Urgent Ammonia Problem in Saltwater Tank!

Hey everyone! I now have a 55-gallon tank, and I have had it for about 1 1/2 months. I have 2 clowns, 1 firefish, and 1-2 crabs (hermit.)

About a week ago, my filter's engine got clogged, and it broke. I got a new one about 1 week later. My levels of ammonia skyrocketed. I didn't test enough, and I noticed that it shot up AGAIN.

The problem is, is that I have ordered A TON of creatures from LiveAquaria. I was originally just getting a few CUC members, URCHINS!! I needed them long term for my predator tank plan. The shipping cost was immense, so I decided to buy things I know I would need. I then decided to get fish, still thinking my ammonia levels were down. I got a ValentinI Puffer, and a Dwarf Rusty Angelfish. The Urchins were a pincushion and a pencil.

The creatures are coming on Tuesday the 17th, or tomorrow. The exact time is unknown.

Should I dose with Prime or Kordon? Do a water change?

Thanks!

 

you should do a water change and vac out any remaining food of fish poo

 

Oh, I forgot to mention. It is 1.0 ppm.

I'll do the water change. The fish are fairly new in the tank. About 1-2 weeks.

 

Water change and test like crazy with the new fish. You’ll be producing plenty of ammonia with increasing your bioload. You’ll have to be very diligent. Ammonia is deadly.

 

It might be good to add some bottled bacteria to boost your existing colonies too. Dr Tims or Fritz Turbostart are my votes!

 

These all sound like great ideas! Thanks! Could I still use Prime? I don't want to only rely on it, but it could help with acclimation.

 

Not sure about Prime since I’ve never used in in saltwater but in theory I suppose it would work. I would just make sure that if you do add a bottled bacteria that it doesn’t already neutralize ammonia so you’re not being redundant, some of them do!

 

You are in a tough spot. I would do a 50-75% water change and dose with Prime to detoxify the ammonia, daily unfortunately. It seems like your tank may have been adjusting to the bioload it currently had when the filter went out (I suspect you were having ammonia issues before your filter went out).

Is there a LFS you could board the new additions at until you get the parameters fixed in your tank?

 

Maybe, but it is like, an hour away.

 

Prime definitely can be used for Ammonia emergencies but it isn't a guarantee. Certainly won't hurt anything though and will increase your chances of success.

 

Nice! I'm keeping them here. I'm doing a 5% water change every day, as to not shock the fish. I will be using prime to help.

In the meantime, I have named the two. The Puffer is Tasselhoff, named after one of my favorite characters from the Dragonlance series. He is like a hobbit - smaller than most species. Same with the ValentinI Puffer

The Pygmy Yellowtail is named King Coal. I thought I ordered a Rusty, but eh. He looks good, and he won't wreck my tank. Sounds good to me! He has a "crown," or a yellow spot on his tail. His body looks like coal.

 

Nice! I'm keeping them here. I'm doing a 5% water change every day, as to not shock the fish. I will be using prime to help.

In the meantime, I have named the two. The Puffer is Tasselhoff, named after one of my favorite characters from the Dragonlance series. He is like a hobbit - smaller than most species. Same with the ValentinI Puffer

The Pygmy Yellowtail is named King Coal. I thought I ordered a Rusty, but eh. He looks good, and he won't wreck my tank. Sounds good to me! He has a "crown," or a yellow spot on his tail. His body looks like coal.

5% water change is not enough. Trust me ammonia is more deadly than doing a 25-50% water change. Your new addition a will add more ammonia than what a 5% water change will add. You will actually be going in reverse doing 5% water changes with the new additions. Test for ammonia very frequently and do water changes accordingly. You’re in for a bit of a long haul and lots of water changes. You’ll likely have to do daily or every other day water changes in the 25-50% range for a while.

also keep in mind prime only temporarily binds ammonia for I think 48 hours. It will then release it and be ammonia again. It’s only a temporary fix until you can do water changes to remove the ammonia.