycled tank i was just wondering how long this bacteria(or ammonia) bloom will last ... i amkeeping this fish alive however hard to rnjoy my milky white tank?

michaelb323

I had a really nasty algae bloom in my 55 gallon tank I just set up. Give it time to correct itself, once the food is used up, the algae will die off. I did get some good results by adding a couple powerheads and tossing all my bubble stones in along the back of the tank to agitate the water.

At least your problem is a nuisance instead of serious. :/

gcdj

ok ... so patience it is... i also just noticed that my bio wheel is not spinning much at all and the water intake was obstructed somewhat ... it still was flowing but not ike it should have been ... i cleaned the intake tube waterflow is better but bio wheel keeps spinning really slow for a few seconds then it stop then start again ... but it doesn't spin anything like it did when it was new ... i am sure this is adding to my problem ..the visiblity is down to about 3 or 4 inches in the tank and continues to get worse... getting hard to be patient any one have any more advice ..... thanks again

jdhef

The instructions that came with my Eclipse12 (which has a bio wheel) states that it is normal for the bio wheel to slow down or start and stop and that it does not hamper it at all.

gcdj

OK GET THIS ... i have also discovered another reason for my "Bloom"... i have just put fava moss arond some driftwood... my filter had thread wraped around the spinning part of it and my 29 gallon tank was only filtering around 20 gallons per hour ... all the access food was collecting on the bottom of the filter unit but there was just not enough water flow ... so i placed the old filters infront of the new ones to try to help the bacteria build up along .... any ideas on how to make the bacteria build up on the filtes go quicker? or once again should i just be paitient

Kitsune

I would say just be patient

gcdj

Thanks for all your help i will post soon to let you know how it went