S.O.S Ammonia in my tap water

Hi. I'm new to the hobby. I just got a 20G tank . I setup the aquarium exactly a month ago. I used Tetra Safe Start and Tetra Water Conditioner to remove the chlorine of my (Miami, FL)tap water. I let the tank run alone (with gravel, filter and aeration ) for about 5 days, and then added 3 goldfish. I did water changes very week (about 30% of it) and tried to be as much responsible as possible. But last week...DISASTER! My fish started to look sick. Just static, not eating and with black stripes /spots. I tested the water and the only bad thing I founded was high levels of ammonia. I made daily water changes (50%) but with not changes on the ammonia measurement. So..I checked the tap water and voila! There was ammonia on it. I switch to Prime yesterday but yet nothing had changed. And one of my fish died this afternoon :-( I'm started to feel hopeless. Like I'm never gonna be able to solve this poor water quality problem. And I really, REALLY want to keep my fish alive.... Any advice?

 

How much ammonia is in the tap water and what is the ammonia level in the tank?

Also, welcome to the forum!

 

Welcome! What a rough start in what can be such an enjoyable hobby. Good for you for doing big water changes & getting Prime. You probably are also going to want to pick up Seachem Stability. Sadly, although you used Tetra Safe Start, since there was no ammonia source for 5 days it is likely that the beneficial bacteria died before it could seed your colony. Do read about the nitrogen cycle because you are in the midst of it. Keep asking questions!

 

Welcome! What a rough start in what can be such an enjoyable hobby. Good for you for doing big water changes & getting Prime. You probably are also going to want to pick up Seachem Stability. Sadly, although you used Tetra Safe Start, since there was no ammonia source for 5 days it is likely that the beneficial bacteria died before it could seed your colony. Do read about the nitrogen cycle because you are in the midst of it. Keep asking questions!

It's a maybe on the TSS imo. I don't really know how fast the BB will work through the ammonia in TSS. If the tap is high enough in ammonia, that may have been enough to get the colony started. I have never used TSS, but I have used just my tap water (the only good thing I can say about ammonia in my tap) and large water changes to start new tanks and cycle them.

 

Welcome to Fishlore

What kind of goldfish are these? With ammonia in the tap coupled with the high bioload these fish produce in this small of a tank size, it's inevitable that the ammonia would rise to deadly levels.

As mentioned above, could you give us the exact readings from both tap and tank? Please also provide the pH and temp.

The TSS you added would have failed either way because you did water changes during the 14 day period you weren't supposed to. Also, if you added it together with the water conditioner, that would have killed off the bacteria as well.

I suggest rehoming the 2 goldfish because even one fancy goldfish (if they are fancy goldfish) needs a 40g. Then you can look into doing a fishless cycle or a fish-in cycle with fish more appropriate for your tank size.

 

How much ammonia is in the tap water and what is the ammonia level in the tank?

Also, welcome to the forum!

Thanks for replying I use the test stripes. The results for the tap water shows a "Stress level". And for the tank it shows "Harmful".

Welcome! What a rough start in what can be such an enjoyable hobby. Good for you for doing big water changes & getting Prime. You probably are also going to want to pick up Seachem Stability. Sadly, although you used Tetra Safe Start, since there was no ammonia source for 5 days it is likely that the beneficial bacteria died before it could seed your colony. Do read about the nitrogen cycle because you are in the midst of it. Keep asking questions!

Thank you! I won't give up on my fish. I'm sure I'm not the only one dealing with this kind of water. I just need to figure out how to get through it. I heard that boiling the water can be useful. Is it true?

 

Well, I have no idea what actual ammonia level is meant by stress level or harmful. When you have a chance, I would recommend picking up a liquid test kit so that you can see the actual numbers in the tank and because they are generally more accurate. At this point, I would probably do water changes daily or twice a day to get the tank down to the same level as the tap, always with the Prime, as that will make up to 1 ppm ammonia harmless for about 24 hours, but the fish will end up producing a lot of ammonia on their own as well, as el337 mentioned. If you are going to continue with them in the smaller tank, it will probably end up being a decent amount of work to keep the ammonia at something safe while cycling, and then to keep the other parameters reasonable once you are done cycling.

Are you showing any nitrites or nitrates at this point? If so, you may have the start of a cycle going. If not, however, it may be beneficial to pick up another bacteria booster. I'd agree with Stability, since you may need to keep doing the water changes and not effectively be able to allow TSS the two weeks to work.

 

I took a sample of water last week to the pet store were I bought the fish, and they didn't see any nitrites or nitrates. And the pH was OK. So I guess I will have to get the liquid test kit and then I'll be able to retrieve more information. I can't thank you all enough for all the help. It's really frustrating not to know exactly what to do, as (shame on me) I never thought this could be so complicated. Is there any special test kit brand that you'd recommend? Thanks.

Welcome to Fishlore

What kind of goldfish are these? With ammonia in the tap coupled with the high bioload these fish produce in this small of a tank size, it's inevitable that the ammonia would rise to deadly levels.

As mentioned above, could you give us the exact readings from both tap and tank? Please also provide the pH and temp.

The TSS you added would have failed either way because you did water changes during the 14 day period you weren't supposed to. Also, if you added it together with the water conditioner, that would have killed off the bacteria as well.

