High High AMMONIA !! ??

hI again everyone ..ive got a problem with high ammonia its 4.0 and rising..I change 25 % of my water every night,ive been doing this for over a week..but the ammonia levels don't seem to come down any > ..even when I test it straight after the water change..my last test showed

ammonia 4.0 - 5.0 ppm
nitrite .50 ppm
nitrate 5.0 - 8.0
PH 7.2

my tank is still cycling by the way..I'm starting to worry about the fish in there,they don't look or act sick in any way but the ammonia can't be good for them.how can I get the levels down without using any chemicals..tried ammo-lock but it mesed up my cycle for a while so I don't want to risk doing that again with any other products..just in case..would changing say 50% water be a good idea ??? ? I'm spending a fortune on stress coat by the way with all these water changes.

 

I would recommend a very large water change of at least 50-75%. Then get some Prime. Don't use the Stress Coat or Ammo-Lock. Prime will detoxify the ammonia and nitrites so it won't hurt the fish but they will still be available to assist with the biological filtration. I'm amazed that your fish aren't dead with that amount of ammonia. If they do survive, I fear they won't be very healthy and won't live their full lives.

 

thanx for such a quick reply boxermom.. .. well I'm going to do a 75% waterchange right now..the stress coat I'm using is to treat the water for chlorine..ive never seen prime anywere around the pet shops I go to.. is it an american make??hope my fishies are going to be ok..I will never forgive myself if they don't make it.. thanx again..

 

It's made in America as far as I know but I know of people in other countries can often find it. For the future, I would recommend not cycling with fish, particularly with those types of fish. We can assist you with fishless cycling which is much more humane. I don't know if its available in Australia, but you might want to see if you can find some Biospira, too. That will "instant" cycle your tank in a matter of days.

Here is a list of dealers of Prime. The manufacturer is Seachem: Hopefully one of them is relatively close to you.

 

HI David sorry to here you are still having ammonia problems .When I had high levels my LFS sold me Kent Ammonia Detox which worked for me ,it neutralizes ammonia,chorine and chloramines and detoxifies nitrite and nitrate instanly so allowing immediate addition of tap water so it does 2 jobs and is cheaper than stress coat .This stuff sounds a bit like Prima that Boxermom was talking about it says that 5ml per 20 gallons will remove up to 1ppm ammonia and then add to your water when changing it to keep the ammonia in check hope this has been of some help boff.

 

hI everyone ..ok seems I might be misleading a few people with the flag thing..I am living in Scotland UK,I was brought up in Australia and have lived most of my life there I consider myself an aussie and I always will..that's why I have the Australian flag..lol .I know I shouldnt be cycling with the fish especialy my clowns,thing is I started a fishles cycle before I got a test kit.I got my test kit a week and a half after starting the cycle and the first readings I got were good so I thought it had cycled..so everything from my old tank went into the new 1,Everything exept the heater..so I couldnt take them out again because that's the only tank I have up and running now.. :-[ .well I done a water change of just over 50% that's a lot of water it took me hours..but it has dropped the ammonia levels down to 1.0 ..I will probably do another 25% today..I went to 1 of my lfs and he recomended bactozym to speed up benificial bacteria development..apparently u can add fish 48 hours after using it.. :-\ we will see..kent ammonia detox sounds good boff I might have to try and find some of that instead of stress coat,but do you know if it messes with the cycle in new tanks ??? ?..I got some silk plants too boff,they look much better than my natural ones..but I'm still going to keep a few natural ones in there .I asked about bio-spira at my lfs he knows what it is but they don't get it as its to expensive and they don't think they will sell enough of it..thanx again everyone

 

HI David ,I dint know if it messes with your cycling but I have sent Kent an email and asked them for you, so as soon as I know you will .Silk plants are great and mixed with real plants it makes the tank look good ,when you have a chance you will have to post some more pics because I do relay like your tank mate well take care boff.

 

removing ALL the ammonia from the water would indeed mess with the cycle but you HAVE to remove most of it or your fish will die. Even if there is a small amount left in the tank the cycle will progress and the fish can survive a SMALL amount even though they will not like it. It does need to be there though so that it can convert to nitrites which in turn convert to the nitrates that are the final breakdown of the ammonia process. When the ammonia can go to 0 without the addition of chemicals then the cycle is well on its way.

Rose

 

David I'm sorry to hear your having such problems with the new tank. I know you moved all the stuff from the old cycled tank and even though it(the other tank) was smaller that will give the new tank a jump start. Your clowns and shark are still small but huge waste producers so it is easy for the ammonia to get out of hand until your tank is fully cycled. I know you thought the tank wouldn't go through a cycle after adding the other stuff and didn't intend to cycle with fish. If you do the water changes suggested and cut down on feedings temporarly you will remove ammonia and the fish won't produce as much waste. Lets see if that helps.
Carol

 

Sorry David the email that I sent Kent failed, mailer demon said the site was no more ,which I can't under stand when I got the address from there bottle ,maybe your LFS might know more boff. ???

