What Happened Ammonia

we have a tank that we cycled completely when we got it at the beginning of the year and have had perfect water readings for months. 2 days ago I noticed my fish where all at the top like they couldn’t get air, my neons mouths where gaping big O’s and they where at the top too! I was alarmed and thought what the heck. I removed the lid off the tank and saw my assassin snails where also up top and on top of those where my cherry shrimps!!!! I took vials of water and tested all. Nitrate, nitrate and ph fine. Ammonia was high as and I called my fiancé at work (he knows more than me) he said do a partial water change and put the oxygen rock in and run it on full and turn the bubbles on the filter. We still have nedium ammonia readings although better than yesterday when this happened. We don’t know the cause. We haven’t added any fish or tank decorations etc recently. Anyway the fish are all back to their normal routines and placement in the tank. Bottom middle top dwellers etc. The shrimp are back to the bottom grazing. We’re still running the stone and filter to add some oxygen as obviously some thing has happened ‍♀️ I bought some ammo lock by API and it just arrived. Do you think it’s worth using it or is it just adding more chemicals for the filter to struggle with? What else can I do to reduce the ammonia please if not the ammo lock. Thanks all

 

I have a few questions:
1) how long has the tank been running?
2) did you add any new fish?
3) how big is your tank?
4) how long after it cycled did you add fish, and
5) did you add fish all at once?
6) do you have a photo of your tank?
7) (very important) what filter are you running?
9) is the tank planted with live plants?

 

Running since feb I think
No new fish for about a month
24 inch
We added 4 guppies after 2 wks and then cycled it for over a month
We added more fish very gradually so it’s been cycled for mths now and never had a problem with readings since
I don’t know what filter is in there sorry my fiancé put that in
There’s a few live plants and a piece of wood with live plant on and a cpl caves etc

 

Okay. Looks good. I'd ask some of the more experienced people on the forum what kind of filter that is. If its adjustable, you might want to up the amount of water it filters. Otherwise, you can look online for ways to modify the filter so it has more space for beneficial bacteria. Make sure you check how much you feed and cut down on that where you can, too. It's not a bad idea to check the tank for anything dead, both fish and plants, as they will become an additional ammonia source. Since it's been about a month since you added new fish, I'd say something happened then and now you're in a minI cycle, since they take around 4-8 weeks to complete. You can add a sponge filter as well to add more space for bb, but if that isn't an option for you you might just want to upgrade to a better filter or modify what you have. Waiting out the minI cycle with ammo lock is also an option, as is double dosing prime along with a 50% water change every two days. (Don't rely on your ammonia readings if you do this; lots of people are getting high ammonia readings after using ammo lock) I don't think it'll hurt your filtration.

 

In my opinion the best way to deal with high toxin levels is through water changes and using Prime for the replacement water. When there's a problem with a tank I always go with water changes, and try to avoid the reaction of reaching for something to add to the water. Water changes will reduce ammonia and other toxins by whatever percentage you change out.

It would he helpful to know your actual test readings, rather than just saying they're fine. Knowing the actual numbers can help determine the cause of the toxin buildup, as well as being able to see whether the steps you're taking are effective.

The ammonia is coming from somewhere. After water changes, I'd recommend cutting way back on your feeding and seeing if that has a positive effect on your test readings.

 

In my opinion the best way to deal with high toxin levels is through water changes and using Prime for the replacement water. When there's a problem with a tank I always go with water changes, and try to avoid the reaction of reaching for something to add to the water. Water changes will reduce ammonia and other toxins by whatever percentage you change out.

It would he helpful to know your actual test readings, rather than just saying they're fine. Knowing the actual numbers can help determine the cause of the toxin buildup, as well as being able to see whether the steps you're taking are effective.

The ammonia is coming from somewhere. After water changes, I'd recommend cutting way back on your feeding and seeing if that has a positive effect on your test readings.

I agree with this. I just want to make sure you have all your options open. Water changes with prime are really the best way to help determine what's going on and keeping things clean.

