Bad ammonia and ph

I have 2ppm ammonia and 6.6 ph.
I have crushed coral to make ph rise but do I just do water changes to get rid of the ammonia?
And do I feed my fish tonight?
Current parameters are
ammonia 2ppm
Nitrate 5 ppm
Nitrite 0 ppm
Ph 6.6 ppm

 

Yes, you need to do a large water change to get the ammonia level down to 0.50 ppm and preferably 0.25 ppm. You’re in the process of cycling this tank?

 

Yes, you need to do a large water change to get the ammonia level down to 0.50 ppm and preferably 0.25 ppm. You’re in the process of cycling this tank?

No it was fine but then I had a bunch of fin rot then I think I added too much of the mealfix or the marcyn oxy and it reset the whole cycle. Is that even possible?

 

I’m not sure what caused it (not familiar with the products you mention), but you’re basically doing a fish-in cycle at this point.

The only way to keep your fish safe is with daily testing and water changes to keep ammonia (and possibly nitrites?) at safe levels.

 

I’m not sure what caused it (not familiar with the products you mention), but you’re basically doing a fish-in cycle at this point.

The only way to keep your fish safe is with daily testing and water changes to keep ammonia (and possibly nitrites?) at safe levels.

Ok will do

 

The low pH level is both a blessing and a curse. On on hand at lower pH levels, ammonia exists primarily in the ammonium ion form which is less toxic to fish than ammonia. However, the beneficial bacteria responsible for converting ammonia to nitrite and nitrite to nitrate do not grow quite as rapidly at that pH level. so it will take much longer to develop the colonies of beneficial bacteria needed.

Thus, you need to do several things:
1. Make sure you do not overfeed your fish. Right now it would be better to underfeed them.
2, Get the ammonia level down by doing water changes. If necessary, do 50% daily water changes until the ammonia level is under 0.5 ppm.
3. You can use a ammonia detoxifier such as Seachem Prime to reduce the toxicity of the ammonia to reduce stress of your fish. Add this product when doing the water change as it also dechlorinates the water. This specific product seems to be the one most recommended in this situation. It does not appear to disrupt the growth of beneficial bacteria. Other products may bind with the ammonia such that it is not readily available to the bacteria.
4. If your water is soft and acidic, you can use crushed coral to slowly increase the hardness, alkalinity and pH of the water. However, it would be best if you obtain a test kit for measuring the general hardness (dGH) and the carbonate hardness (dKH) of the water. If your water is already hard enough, you can use sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) to raise carbonate hardness and pH. However, I do not recommend using that method until you know the hardness and alkalinity of your water.

 

Yes. 3-4 good 50% water changes before the crushed coral goes in. When the pH goes up, so does the toxicity of ammonia. @2ppm and 6.6, your fish are pretty darn safe. Gotta get that ammonia number down before you swing the pH up.

 

Yes. 3-4 good 50% water changes before the crushed coral goes in. When the pH goes up, so does the toxicity of ammonia. @2ppm and 6.6, your fish are pretty darn safe. Gotta get that ammonia number down before you swing the pH up.

Ok thank you

The low pH level is both a blessing and a curse. On on hand at lower pH levels, ammonia exists primarily in the ammonium ion form which is less toxic to fish than ammonia. However, the beneficial bacteria responsible for converting ammonia to nitrite and nitrite to nitrate do not grow quite as rapidly at that pH level. so it will take much longer to develop the colonies of beneficial bacteria needed.

Thus, you need to do several things:
1. Make sure you do not overfeed your fish. Right now it would be better to underfeed them.
2, Get the ammonia level down by doing water changes. If necessary, do 50% daily water changes until the ammonia level is under 0.5 ppm.
3. You can use a ammonia detoxifier such as Seachem Prime to reduce the toxicity of the ammonia to reduce stress of your fish. Add this product when doing the water change as it also dechlorinates the water. This specific product seems to be the one most recommended in this situation. It does not appear to disrupt the growth of beneficial bacteria. Other products may bind with the ammonia such that it is not readily available to the bacteria.
4. If your water is soft and acidic, you can use crushed coral to slowly increase the hardness, alkalinity and pH of the water. However, it would be best if you obtain a test kit for measuring the general hardness (dGH) and the carbonate hardness (dKH) of the water. If your water is already hard enough, you can use sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) to raise carbonate hardness and pH. However, I do not recommend using that method until you know the hardness and alkalinity of your water.

But with the ph being that low all my corys died except 1 i had 6 btw
Also, I have Aqueaon ammonia neutralizer Will that work for the seachem prime or do I actually need the seachem prime.
Also with cloudy water what do I do.

 

Ok thank you

But with the ph being that low all my corys died except 1 i had 6 btw
Also, I have Aqueaon ammonia neutralizer Will that work for the seachem prime or do I actually need the seachem prime.
Also with cloudy water what do I do.

I wish I could tell you whether Aqueon ammonia neutralizer is good. I have not used it. I have used Seachem Prime.

I tried looking for reviews of the product.. Most of them are customer reviews on sites such as Amazon and Chewy that sell the product. There can be valid reviews on those sites, but before recommending a product like that I would want reviews by experienced fishkeepers on a site like this one. I have seen numerous positive comments and recommendations for Seachem Prime, so I do not hesitate in recommending it or using it myself.

Since you have the Aqueon product, you can keep using it and see what happens. If the ammonia level stays under control and you start to see development of nitrite and then nitrate in the tank, you will know it is doing what you want it to do. If the ammonia stays low, but you never see an increase in nitrates, that is an indication that the product is locking up the ammonia such that it is not available as a food source for the nitrifying bacteria.

 

I wish I could tell you whether Aqueon ammonia neutralizer is good. I have not used it. I have used Seachem Prime.

I tried looking for reviews of the product.. Most of them are customer reviews on sites such as Amazon and Chewy that sell the product. There can be valid reviews on those sites, but before recommending a product like that I would want reviews by experienced fishkeepers on a site like this one. I have seen numerous positive comments and recommendations for Seachem Prime, so I do not hesitate in recommending it or using it myself.

Since you have the Aqueon product, you can keep using it and see what happens. If the ammonia level stays under control and you start to see development of nitrite and then nitrate in the tank, you will know it is doing what you want it to do. If the ammonia stays low, but you never see an increase in nitrates, that is an indication that the product is locking up the ammonia such that it is not available as a food source for the nitrifying bacteria.

Ok thank you

 

But with the ph being that low all my corys died except 1 i had 6 btw
Also, I have Aqueaon ammonia neutralizer Will that work for the seachem prime or do I actually need the seachem prime.
Also with cloudy water what do I do.

Sorry if this sounds blunt....There are probably 100 other things that are more likely causes for the death of your corys than a pH of 6.6. 6.6 should be no problem

 

Sorry if this sounds blunt....There are probably 100 other things that are more likely causes for the death of your corys than a pH of 6.6. 6.6 should be no problem

Cory catfish are from South America where acidic water conditions are rather common. So the pH is unlikely to be the cause of the cory deaths. However, Corys are armored catfish which means they have bony plates rather than scales common to most other fish. That distinction make scaleless fish sensitive to a lot chemicals that might not affect other fish. Corys do best in pristine water, not water with high ammonia levels.