 

;D hI everyone ;D thanx boff glad you like my tank mate still a work in progress, but I'm getting there.. ;D I typed kent ammonia detox into the google search bar..you can get information about it that way..but the good news is I might not need it ;D ;D ..after the big water change and a dose of bactozym, the ammonia was 1.0 I mentioned that in my last post.I haven't changed the water or added any chemicals since then..and my tests are good.. ;D

ammonia .25
nitrite 0.0 ;D
nitrate 10.0 ;D

I was going to do another 25 % water change but I read chickadees post and thought I better not..thanx chickadee and ive done exactly what you have said butterfly ive still been feeding them twice a day but not quite as much,good advice. thanx butterfly ..so hopfully I'm almost there this time..I'm thinking the bactozym might have something to do with it,just hope its not a quick fix..my clowns and shark are not so small now butterfly sharky MkII is getting big quick and my clowns are a lot bigger too.. ;D I will take some more pics soon boff,maybe tomorow.did you manage to get the videos to work boff?? if they work then I might take some more videos as well.. thanx again everyone ;D

heres a few quick ones I have on the computer already but haven't posted,the fishies have grown a bit since I took these pics..I will take some new ones as soon as I can..if any one has a cool name for my shark I would like to here it I'm thinking I'm going to call him (or her) shadow. : but if anyone can think of a better name I might reconsider.at the momment I refer to him/her as sharky MkII..

 

Wow! Beautiful tank! And your red-tail shark is gorgeous!
I would love to have a tank that big, but I can imagine how much space it takes up..... phew!! (I have plans to tear out a dividing wall and build a 6 foot long tank into the space..... but don't tell my husband!! )
I truly hope all is well with your tank and fish. I did the fish-cycle thing, and next time plan on doing it fishless. Ammonia is truly a pain.
Best of luck to you!

S.
By the way....... how is it in Australia? I've wanted to make a trip there since I was little, even dreamed of moving there. Doesn't look like it'll happen anytime soon, though.

 

It is truly a lovely tank and such great looking fish! I am so glad to hear the tests are coming into line. I just think that you need to continue to test and do the water changes (no more than 25%) as needed to keep things in line if the levels get way out there. Of course, do the changes you would normally do anyway. Butterfly's advice about cutting down on the food is excellent. Most people believe they need to feed their fish until they won't eat anymore and in fact, there is a growing problem with obesity in fish. I do not mean starve them but perhaps feed just enough to see that they get food twice a day and not enough to linger over.

Rose

 

HI David ,nice to here the ammonia has dropped can't get videos to play,I down loaded quick time 7 is that what you use.I was wondering this there any reason you didn't get an external filter and went for internal ones , the reason for asking is I have an under gravel filter and want to change it .

 

hI there evryone ;D first of all thanx a lot for all the kind comments on my tank, I like it too.. I can sit for hours just watching my fishies..its the background picture that makes or breaks a tank in my opinion,I was very picky when I went looking for mine.but I finaly found the one I have and had to have it.. a really natural look... lol @ sunnshadow I think your husband might notice one of the walls missing in your house lol..but you are right it takes up heaps of room,I got mine made to size and was the biggest I could fit into my room..lucky because I probably would have gone bigger if I could have got it in there.. australia is great..I can compare it to scotland as I'm living there now the aussie government is way better than the british,they actuly listen to the people in oz,and the tax is nowhere near as high as in britain.the british government makes me angry > > ..I don't want to start on that or I will be here for hours.. : not much racism in OZ either..

well I think the tank has finally cycled it has been 21 long days since I added my fish and I'm finally getting no ammonia readings.. ;D ;D

ammonia 0.0 ;D
nitrite 0.0 ;D
nitrate 10.0 - 15.0 ;D
PH 7.2

last night I tested it and there was just a tinge of green in the test,but thismorning its completly yellow.. ;D..yeah chickadee,butterfly is full of great advice,she has been there from the start for me and I can't thank her enough.. she really knows her stuff thanx again butterfly.. Boff,I didnt get an external fillter basicly because I didnt know anything about them :-[ .I thought I would just stick to what I know and the fillters I have are plenty..plus with an external fillter you need extra space outside your tank to put it somwere.lol that's space I don't have ive herd they can leak too..yeah quick time 7 is what I use.. o well still photos it is :-\ .I took some more pics last night the silk plant is the tall healthy looking one on the right hand side lol I will definitely get a few more..each morning when I wake up there are leaves floating around my tank,I don't know who the culprit is but its always at night when I'm sleeping they rip my natural ones to bits..I do suspect the clowns though..there are two plants that don't get touched that's the ones on the far left and far right..I don't know the name of these plants,but they seem to be coming along nicely.. ;D ;D I think I might invest in a few more clowns shortly they are by far my favourite fish and ive herd that they do better in a small school of 4-6..I think I will just get 2 more as my shark thinks he/she is a clown,that will make six lol..anyway I feel like I'm writing a book at the momment so thanx again to everyone ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ..hope you like the pics.. ;D

 

Absolutely beautiful tank. I do love the way you have the rocks in there made into caves for them. I wish I had room for a big tank but then I can only have one Betta per tank so the smaller ones will do.

Yes it looks like the cycle is complete, Congratulations!

Rose