Ammonia And Ammonium And A Ryukin

[Lauradesu]

I checked the levels of my fish tank that is on its 15th day of cycling everything seemed fine, where is should be according to the api master kit...everything but the ammonia. Now I'm no fool I know what ammonia can do to a fish so I started googling a better way to test for free ammonia since the api test cant tell ammonia and ammonium apart. I found the seachum ammonia (free and total) test kit and I bought it with out hesitation. The ammonia is laying around at 0.1 ppm (at least I think it tests at ppm) but its EXTREMELY low on the scale that goes with it, we also have top fin ammonia remover and we have been using that. I'll post pictures of where the ammonia is but the ammonium Is out of control. This all boils down to one of my three ryukins in my 50 gallon tank. When we got him he was just orange and white but hes gotten bigger and we dont know if hes just changing colour or some how got ammonia burn....but we dont know how since it's so low or if I'm missing something I'll also post a picture of him as well.

 

[OneLittleBubble]

Do plenty of water changes, and if it gets out of control use some seachem prime to lower to ammonia

 

[Dch48]

Ammonium is non-toxic so shouldn't damage anything. It's high because of using things like Prime or another ammonia "remover" that claim to remove Ammonia but actually only convert the toxic ammonia to the non-toxic ammonium. The beneficial bacteria consume both types.

 

[Lauradesu]

Ammonium is non-toxic so shouldn't damage anything. It's high because of using things like Prime or another ammonia "remover" that claim to remove Ammonia but actually only convert the toxic ammonia to the non-toxic ammonium. The beneficial bacteria consume both types.

Yes but is my ryukin okay? Or is he just turning into a calico coloured ryukin

I really need to know if my ryukin has burns I'm really worried here. They look like hes actually changing colour because when I first got him he was orange and white then he turned orange white and slightly gold then he started getting darker orange patches and some black but he looks like hes going calico but I dont know

Okay so I posted a thread some where else about ammonia and ammonium I know the difference and which one is toxic. My ammonia is very low right now (0.1ppm) and I'm not sure if my ryukin Is just changing colour or has ammonia burn some how. He started orange and white then started to get gold to him now he has dark orange spots and some black but it doesnt look like burns to my knowledge it looks like hes going calico but I'm not sure. I'll post a picture I just need help

 

[Albifrons]

It doesn't look like there's anything wrong with him to me, the black is just his skin changing color as he matures.

 

[Lauradesu]

It doesn't look like there's anything wrong with him to me, the black is just his skin changing color as he matures.

Ah so he is going calico on us, kinda figured that's what was happening because he started changing colour already.

 

[Ms rose]

gold fish and other fish change color as they age. i would say that is whats going on.

 

[Lauradesu]

So we did a 50% water change on my 50 gallon yesterday. My water readings for yesterday after the water change were as such:
*EDIT* this is the 15th day of my tank cycling


Ph: 7.4
Ammonia: 0.2ppm
Nitrite: 2.0ppm
Nitrate: 10ppm



And now today they are
Ph: 7.4
Ammonia: 0.1ppm
Nitrite: 0.25ppm
Nitrate: 0ppm



So as you can see my ammonia dropped but that's fine because the ammonium is ....really high but meh and the nitrite dropped over night and through the day and we dont know how because we didn't add anything to it other than the aquavita seed liquid to the filter and the nitrates are gone WHY ARE THEY GONE?

 

[Kyleena696]

Is the tank heavily planted?

Edit: did you happen to clean/replace your filter media?

 

[fjh]

Plants and algae can use up nitrates, but you would have to have a lot to see a drastic decrease.

I have *heard* about nitrates gassing off sometimes but the people never manage to repeat it so most likely it was due to somethung else.

 

[Lauradesu]

I only have three plants in my 50 gallon and they aren't taking up that much. This is its 15th day of cycling so I'm seriously confused if this is a bad thing and also I havent replaced anything

Plants and algae can use up nitrates, but you would have to have a lot to see a drastic decrease.

I have *heard* about nitrates gassing off sometimes but the people never manage to repeat it so most likely it was due to somethung else.

What else could cause this in a cycling tank and is this bad.

 

[Kyleena696]

I only have three plants in my 50 gallon and they aren't taking up that much. This is its 15th day of cycling so I'm seriously confused if this is a bad thing and also I havent replaced anything

Did you clean the filter media when you did the water change?

 

[Mom2some]

I would retest first. There are multiple places to make unintentional errors when doing the liquid nitrate test. Bang the HECK out of bottle #2 - against the floor, counter, your knee, etc. before you test. Add drops from bottle #1, then cap & shake for 5 second, add drops from bottle #2, shake for 1 full minute, then let sit for 5 min, then read the results.
Also - have you tested your source water? Maybe you had nitrates there which were giving you false readings & now they are gone? (Just guessing on this second one since my tap Ammonia can vary from 0 to 4.0!)

 

[Lauradesu]

Did you clean the filter media when you did the water change?

I never do that, you're not suppose to clean it right?

I would retest first. There are multiple places to make unintentional errors when doing the liquid nitrate test. Bang the HECK out of bottle #2 - against the floor, counter, your knee, etc. before you test. Add drops from bottle #1, then cap & shake for 5 second, add drops from bottle #2, shake for 1 full minute, then let sit for 5 min, then read the results.
Also - have you tested your source water? Maybe you had nitrates there which were giving you false readings & now they are gone? (Just guessing on this second one since my tap Ammonia can vary from 0 to 4.0!)

I just did all that you said before you posted this and still getting a reading of 0!!! I had to call my dad for help and even hes scratching his head because we did nothing and they just proofed! Our water has no nitrates but our 15 gallon has nitrates right now but it's only been cycling for 7 days

 

[Mom2some]

I never do that, you're not suppose to clean it right?

You are (esp the mechanical filtration will need physical removal of funk - but you want to use tank water or dechlorinated water so as not to damage your B.B.

 

[Kyleena696]

I never do that, you're not suppose to clean it right?

You're supposed to clean it in dirty tank water. [edit: or clean dechlorinated water as stated above. I use tank water during a water change just to be extra safe].I do mine every 2-3 weeks, whenever my filters start to slow down a bit.

I was just throwing out ideas that could have sucked up your nitrates or destroyed your cycle. I'm stumped now.

 

[Mom2some]

I would wait 12-24 hours & retest. We had a poster who was getting a clear result, not even yellow, one night. With a test kit that had worked previously, was not out of date, etc and then the next night bang - it was normal again. Unless your nitrates were super low, a large water change should not make them zero. What media are you using in your tank?

 

[Kyleena696]

What do you use as a dechlorinator?
Also, what were the parameters before your water change?

I would wait 12-24 hours & retest. We had a poster who was getting a clear result, not even yellow, one night. With a test kit that had worked previously, was not out of date, etc and then the next night bang - it was normal again. Unless your nitrates were super low, a large water change should not make them zero. What media are you using in your tank?

Doesn't prime interfer with test results if it be hasn't been 12-24 hours since it's added? I don't know if it affects nitrate or not though.

 

[Cardeater]

What do you use as a dechlorinator?
Also, what were the parameters before your water change?


Doesn't prime interfer with test results if it be hasn't been 12-24 hours since it's added? I don't know if it affects nitrate or not though.

I thought the only effect from prime is that locked up ammonia or nitrate still show up on the test even though they are detoxified?

 

[Kyleena696]

I thought the only effect from prime is that locked up ammonia or nitrate still show up on the test even though they are detoxified?

Did you mean nitrite?
I honestly don't know. I've just read that once you add prime you wait 12-24 hours to test because it can skew the test results but I've never heard anyone say how it changes the results.