Ammonia Spike Normal after adding fish?

Is it normal to have an Ammonia spike (0.5ppm) after adding 2 somewhat large Ranchu goldfish to a 36 gallon tank? They are the only living things in the tank, it was empty for a week prior to then, we had other ranchu goldfish & some guppy grass from Dec-January.

I'm just concerned my cycle crashed during that 1 week period of nothing being in the tank, although I did continue to ghost feed & put pellets or brine shrimp in on occassion.

I dosed the tank with Prime Conditioner to detoxify the Ammonia & added an Ammonia Filter to my hang on back filter, but is this normal to have an ammonia Spike within a Cycled tank by increasing the Bio-load?

 

Sure, yes you will have a small spike but the tank will adjust. No worry.

Prime does not detox the ammonia.

 

Should I try using Fritz Turbo Start 700 with my fish having been recently added in the tank? Or is it a bad Idea to add anything else at this point? I believe the tank had cycled, someone at my local fish store recommended using Fritz Turbo Start to gain more beneficial bacteria.

 

The tank will adjust on its own in a day or so. No worries.

 

So should I Not do a water change? The Ammonia looks like it’s jumped all the way up to 1 ppm.

last night it was at 0.5ppm
If I keep changing the water out will it not convert to nitrates since I’m constantly putting in new water?

 

You need to measure your pH and then use this table to see when your pH is toxic.

http://www.blueridgekoi.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/pH-and-Ammonia.pdf

Change water to dilute ammonia and keep under the toxic level for your pH. Usually 2 ppm.

 

I changed out 20 gallons (my tank is 36 gallons) and was planning on dosing with Prime conditioner again today since I heard it works for around 24-48 hours

after changing out 20 Gal my Ammonia level went down to 1.0

My pH is 7.40 in the tank so I’m glad to hear they can tolerate a little ammoni until my tank stabilizes

how long should it take my tank to adjust? Just a few days?

 

Adding bottled bb like Fritzyme 7 / Fritz Turbo or Stability (imho) could only help. While bottled stuff is not perfect, my thinking is…..anything to help reduce ammonia is better than nothing at all, especially if fish are present in tank.

 

I would keep doing water changes to keep it as close to zero a s possible. JMO. Keep the fish safe.

 

Do you recommend I keep dosing with Prime conditioner to help with ammonia or fritz turbo start 700?

I don’t want to overload my tank with chemicals which is why I was trying to choose only one at the moment

 

Do you recommend I keep dosing with Prime conditioner to help with ammonia or fritz turbo start 700?

I don’t want to overload my tank with chemicals which is why I was trying to choose only one at the moment

Only dose prime with a water change. You can add the Fritz if you have it. Won't hurt anything. Otherwise just do water changes.

 

Do you recommend I keep dosing with Prime conditioner to help with ammonia or fritz turbo start 700?

I don’t want to overload my tank with chemicals which is why I was trying to choose only one at the moment

In my experience this is super common as bacteria catch up with the added bioload. As StarGirl suggested, I've found regular water changes until the bacteria re-populate over the next week or two, the best solution. I add Prime with every water change too. I tried adding BB in a bottle for this last summer as I was shuttling surrendered goldies around & it did absolutely nothing for me except add 'protein bubbles' I had to do more water changes to clear.

I think it'll clear itself with just water changes & Prime. Hope it helps.