Need Help! Very High Ammonia!

Thank you for taking the time to help me!

I have a 75 gallon tank stocked with 4 juvenile discus, 4 serpae tetra and 4 cory catfish. My water parameters were great. I went away for 3 days and when I came home last night, and the water as very cloudy and the parameters were completely off! Ammonia is reading 8.0 (it's actually darker) and nitrates are 0! I immediately did a 50% water change and added Aqueon water conditioner with Ammolock because I ran out of Prime. I did another water change today and I used Prime. I did a water test using API Masterkit and the Ammonia was still 8.0 after two water changes. Should I do another change and add Tetra SafeStart? I also bought activated carbon pellets mixes with zeolite crystals, should I use that?

My husbands says that he didn't overfeed them so we are not sure what's going on! Btw, the water is not green, it's clear and cloudy.

Please help me, I am freaking out!!!

 

Ammonia will still read high even after using something like ammo-lock. 8 is very high. I think prime only helps up to 1 ppm. How long have you had the tank?

 

Ammonia will still read high even after using something like ammo-lock. 8 is very high. I think prime only helps up to 1 ppm. How long have you had the tank?

I've had the tank for 7 months. I did a 1 month fishless cycle before adding my fish and everything has been great ever since until this ammonia happened.

I'm not sure what I should do!

 

Did you cycle the tank? If so by what process?

I would take a sample of the water to your local pet store and have them double check your readings. 8.0 ammonia equals perished fish. Your test kit may have an issue - let's hope that's what it is.....

Keep doing water changes, water changes, water changes....

 

At that level of ammonia, I would seriously move the fish temporarily - even if it's a bucket that's been conditioned and heated - do a 90% water change, and then do a fish in cycle with something like a Seachem Stability + Prime method. I would also follow the above advice of having your testing kit verified. Ammonia that climbs that high in 3 days seems extreme. Did you put a lot of food in before you left or use one of those slow release feeders?

 

Did you cycle the tank, if so by what process?

I would take a sample of the water to your local pet store and have them double check your readings, 8.0 ammonia equals perished fish. Your test kit may have an issue - let's hope that's what it is.....

Keep doing water changes, water changes, water changes....

I did a fishless cycle with pure ammonia.

How many water changes should I be doing per day?

 

Also - clear and cloudy sounds like a bacterial bloom - sometimes that's common at the start of a cycle or minI cycle.

 

At that level of ammonia, I would seriously move the fish temporarily - even if it's a bucket that's been conditioned and heated - do a 90% water change, and then do a fish in cycle with something like a Seachem Stability + Prime method. I would also follow the above advice of having your testing kit verified. Ammonia that climbs that high in 3 days seems extreme. Did you put a lot of food in before you left or use one of those slow release feeders?

No. my husband fed the fish daily according to the feeding schedule that we've been using for the past 6 months. We did add the 4th Discus 2 days before I left, I am not sure if that could have anything to do with it?

Right now, the fish all seem to be fine. The water is VERY cloudy though.

If I do a 90% water change, will I need to add in bacteria?

 

If your ammonia is at 8ppm and its not coming down - I would say there is something very wrong with your bio filter and would need some type of bacteria regardless - unless you have a way to rehome the fish for an extended time. Make sure your test kit is accurate though. I had a spike from a dead fish, and that's the only time I had a major spike - of around 4ppm.

Also - I'm not sure if TSS works with ammonia that high. Stability I know will, but it's one of those products you have to keep maintaining or you end up with a crash just like you had. The cloudiness definitely sounds like there is some bacteria bloom going on though. Have you checked your filter to make sure it's in proper working order?

 

The filter is working, the pad is completely black though. I'm not sure if that's normal?

 

Polishing pad? They should be replaced once they get really black. What type of filter do you have and how is it setup?

Usually a bio crash is caused by something happening to the filter or untreated tap water being added to the tank.
Ammonia spikes can also happen when you have fish die or from over feeding - or overstocking. Also, sometimes a tank that does well at the beginning sometimes gets overloaded as fish grow - but 8ppm in 3 days after perfect readings means something happened. I would really investigate the filter.

 

It almost sounds as if there was a PWC done without conditioner and maybe any chlorine in the water killed the bacteria.... I hope not, but that's the impression that I am getting. Did you do a PWC before leaving??

either way, you have to keep up with the PWCs and get the ammonia WAY down. Sounds like you will be cycling again. I personally think TSS+ is the better product for cycling, but to each their own.... no right or wrong

Good luck!

