Help! Ammonia levels not going down!

I've had my 20 gallon set up for about a month and a half. Thanks to the advice of petsmart (sarcasm?), I have an Opaline Gourami, and 3 Platies currently.

I started reading up on the Nitrogen cycle after I bought the fish.

I picked up an API Master Test Kit, shortly before Christmas and found my ammonia at 4, my nitrItes at 0, and my nitrAtes at 5 (I do the test every other day before I do my water change). I started daily water changes of 25% for a week, and then moved to 50%, and adding Prime after each change. On top of that, I started feeding my fish once daily instead of twice, thinking I might be overfeeding them. It took about a week and a half for the ammonia level to drop to 1.

Due to a busy schedule, this week I only changed the water 4 times, but the ammonia has not moved from 1.

Is there anything I can do to bring down the ammonia level? I would really like to add some Danio's and/or Otto's to my tank.

If it helps, my tap water scores an ammonia level of 1. I'm feeding my fish Flake Food, once a day, and add a little bit of bloodworms every third day. The tank is in direct sunlight for a few hours everyday (Which I currently cannot do anything about), and Algae has started to grow on my pirate ship. (which is why I want the Otto's.)

Thanks

 

are you useing any kind of water conditioner ???

 

Its very possible that your tank has cycled already. With no nitrItes showing now, and you do have nitrates. It sounds like the ammonia is coming from your tap and not the cycle of your tank. So that means you are always going to show an ammonia reading of 1 when you test your tank water. It would be a good idea to test the tank water everyday, without doing another daily water change and see how fast it takes for the ammonia to be absorbed by the beneficial bacteria. If it takes around 12 hours, your tank may be cycled.
Once you know for sure your tank is cycled, you won't have to keep doing the daily water changes, thus not adding more ammonia from the tap. And you can go on a more lenient schedule of once a week. I would for the time being tho, continue using an ammonia detoxifer while you are doing your water changes and afterwords at each weekly water change as well.

 

I'll try not doing a water change today/tomorrow and see what the readings are. I'm doing the reading around 24hours after I do a water change, so shouldn't that ammonia be gone by then?

@Tropical: I'm using Tetra AquaSafe as the water conditioner. The bottle of Prime says that it removes Chlorine-Chloramines too. Is it bad to use both, or is that not the case?

 

I agree with kate if its 0 ammonia after 12 hours, the tank is cycled..but if you still have some, it means the bacteria isn't established enough to eat up the small amounts of ammonia in your tap water...and you need to finish the cycle....which is so frustratiing when you have it in the tap....so hopefully you are and using of the prime just makes the small amounts of ammonia you have non toxic for 24 hours...talk about frustration hey!

 

You are likely getting false positive readings of Ammonia. It is quite unusual to see a decline from 4ppm to 1ppm with 0ppm readings in nitrites. Having nitrates likely means that you are cycled.

API Ammonia test kit uses the Nessler reagents, which can show false positives with some other molecules, other than ammonia, like formaline and maybe, I'm not sure here, when chloramines are used to treat the City water.

Try to find a Salicylate reagent based ammonia test kit to rule this out.

Pepe
Santo Domingo

 

I'll try not doing a water change today/tomorrow and see what the readings are. I'm doing the reading around 24hours after I do a water change, so shouldn't that ammonia be gone by then?

@Tropical: I'm using Tetra AquaSafe as the water conditioner. The bottle of Prime says that it removes Chlorine-Chloramines too. Is it bad to use both, or is that not the case?

I would think that if the tank was cycled than the ammonia would be 0 after the 24 hour test. So I would follow Shawnies suggestions in the above post since you are still showing ammonia after that time frame.
I personally like Prime much better and have had so much success with it. If tetra aqua safe says that it detoxifies ammonia than that is fine too. I would not be using both tho, there really is no reason to.
Best of luck with your cycle...

 

You are likely getting false positive readings of Ammonia. It is quite unusual to see a decline from 4ppm to 1ppm with 0ppm readings in nitrites. Having nitrates likely means that you are cycled.