I suggest rehoming the 2 goldfish because even one fancy goldfish (if they are fancy goldfish) needs a 40g. Then you can look into doing a fishless cycle or a fish-in cycle with fish more appropriate for your tank size.

Hi. Well, now I have left one little (about 1 1/2 inches) Black Moore and one Ryukin of about 2 inches. Thanks.

 

Welcome to FishLore!

Most members (myself included) use the API Master Test Kit for Freshwater, so I highly recommend that one.

Once you have your tank cycled, the ammonia in your tap water should not be a problem (assuming it's not real high). A cycled tank should easily process the ammonia in your tap water within 24 hours, and if you are using Prime, it will detox that ammonia for 24 hours, so your fish will always be safe from ammonia exposure.

If you haven't already, I highly recommend reading up on the nitrogen cycle (the blue words in post #3 will take you to an article explaining it).

The general rule of thumb for fancy goldfish is 20 gallons for the first one and 10 gallons for every additional one, but I have a fantail in a 25 gallon tank, and I know he would appreciate a larger tank. Those fancy goldfish can get pretty big.

 

HI everyone! So I've got my first API Freshwater Master Test Kit. I have to confess that all the warning on the labels made me a little nervous. So I used rubber gloves and eyes protection (does anybody else does this? Or I'm a little paranoid on the chemicals?) Anyway, I got my readings: PH 6.8 , Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, and ammonia 0.50. My two goldfish look fine and happy. But I'm getting a little nervous about the "0 Nitates" levels. The person that sold me the Test Kit, told me I shouldn't be doing water changes at all because (he said) I was removing the good bacteria from the tank. But I keep reading that the water changes are OK, because most of the bacteria lives on the filters and gravel, right? Thanks again!

 

But I keep reading that the water changes are OK, because most of the bacteria lives on the filters and gravel, right?

This is correct! The water column contains almost none of the bacteria, and water changes are safe (except when using TSS+).

"0 Nitrates" confirms that your tank is not, in fact, cycled.

Can you get a reading from your tap water, also?

 

Agreed, please ignore the person who sold you the kit. Very little of the BB will live in the actual water. If it did, we wouldn't need filters

 

HI everyone! So I've got my first API Freshwater Master Test Kit. I have to confess that all the warning on the labels made me a little nervous. So I used rubber gloves and eyes protection (does anybody else does this? Or I'm a little paranoid on the chemicals?) Anyway, I got my readings: PH 6.8 , Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, and ammonia 0.50. My two goldfish look fine and happy. But I'm getting a little nervous about the "0 Nitates" levels. The person that sold me the Test Kit, told me I shouldn't be doing water changes at all because (he said) I was removing the good bacteria from the tank. But I keep reading that the water changes are OK, because most of the bacteria lives on the filters and gravel, right? Thanks again!

As the others have said, the beneficial bacteria lives mostly in your filter and a little in your gravel.

The 0 nitrates indicate an uncycled tank. You have Prime which is good. That will detoxify the ammonia and protect your fish. You can dose it daily for the full volume of the tank and do a 50% water change anytime it gets to 1ppm and above. As mentioned before, I would pick up Seachem Stability to help the cycle along.

Just wondering, are you rinsing your filter media in tap water or have you replaced it at all?

 

As the others have said, the beneficial bacteria lives mostly in your filter and a little in your gravel.

The 0 nitrates indicate an uncycled tank. You have Prime which is good. That will detoxify the ammonia and protect your fish. You can dose it daily for the full volume of the tank and do a 50% water change anytime it gets to 1ppm and above. As mentioned before, I would pick up Seachem Stability to help the cycle along.

Just wondering, are you rinsing your filter media in tap water or have you replaced it at all?

Hi. I did change the filter when the tank become a month old, because it say so on the instructions (to change it monthly ). Since then I haven't cleaned it at all. Should I start to clean it with the water of the changes?

 

Ok, that would explain the zero nitrates. Never replace the filter cartridges like they tell you to. It's just their way to make more money when in fact, tossing it would toss away the beneficial bacteria that mostly resides in that cartridge. Only replace it when it's falling apart or when the water does not flow through it properly. And when it comes time to replace it, cut out the floss and place it behind the new cartridge to seed it for at least a month before tossing it.

Yes, from now on you'll only want to rinse the cartridge in either the removed tank water or in dechlorinated tap water.

 

Ok, that would explain the zero nitrates. Never replace the filter cartridges like they tell you to. It's just their way to make more money when in fact, tossing it would toss away the beneficial bacteria that mostly resides in that cartridge. Only replace it when it's falling apart or when the water does not flow through it properly. And when it comes time to replace it, cut out the floss and place it behind the new cartridge to seed it for at least a month before tossing it.

Yes, from now on you'll only want to rinse the cartridge in either the removed tank water or in dechlorinated tap water.

Thanks. One more question : how often should I rinse the filter?

 

You should rinse the filter cartridge with each water change. The filter unit itself I would clean monthly.

 

Hi! Today I started to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Lol. I've got my first Nitrate and Nitrite numbers! Today I've got: Ammonia 0,25. Nitrite 0,25 and Nitrate 0,50! I know it's almost nothing, but it did give me a lot of hope! I'm starting to think that after all...I can one day be a good aquarist! :-D