 

Polishing pad? They should be replaced once they get really black. What type of filter do you have and how is it setup?

Usually a bio crash is caused by something happening to the filter or untreated tap water being added to the tank.
Ammonia spikes can also happen when you have fish die or from over feeding - or overstocking. Also, sometimes a tank that does well at the beginning sometimes gets overloaded as fish grow - but 8ppm in 3 days after perfect readings means something happened. I would really investigate the filter.

I have an Aqueon QuietFlow75, it has a cartridge filter.
I just pressed my husband with questions, he said that one of the tetras died and was in the water almost a full day before he saw and removed it. He replaced the fish and never told me. That would have made it easier.

I just did an 85% water change. Ammonia is now 0.50, but the water is still cloudy! Will that cause any damage to the fish, should I add in some Seachem Clarity?

Thank you so much for your help.

 

unless you know for sure what the cloudiness is, I wouldn't add anything. The fish are probably stressed enough from the high ammonia and frequent water changes. Just keep the water params good and see what the next 24 to 48 hours brings.... make sure to use enough PRIME for the entire 75 gallons


obviously if the ammonia starts to sky rocket again, then your know the bio filter is compromised

Any idea why the tetra died while you were gone?

 

Any idea why the tetra died while you were gone?

We've had the tetras for about four years, so I am guessing from old age.

unless you know for sure what the cloudiness is, I wouldn't add anything. The fish are probably stressed enough from the high ammonia and frequent water changes. Just keep the water params good and see what the next 24 to 48 hours brings.... make sure to use enough PRIME for the entire 75 gallons


obviously if the ammonia starts to sky rocket again, then your know the bio filter is compromised

I added 7mL, so about a cap and a half. I hope everything works out!

 

My first thought was that if you just did an 85% PWC, it's possible that the cloudiness might just be from disturbing the substrate...... which should settle

It's all good. Give it some time now. Keep an eye on the params... Keep up with the PWCs if ammonia goes above 1ppm

 

My first thought was that if you just did an 85% PWC, it's possible that the cloudiness might just be from disturbing the substrate...... which should settle

It's all good. Give it some time now. Keep an eye on the params... Keep up with the PWCs if ammonia goes above 1ppm

Would PWCs stress the fish out? Also, should I add in TSS+, or is that not necessary now?

 

We've had the tetras for about four years, so I am guessing from old age.

So my issue here is that the Tetra isn't a very big fish in a 75 gallon tank (lots of water) and laying in there for one day shouldn't have sent the ammonia through the roof. If the fish hasn't displayed signs of old age as in moving slower, overall activity down etc etc, then there's no reason to believe it was old age, but rather an environmental issue. Only you will know this as I am assuming you are the one in the house that watches the fish. An environmental issue would explain sudden death.

Would PWCs stress the fish out? Also, should I add in TSS+, or is that not necessary now?

Could cause some stress if you are doing multiple in a short amount of time.... but if it's necessary, there's no way around it. The high ammonia levels will be stressful as well

Watch the ammonia closely over the next 24 to 48 hrs.... if it climbs quickly, do a water change to get it near 0 and then yes add TSS+ or Seachem Stability

 

Have you tested your pH? With an ammonia level that high, one would expect all the fish would have died. But at a low pH (say around 6.0) all ammonia turns into ammonium which is far less toxic (some say it's non-toxic).

I had a similar problem that killed off all my fish. I have soft water (low gH and low kH). When your kH is low, pH is far more prone to fluxuate. Then what happens is your ammonia converting bacteria goes dormant at low pH levels. The ammonium doesn't get converted into nitrites and instead keeps building up in the tank. But if you raise that pH (through a water change) the ammonium converts into ammonia. Suddenly the bacteria has food, wakes up out of dormancy and starts converting it into nitrites. But since nitrites weren't produced during the time the ammonia was ammonium, the nitrite converting bacteria starves off and your nitrite level goes thru the roof...and your fish end up suffocating due to the high nitrite levels. It was not a pretty thing to wake up to.

 

Have you tested your pH? With an ammonia level that high, one would expect all the fish would have died. But at a low pH (say around 6.0) all ammonia turns into ammonium which is far less toxic (some say it's non-toxic).