API Ammonia test kit uses the Nessler reagents, which can show false positives with some other molecules, other than ammonia, like formaline and maybe, I'm not sure here, when chloramines are used to treat the City water.

Try to find a Salicylate reagent based ammonia test kit to rule this out.

Pepe
Santo Domingo

Good info., Pepe- do you have a suggestion for a better test kit? I am questioning my API test results...

 

I can't get real technical here, but I'll throw this out there.
Read the directions on the API test kit, I can't find mine. If I remember correctly, the test can't distinguish between ammonia and ammonium. I think the less harmful Ammonium is present in ph's lower than 7?
I hope someone corrects me if this info is wrong.
Something to look into anyway.

 

Thought I would give everyone an update.

I talked to the guy at my LFS and he suggested using Safestart and possibly getting a new filter. I'm getting a 10 gallon in a couple of weeks so I bought both. And after 2 days the Ammonia level has dropped to .5.

The power went out for over two hours while I was at work. Other than killing one of my platies Will that affect my cycling any?


And for the record, the API Liquid Ammonia test uses the Salicylate reagents.

 

DON"T get a completely new filter!!!!! MUCH of the beneficial bacteria is in your filter, and if you completely replace it, it will do major damage to your cycle!

 

I have them both running on the tank at the moment. I added the new filter, and then added some safestart. I will remove the smaller one (Top Fin 20) when I get the 10 gallon tank in a few weeks.

 

Thought I would give everyone an update.

I talked to the guy at my LFS and he suggested using Safestart and possibly getting a new filter. I'm getting a 10 gallon in a couple of weeks so I bought both. And after 2 days the Ammonia level has dropped to .5.

The power went out for over two hours while I was at work. Other than killing one of my platies Will that affect my cycling any?


And for the record, the API Liquid Ammonia test uses the Salicylate reagents.

I'm really sorry about your platy.
As long as the media was kept wet, the cycle shouldn't be effected. I lost mine for about 4 hours the other night and it didnt effect any of my tanks. (I kept them warm by floating hand warmers in zip lock bags and wrapping the tanks in blankets.)

Good to hear the ammonia level is dropping!

 

HI Everyone,
I have been trying to get my ammonia level down for nearly a week???. I have been doing water changes daily of 10% and the ammonia level remains the same. I don't understand what I am missing.

Can anyone please tell me what I need to do?
x

 

You are cycling the tank with fish, is that right? If the level is staying stable with yo water changes it means you are just removing as much ammonia as the fish are creating every day. You need to increase you water changes.

You mention TSS in your water conditioners. Did you use it? If so when? It is a bit hard to work out what is going on from your Aquarium info because you have mentioned bacteria separately. What product have you actually used and when?

These things will help people advise you what to do with your tank

 

HI Liz,

Yes I am cycling with fish, when I started my tank I didn't know anything about the nitrogen cycle. I have had it for 6 weeks now. I only added bacteria once and that was at the time I actually set up the tank from the start...not real sure what the name of it was I borrowed it from a friend...since I have only been using the TSS or Right Start which is the same thing to the water every time I add new water, or do a water change.

Actually I told you wrong on how much I am changing...not 10%. I have no idea why I said that....lol. I have been removing 10 gal. of water a day for the past 4 days now, the ammonia level doesn't change.

So what you are saying is I need to increase that to how much? Maybe 15 gal. or even 20 maybe? The ammonia level reading right now is staying at 0.50 on API Master Kit.

 

Start Right is not the same thing as TSS. Start Right is a water conditioner, TSS is a bacterial additive designed to cycle the tank in the period of a week.
If you're doing 10 gallon a day, and it's not changing the ammonia level, step it up to 15-20g. Also, you may want to test your tap water. You may be starting with .5ppm ammonia, which would make it impossible to drop the level below .5ppm until the aquarium cycles.
Using Prime or another conditioner that detoxifies ammonia will help keep the fish alive until the tank cycles.
If you have a friend with an aquarium, try to snag some cycled filter media from them. Keep it wet on the way home (a Ziploc bag does wonders) and add it to your own filter (it doesn't matter if it's not made to fit in your filter. Cut it so it fits and tuck it in there. You're only doing it temporarily to seed the filter.

