gcdj

i have beenposting about the last 2 weeks on my milky white tank... bio bloom i know ... the ammonia has hit upwards of 8ppm ... daily doing 20% water change with API ammo lock added every day... my milkiness is decreasing however my ammonia level is not ... is this common .... it has been about 2 weeks since my bloom started cause because a filter got rinsed in tap water... i know that is a no no however my little girl was trying to help so who could get mad at a 7 year old that shares your fascination with fish. I also discovered that my power filter was on its last leg and not filtering nearly what it should so i went and got plenty of api ammo lock i of course you api stress coat to get rid of cholrine and such ... the new filter is a mariland 350 for a 70 gallon tank mine is only 29.... so i am just wondering when can i expect the ammonia to begin to lower ... when i do my water test my nitrites are slowly starting to rise maybe .25 PPM to .50 ppm but seems like they have always been there ...even before the prob ... my bloom is definately getting less i can through the tank now but my ammonia is still through the roof ... any ideas ??

Tony G.

Wow... 8 ppm is really high! You should be doing daily 50% WCs with those levels...
maybe more..

If you just got the new filter, and threw out the other one... then youre starting over... literally. The bacteria need time to be created and catch up to the existing ammonia...

You could use Prime or Ammolock (you're already using) everyday while you do a waterchange... maybe even consider getting some Tetra Safestart if you want to start over and use the additive...

callichma

Do you have fish in that tank?

Lucy

Isn't it great when kids help. lol
It would help everyone if you would fill in your aquarium info found under My Settings at the top left.
That way members don't have to ask a bunch of questions before helping.

Yikes on your ammonia, are there fish in the tank?
Did you replace your filter? Unfortunatly, you've probably lost quite a bit of benefical bacteria by rinsing and then replacing the filter media.
If there are fish in the tank, I'd suggest upping your water changes to 50% daily as long as your pH is the same from tap to tank.
If there's a big difference you can do 2 25% changes.

Good luck!

iloveengl

Hello gcdj. I hope you're enjoying the forum.

Could you please fill in your aquarium info (listed under "Settings" toward the top left); I missed your previous thread and it would be helpful for members to know what fish/inverts are in your tank.

8ppm of ammonia is really high, but if you are using an ammonia detoxifying agent and doing daily water changes, you should see a gradual decrease in ammonia and increase in nitrItes, then nitrAtes. Because the ammonia count is high, it will take a bit of time for the bacteria to catch up with it all. It's a good sign that the ammonia bloom is starting to decease.

Keep up the good work.

gcdj

ok i have filled in some of the settings however i will fill you in here and fill the rest in later

the tank was a 10 gallon used some of that water and the filter from the 10 gallon and had no probs till this the 10 was up for a year

i had 2 filters in my old power filter only one got rinsed but it was the older one the newer one had been in a few weeks

i have a rainbow shark a pleco 2 small angels an upsidedown cat and 2 bleedingheart tetras

the 2 filtersthat were in the tank including the one that got rinsed (which was in the old filter after the disaster for only a week) are sitting infront of the new filters they are smaller but i thought it would be wise to keep them in there to help with what ever bio they had

i am using ammo lock everyday ... i use api master test kit and even directlyafter a water change my ammonia is still reading 8ppm

callichma

I'm wondering if that 8ppm is accurate. I'm not an expert, but I think that at that ammonia level, the fish should be dead or at least in deep distress.

gcdj

there was a point a few days ago where you could not see 4 inches into the tank because the water was so milky .... i can see almost to the back now ... would i be better off making a larger water change and add the suggested tetra safestart? or should i stay the course?

well all my weekly test before the dreaded bloom were reading about .25 ppm ammonia

i do find it odd that even after a 25% water change ( i check the tap water every time and there is no ammonia in my tap water ) that it still reads the darkest green which is 8ppm

Lucy

What is your pH?

gcdj

ph runs a steady 7.2 which i know is to high for angels however i am scared to try to lower anything while this is going on .... my fish were distressed sitting on the bottom about 5 days ago however the last few days they have been swimming around happily eating well ( which i am onl feeding once per day and just enough so the food is mmostly gone in a matter of a couple of minutes) they seem to have bounced back and i haven't lost any yet (knock on wood)

BTW i would like to THANK EVERYONE who has offered advice this is the BEST forum for our hobby i have found

aquarist48

Hello gcdj. If you're going to use Tetra Safe Start (TSS) I suggest a 50% water change with chlorine removed of course. As Lucy said if you have a big difference in pH between the water in your tank and your tap then do 2 25% changes in one day. Add your chemical of choice to detox the ammoina. Wait 24 hours and then add the TSS. Don't do any water changes or tests after adding TSS for 7 to 10 days. Your test results will be all over the place during this time.

If you don't want to use TSS then I suggest daily 50% water changes and add your chemical of choice to detox the ammonia levels. Keep in mind your pH levels. Continue with the changes until you have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and under 20 nitrates.

Glad to hear your tank is clearing.
Best of luck.
Ken

gcdj

I could not find Tetra safe start so i got Seachem Stability "new tank stabilization system"
will this work too ..... i think it will be best if i pull the majority of this water out and strart with mostly new any suggestions

Lucy

Stablity is a product that you have to keep adding with every water change.
The bacteria is not aquatic and dies off quickly.
It will decrease the ammonia, however, it's using the ammonia the bacteria need to develop.
If you stop using it, your ammonia will start to rise again.

Imo, if you can't find TSS, daily water changes with Prime is the next best thing.

callichma

Lucy is right--I know from personal experience. If you use the Stability, you will solve your cycle problems short term, but it will keep your tank from from cycling with self-sustaining bacteria. You can order TSS online.

gcdj

ok so i wm ging to check petco tomorrow if not i will order the safestart i guess i should just continue doing what i am doing till i get it .... i am about to get a 90 gallon tankand i willbe doing a fishless cycle on it ... guess i will start reading up on that.... also getting my daughter a 30 gallon for her room because she loves helping with my tank so is fishless cycle the best way?

Lucy

Imo it is. You don't have to worry about fish being exposed to harmful levels of ammonia or nitrite. And....no water changes until the cycle is done.
Here's Four Methods of Fish Less Cycling