I had a similar problem that killed off all my fish. I have soft water (low gH and low kH). When your kH is low, pH is far more prone to fluxuate. Then what happens is your ammonia converting bacteria goes dormant at low pH levels. The ammonium doesn't get converted into nitrites and instead keeps building up in the tank. But if you raise that pH (through a water change) the ammonium converts into ammonia. Suddenly the bacteria has food, wakes up out of dormancy and starts converting it into nitrites. But since nitrites weren't produced during the time the ammonia was ammonium, the nitrite converting bacteria starves off and your nitrite level goes thru the roof...and your fish end up suffocating due to the high nitrite levels. It was not a pretty thing to wake up to.

Have you tested your pH? With an ammonia level that high, one ............. not a pretty thing to wake up to.

That's an awesome bit of information. Thanks for sharing!

 

Have you tested your pH? With an ammonia level that high, one would expect all the fish would have died. But at a low pH (say around 6.0) all ammonia turns into ammonium which is far less toxic (some say it's non-toxic).

I had a similar problem that killed off all my fish. I have soft water (low gH and low kH). When your kH is low, pH is far more prone to fluxuate. Then what happens is your ammonia converting bacteria goes dormant at low pH levels. The ammonium doesn't get converted into nitrites and instead keeps building up in the tank. But if you raise that pH (through a water change) the ammonium converts into ammonia. Suddenly the bacteria has food, wakes up out of dormancy and starts converting it into nitrites. But since nitrites weren't produced during the time the ammonia was ammonium, the nitrite converting bacteria starves off and your nitrite level goes thru the roof...and your fish end up suffocating due to the high nitrite levels. It was not a pretty thing to wake up to.

The pH is 6.4! I tested my tap water and it's also 6.4.

The fish all seem to be fine. Today the Ammonia reading is at 2.0. I will do another water change tonight and add Seachem Prime and Stability.

So my issue here is that the Tetra isn't a very big fish in a 75 gallon tank (lots of water) and laying in there for one day shouldn't have sent the ammonia through the roof. If the fish hasn't displayed signs of old age as in moving slower, overall activity down etc etc, then there's no reason to believe it was old age, but rather an environmental issue. Only you will know this as I am assuming you are the one in the house that watches the fish. An environmental issue would explain sudden death.



Could cause some stress if you are doing multiple in a short amount of time.... but if it's necessary, there's no way around it. The high ammonia levels will be stressful as well

Watch the ammonia closely over the next 24 to 48 hrs.... if it climbs quickly, do a water change to get it near 0 and then yes add TSS+ or Seachem Stability

It's at 2.0 today, which is better than last night's 8.0. The pH is 6.4. Other than water changes, prime, and stability, is there anything else I should be doing?

 

At 8ppm your archaea would die off and your nitrosoma would need to repopulate. I expect you are going to be doing frequent water changes to recycle the tank.

 

At 8ppm your archaea would die off and your nitrosoma would need to repopulate. I expect you are going to be doing frequent water changes to recycle the tank.

I am doing water changes and it's down to 2ppm today. Is twice daily too much for water changes?

 

It's at 2.0 today, which is better than last night's 8.0. The pH is 6.4. Other than water changes, prime, and stability, is there anything else I should be doing?

I think that's about all you can do. The one good thing about stability is it has nitrifying bacteria - so it should quickly take care of nitrite too. Be sure you dose prime for the WHOLE tank every 48 hours. Keep an eye on nitrites - if they spike really high you can dose prime up to 5 times the normal dose.

 

I am doing water changes and it's down to 2ppm today. Is twice daily too much for water changes?

My suggestion would be do whatever it takes to keep ammonia below 1 ppm. Prime doesn't do much good over 1 ppm. I don't remember the numbers, but if pH gets too acidic, it will kill bacteria. I think you are OK at 6.4, but if I remember correctly much lower will start having negative effects. May need to look into your KH being low. 5* or more is a good number, below that and pH is unstable and can cause major issues.

CindiL

 

More than likely your bacteria shut down exactly as jdhef described but when you dix the water changes you increased the PH making the ammonium into toxic ammonia, but because you tested after the wc you didn't see the low PH. When you get the tank recycled test your KH and look at crushed coral to increase it to stabilize your PH.

 

Add 3 bags of seachem purigen and 4L matrix in your canister filter top and middle tray , from what I can read online, this combination is the best to deal with ammonia issue ...

Bobby

 

Hi, welcome to the forum

How are you rinsing your filter media? and how often are you rinsing them? I'd rinse them weekly or bi-weekly in old tank water during a water change as I've seen huge ammonia spikes with people who don't rinse them frequently enough.
Did you say your nitrites are 0? I'll have to read back.