 

TSS and RightStart are not the same thing. Are you sure you used Tetra SafeStart?

If you are using Tetra SafeStart, you shouldn't be doing water changes for 7 to 10 days after adding it. If I'm not mistaken Right Start is a water conditioner which removes chlorine, chlorimines and heavy metals.

But if I'm following correctly, and you did use SafeStart, it sounds like you used it improperly and the SafeStart has failed.

So to go the water change route, you should be replacing about 25 gallons a day. Additionally you should be using Prime as your water conditioner, since it will detox the ammonia and nitrites for 24 hours at which point you would be doing another water change with Prime.

Good luck!

EDIT: Ninja'd yet again by SirDarkSol!

 

Oh ok, I am totally lost I thought they were both water conditioners I had no idea. Thanks for letting me know and will definitely test my tap water to see if that is the case. I am not exactly sure what you mean about filter media. So far right now all fish appear to be perfectly fine, very active and healthy acting. Should I still use prime in the water anyway? On my API test kit, everything seems okay other than the ammonia level and as of this point still no nitrates at all, that I haven't been able to figure out either.

Last Complete Reading was:

PH 7.4
Ammonia 0.50ppm
Nitrites 0ppm
Nitrates 0ppm

 

Are you sure what you're using isn't Tetra Aqua Safe?

 

HI jdhef,

Thanks, I think I have been going about this wrong still. Let me make sure I understand you. I have been adding TSS to my water every 5 gal. just as directed on container. So you are saying that this should only be done once a week at the least. In the meantime while doing the water changes of 25 gal. until ammonia level is down use prime in place of that in water as conditioner with each change? Do I use them both together when I do the weekly change?

HI Meenu,

You are right, sorry everyone it is tetra aquasafe not TSS.

 

Got it. You are using the Aqua Safe appropriately.
I prefer Prime if a tank is cycling, which yours is. I have both conditioners.

 

Oh good, I was starting to worry. So what do I do from here, just wait for the cycling process to finish and continue to do the water changes to bring down the ammonia level?

 

R u still using the aquarium salt? If so stop!

 

No I stopped that too...need to take that off of aquarium info. I found out last week I wasn't supposed to do that so I did stop using it.

 

Oh good, I was starting to worry. So what do I do from here, just wait for the cycling process to finish and continue to do the water changes to bring down the ammonia level?

Daily water changes until your readings are 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and 5 or more nitrates. Then you can start weekly water changes (more frequent if your nitrates are getting to be over 20). It takes weeks, so be patient.

 

Great ty so much, just glad to know I am on the right track

 

Yes, since ammonia and nitrite are both toxic and can kill your fish, you want to do daily water changes to keep the ammonia (and nitrite when you get further along in the cycle) at low levels. Prime has the ability to detox low levels of ammonia and nitrite for 24 hours. So by doing 40%-50% water changes with Prime everyday, you are keeping the toxin levels low enough that the Prime can keep them detoxed.

 

When I set up my 75 gallon last Oct. I tried to cycle it with fish. Much like you, I was doing daily water changes. The problem I found with this (much like you are experiencing) is that it is a slow process. Typically during the cycle your ammonia will go up and it will then start being converted to nitrites. Then the nitrites will go up and finally they will start to drop to zero and you will get nitrates. Since you have 0 nitrites and 0 nitrates it looks like you still have a long way to go. If I were you I would go buy a bottle of TETRA SAFE START. Do a water change and if you are using a water conditioner wait at least 24 hours. Then add the entire bottle of Tetra Safe Start. Once you add this bottle leave the tank alone, don't add anything and don't test the water. Just wait for 7 days and then test the water. Your water parameters should be 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and 5 or more nitrates. If not wait three more days and test the water again. That is what I did and the tank cycled in a week. Typically you are supposed to add the TSS the same day you add the fish but since your ammonia is only at .5ppm I think a water change prior and you will be OK. That is not high enough to overwhelm the TSS.