 

Ok I’ll do another change tonight then. We have tetra tap safe stuff in the yellow bottle that we use. I have emptied all the vials now so don’t have exact numbers. But they where all at the bottom of the colour chart. Only the ammonia was higher than it should be. I was just worried my fish would die due to their behaviour so just checking with you guys who know more. Thanks for the help

 

that looks a 20 gallon tank with a Fluval U2 internal filter. has it been cleaned recently? rinsing with soap or tap water can kill off the beneficial bacteria. I would also move the filter a few inches away from the corner as it has intake vents on both sides.

when you say the readings were at the bottom of the color chart, i'm thinking nitrite and nitrate were at 0, 0. if that is correct then you've probably lost your cycle.

 

that looks a 20 gallon tank with a Fluval U2 internal filter. has it been cleaned recently? rinsing with soap or tap water can kill off the beneficial bacteria. I would also move the filter a few inches away from the corner as it has intake vents on both sides.

when you say the readings were at the bottom of the color chart, i'm thinking nitrite and nitrate were at 0, 0. if that is correct then you've probably lost your cycle.

Yes fluval something or other filter. We only wash the media in the fish water taken out on a water change. Ok I’ll move it over abit, it was on the other side wall until last night after we moved it to move the water in a circular fashion with the air stone and filter bubbles. They are pretty much zero yes. So for some reason we have lost our cycle... hopefully my fish (who look much better now) won’t suffer any effects. Thanks for advice

 

I have emptied all the vials now so don’t have exact numbers. But they where all at the bottom of the colour chart. Only the ammonia was higher than it should be.

Are you using the API Master Test Kit? If so, the bottom of the color chart is off-the-charts high for each of those readings. If you meant that the readings were all zero, that indicates a serious problem because your tank has not even started to cycle.

It think there might be some confusion with testing or reading the results of the test.

 

Are you using the API Master Test Kit? If so, the bottom of the color chart is off-the-charts high for each of those readings. If you meant that the readings were all zero, that indicates a serious problem because your tank has not even started to cycle.

It think there might be some confusion with testing or reading the results of the test.

Oh god sorry yes I meant the top not the bottom!! I’ve posted pics and one of the ammonia yesterday it’s was 2.0 I sent the pic to my fiancé to see how bad it was seems it’s usually clear or trace Ammonia. The others are usually the top colour or the one below it

 

If you have ammonia, but zero nitrites and zero nitrates, it indicates your tank is not cycled. A cycled aquarium will have zero ammonia, zero nitrites, and will have a nitrate reading. The only way I know of to have zero nitrates in a cycled tank is if you have dense plant growth where the plants consume all the nitrate. From the photo of your tanks, there aren't enough plants to consume all the nitrates. Add to that the unexpected buildup of ammonia, and it's almost certain the cycle is a big problem.

Did you recently do a big clean on your tank? Did you change the filter cartridge? Scrap the glass, vacuum the gravel? If you clean out too much at once, you can remove a large part of the bacteria colony. That's one possibility. It's called a "mini-cycle." It can snap back in a few days, but you have to deal with the ammonia spike while it does.

Also, it's a common problem not doing the nitrate test correctly. The instructions for the test kit say to shake the nitrate bottle #2 for 30 seconds before adding drops to the vial, then shaking the vial for 60 seconds before you wait five minutes to take the vial to the color chart. If you haven't been doing the shaking thing, that will produce an inaccurate reading of zero for nitrates.

 

If you have ammonia, but zero nitrites and zero nitrates, it indicates your tank is not cycled. A cycled aquarium will have zero ammonia, zero nitrites, and will have a nitrate reading. The only way I know of to have zero nitrates in a cycled tank is if you have dense plant growth where the plants consume all the nitrate. From the photo of your tanks, there aren't enough plants to consume all the nitrates. Add to that the unexpected buildup of ammonia, and it's almost certain the cycle is a big problem.

Did you recently do a big clean on your tank? Did you change the filter cartridge? Scrap the glass, vacuum the gravel? If you clean out too much at once, you can remove a large part of the bacteria colony. That's one possibility. It's called a "mini-cycle." It can snap back in a few days, but you have to deal with the ammonia spike while it does.