Do you know if your tap ph has always been 6.4? Has it tested different than that before? or is that normal for your area?
The good news is that at a ph of 6.4, it will take a lot of ammonia to become toxic, here is a chart showing the relationship ph, temperature and ammonia toxicity. So you can see at 24c (75f) and a ph of 6.4 you could have a reading of 15ppm ammonia and not lose any fish because it would be in an ammonium form.

The question is why have you lost your ammonia converting bacteria to begin with (nitrosonomas). I agree that one dead neon over 24 hours would not be the issue here if he really was dead for only that long.

The bio-filter can utilize ammonium like it can ammonia so I'm not worried about that.
Do you know your KH and GH? I think this is what we need to find out. I agree you probably need to add in some crushed coral OR there is also cuttlebone, aragonite sand or decoration (Texas holy rock), seashells, oyster shells, etc which will increase your KH and hold PH steady.

I would test your tap for ammonia today if you haven't done that recently and I would keep ammonia at 1.0 or below and start using Seachem Replenish, double or triple dose it daily until your cycle has caught back up again. The reason I would keep ammonia lower is that ammonia is inhibiting to the growth of the bacteria itself and when introducing live bacteria like with Stability you want to keep your ammonia lower to avoid inhibiting or killing off the bacteria that are trying to re-populate the filter.

 

My ammonia was reading 8 ppm in my 3.5 gal tank and freaked me out as well. I got the seachem ammonia tester that reads both ammonia and ammonium and turns out my API master kit was lumping it all together. I don't know if that's what's happening with yours, but my Betta, Fred, was swimming around in it pretty as you please while I was having a minI panic attack having to wait the 2 days for Amazon to deliver the kit and suction thing for inside the tank.

 

. I got the seachem ammonia tester that reads both ammonia and ammonium and turns out my API master kit was lumping it all together.

That is correct, the API test kit can not tell the difference between ammonia and ammonium, so it treats both as ammonia.

 

Hi, welcome to the forum

How are you rinsing your filter media? and how often are you rinsing them? I'd rinse them weekly or bi-weekly in old tank water during a water change as I've seen huge ammonia spikes with people who don't rinse them frequently enough.
Did you say your nitrites are 0? I'll have to read back.

Do you know if your tap ph has always been 6.4? Has it tested different than that before? or is that normal for your area?
The good news is that at a ph of 6.4, it will take a lot of ammonia to become toxic, here is a chart showing the relationship ph, temperature and ammonia toxicity. So you can see at 24c (75f) and a ph of 6.4 you could have a reading of 15ppm ammonia and not lose any fish because it would be in an ammonium form.

The question is why have you lost your ammonia converting bacteria to begin with (nitrosonomas). I agree that one dead neon over 24 hours would not be the issue here if he really was dead for only that long.

The bio-filter can utilize ammonium like it can ammonia so I'm not worried about that.
Do you know your KH and GH? I think this is what we need to find out. I agree you probably need to add in some crushed coral OR there is also cuttlebone, aragonite sand or decoration (Texas holy rock), seashells, oyster shells, etc which will increase your KH and hold PH steady.

I would test your tap for ammonia today if you haven't done that recently and I would keep ammonia at 1.0 or below and start using Seachem Replenish, double or triple dose it daily until your cycle has caught back up again. The reason I would keep ammonia lower is that ammonia is inhibiting to the growth of the bacteria itself and when introducing live bacteria like with Stability you want to keep your ammonia lower to avoid inhibiting or killing off the bacteria that are trying to re-populate the filter.
View attachment 275217

When the ammonia spiked to 8ppm the nitrates were all 0.

The Ammonia is down to 1.0ppm today.

I do rinse my filter in tank water, however the cartridge has a very thick black film now. Is that normal?

My ammonia was reading 8 ppm in my 3.5 gal tank and freaked me out as well. I got the seachem ammonia tester that reads both ammonia and ammonium and turns out my API master kit was lumping it all together. I don't know if that's what's happening with yours, but my Betta, Fred, was swimming around in it pretty as you please while I was having a minI panic attack having to wait the 2 days for Amazon to deliver the kit and suction thing for inside the tank.

Thanks for the info! I need to pick up that tester asap! I was completely freaking out when the test tube turned dark green.

 

When the ammonia spiked to 8ppm the nitrates were all 0.

The Ammonia is down to 1.0ppm today.