The other option mentioned in an earlier post is used (seeded) filter media. If you know somebody else that has a HEALTHY tank you get get some of the filter floss from inside their filter and put it in your filter. The filter is where most of the good bacteria lives that keeps your tank cycled.

If you don't take either of these steps you will need to continue doing the daily water changes to keep your ammonia level's down. I know that this can ruin your thoughts on this hobby.

 

Hi! Just want to reinforce sds's suggestion to test the tap or source water.
I had tested mine when I set up my aquarium not knowing the parameters in my tap water can and did change being on a municipal water supply.
I almost killed everyone when I did a big water change and retested a few hours later and had gone from .25 to .5 ammonia. Retested the tap and it's coming out at 1 ppm.
Having Prime on hand saved me that night. Best wishes finishing your cycle and I hope your tap water is ammonia free to not add to your stress and the fishes.

 

Just wanted to update on testing tap water....

I did an ammonia test on just the regular tap water and the ammonia level was 0.25.

I also tried to do a 15 gal. water change, retested the ammonia level once again a little later and it is still the same at 0.50.

I am going today to get a bottle of prime to see if I can get this thing on the right track.

I will let you all know how I come out.

I think I am in trouble.....went to the store and bought some prime, added it to the tank. I think one of the fish may have swallowed some of it, she got inactive and is staying towards the bottom of the tank and she is like coughing out stuff. Help....what do I do?

 

I don't think there is anything you can do, but I would think/hope your fish would be okay.

In the future, put the Prime in the water that you are going to be adding to the tank during a water change and not directly in the tank.

 

Thanks, I will keep an eye on her. I am not sure if that is what happened all the others seem to be just fine but I think maybe she did. I hope she will be okay, I have been lucky so far as to no losses and I don't want to start now. I went ahead and put it in there because the bottle said it was okay, I had just done a water change today so I didn't want to do that again.

 

I pour mine into the tank all the time, and my fish come explore it, too... but I've never had this problem.

 

I thought it would be okay, it said on the bottle it was fine to do it that way. I just hope she is going to be okay. Just a short time after adding it to the tank she started coughing up stuff. She did this a couple of times and is just kind of laying low. She is just staying in one spot and away from the others right now. If I had known that it could possibly harm them I would have waited until I redone my water change.

I just wanted to update you all on how the fish is doing, I have watched her for several hours and she has started swimming around the tank as usual as if nothing is wrong with her. I think maybe she just got a little sick for a little bit but she seems to be doing just fine now Next time I will make sure to put the prime in the new water before adding to the tank.

I do have one question, am I supposed to use both the tetra safe and the prime when adding new water? I am still trying to pull down ammonia level and just wanted to be sure.

 

Nope, just the Prime. After the tank is cycled, you can switch if you want to use up the aqua safe, or prefer it.

 

Thanks

 

I'm glad to hear your fish is doing okay.

 

Thank you, she is still doing just fine

 

I got an ammonia spike the day after adding my bristlenose pleco. I too started counting drops right into the tank.
I've figured out it's my fault, not my fish, because every time that lid flips up, food usually follows. My betta got a few drops practically on top of her head and was out of sorts for about an hour. She was okay too.

I've only had to dose the whole tank twice since then, once when I replaced a filter sponge and once from taking too much filter media over to another tank.
I just scooped some tank water into my "tank cup" that's just for water tests, etc. and put half the drops in, swirled then poured back in and repeated.

So the instructions aren't completely wrong, it is safe to dose your whole tank with it, they just aren't thorough to say... don't create concentrated pockets because it takes a few minutes to diffuse. Glad everything is okay now!!!