I do rinse my filter in tank water, however the cartridge has a very thick black film now. Is that normal?

No, a black film would not be normal, does it rinse off?

 

The Boss is here , this will take care of all ammonia issues



Bobby

 

No, a black film would not be normal, does it rinse off?

I did a water test on Monday and the Ammonia was at 2.0ppm, Nitrites 5.0ppm, and Nitrates 80ppm. I rinsed the black film off in tank water after a water change. I did another water change last night and did a test today, both nitrite and nitrate were at 0ppm!!
However Ammonium is at 1.0ppm. (pH is still 6.4)

The Boss is here , this will take care of all ammonia issues



Bobby

I was looking for this today! They didn't have it anywhere. Is it similiar to Marineland white diamond crystals, or is it better?

 

No, its different. You'll probably have to order it online but it won't solve your ammonia issues. Glad to hear your nitrites have dropped finally. Your ammonia is probably lingering because your PH is too low to support the nitrifyers. I would add in a small amount of baking soda to increase your PH. 1/4 tsp per 10 gallon mixed with a little tank water first before pouring in. Test PH again tomorrow.

 

No, its different. You'll probably have to order it online but it won't solve your ammonia issues. Glad to hear your nitrites have dropped finally. Your ammonia is probably lingering because your PH is too low to support the nitrifyers. I would add in a small amount of baking soda to increase your PH. 1/4 tsp per 10 gallon mixed with a little tank water first before pouring in. Test PH again tomorrow.

The baking soda won't harm the fish?

 

Fancynancy1 - this thing is wonderful , I ordered on ebay, also I will order one more to fill my middle tray of canister filter with one more liter , if you look at the stones they are porous and also have a sound of hollow , so it is highly porous and never needs to be replaced , in the long run with this product in filter, one can be rest assured of water quality, I also throw in a bag of purigen to make for clear water ...

I will replace the middle try which has marine pure bio media which is also very highly reputed , so you can imagine how good seachem matrix is , its reasonable priced and never needs replacement ...

Bobby

 

Fancynancy1 - this thing is wonderful , I ordered on ebay, also I will order one more to fill my middle tray of canister filter with one more liter , if you look at the stones they are porous and also have a sound of hollow , so it is highly porous and never needs to be replaced , in the long run with this product in filter, one can be rest assured of water quality, I also throw in a bag of purigen to make for clear water ...

I will replace the middle try which has marine pure bio media which is also very highly reputed , so you can imagine how good seachem matrix is , its reasonable priced and never needs replacement ...

Bobby

Thank you so much for the info!

 

The baking soda won't harm the fish?

No, it increases your carbonates and raises your ph, you can hold off until we know your GH and KH. Do you know your GH and KH of your tap water? General hardness and carbonate hardness? Your ph of 6.4 is low and you'll have a hard time maintaining your cycle with it that low. Its important at this point to find out what your KH is. You can take a water sample to the pet store if you don't have a test. Have them test everything and write down the numbers ok? Take a tap water sample.

Matrix is not an ammonia remover, it is a biological media that the nitrifying bacteria adhere and grow on to so once your tank is cycled is controls ammonia and nitrite through a regular nitrogen cycle. It has the added benefit of also having the composition to grow nitrate reducing bacteria though that takes a good month to develop. So I guess I am saying that matrix by itself will not lower your ammonia, it will lower as your cycle completes.

In the mean time, frequent water changes to keep your fish safe. Are your nitrites at 0 today?

 

No, it increases your carbonates and raises your ph, you can hold off until we know your GH and KH. Do you know your GH and KH of your tap water? General hardness and carbonate hardness? Your ph of 6.4 is low and you'll have a hard time maintaining your cycle with it that low. Its important at this point to find out what your KH is. You can take a water sample to the pet store if you don't have a test. Have them test everything and write down the numbers ok? Take a tap water sample.

Matrix is not an ammonia remover, it is a biological media that the nitrifying bacteria adhere and grow on to so once your tank is cycled is controls ammonia and nitrite through a regular nitrogen cycle. It has the added benefit of also having the composition to grow nitrate reducing bacteria though that takes a good month to develop. So I guess I am saying that matrix by itself will not lower your ammonia, it will lower as your cycle completes.

In the mean time, frequent water changes to keep your fish safe. Are your nitrites at 0 today?

Everything was great, ammonia went down to 0.25ppm, nitrates and nitrites were 0, the pH went up to 7.0.

4 fish died today within 10 hours. I'm not really sure what to do now.