Also, it's a common problem not doing the nitrate test correctly. The instructions for the test kit say to shake the nitrate bottle #2 for 30 seconds before adding drops to the vial, then shaking the vial for 60 seconds before you wait five minutes to take the vial to the color chart. If you haven't been doing the shaking thing, that will produce an inaccurate reading of zero for nitrates.

Wow ok so yes I did it wrong. I usually leave the testing to my man. I did it in a hurry and only read how many drops with a quick shake of each bottle.... and yes, recently I have done a 2 bucket water change with a gravel syphon in that and I cleaned the glass and they had some algae on 3 sides. I also removed a lot of plants that usually I allowed to stay on the surface that where taking over the tank and getting a bit black and hairy on the ends, so I removed them as I have a good few mollys now and a cpl guppies and a gourami so needed more surface space. I thought the filter would take over, I obviously hugely over expected too much from our filter to replace that function. Soooo now we’ve found the cause (me messing about too much) how do I fix it? Will it just sort its self out over time? Do I need to do more water changes? We’ve added some ammo lock as I have 2 khulI loach who I know are super sensitive and desperately want them to survive this as they’re only about 2 inches long and young. I didn’t realise the cleaning would ruin my tank readings...

 

I've done the same thing. I had a day off and spent it in the fish room doing exactly what you did. Big clean, got rid of many of the plants that weren't thriving, scraped the sides, changed the filter cartridges, and vacuumed the gravel. Man those tanks looked great! About three days later I tested one of my tanks and realized I had an ammonia spike going on everywhere.

The good news is that it's fairly easy to deal with and it shouldn't take more than a few days. It will bounce back. The bacteria is there, it's just that a bunch of the stuff was removed. It doesn't wipe out the bacteria colony, it just reduces it. I think it's eight hours or so that the bacteria colony doubles in size.

It's all about testing and water changes. I'd test every day, and do water changes to keep ammonia and nitrite levels down. Combine the ppm readings for ammonia and nitrite, and do water changes to keep the total at 1 ppm or below. For example, if your ammonia is at 1.5 ppm and your nitrites are at .5 ppm, that's 2, so you do a 50% water change to get those numbers down to 1. I'm not sure which water conditioner you're using, but if it's Prime, it will neutralize ammonia and nitrites, so that will help since you're doing frequent water changes while this works out. With aggressive water changes, your nitrate readings will probably be low, but they will register.

 

for now you should test the water daily and do water changes when needed.

 

I've done the same thing. I had a day off and spent it in the fish room doing exactly what you did. Big clean, got rid of many of the plants that weren't thriving, scraped the sides, changed the filter cartridges, and vacuumed the gravel. Man those tanks looked great! About three days later I tested one of my tanks and realized I had an ammonia spike going on everywhere.

The good news is that it's fairly easy to deal with and it shouldn't take more than a few days. It will bounce back. The bacteria is there, it's just that a bunch of the stuff was removed. It doesn't wipe out the bacteria colony, it just reduces it. I think it's eight hours or so that the bacteria colony doubles in size.

It's all about testing and water changes. I'd test every day, and do water changes to keep ammonia and nitrite levels down. Combine the ppm readings for ammonia and nitrite, and do water changes to keep the total at 1 ppm or below. For example, if your ammonia is at 1.5 ppm and your nitrites are at .5 ppm, that's 2, so you do a 50% water change to get those numbers down to 1. I'm not sure which water conditioner you're using, but if it's Prime, it will neutralize ammonia and nitrites, so that will help since you're doing frequent water changes while this works out. With aggressive water changes, your nitrate readings will probably be low, but they will register.

Same here tank looked fabulous as the glass was clean all the messy plants where removed and I’d cut the plant to the same length strands and I’d removed a plastic plant to that had black furrys on a cpl days previous so the tank looked spruced up and spacious. Didn’t know I’d MESSED it up instead lol. Ok well back to water changes daily. We use prime but at the end of a bottle right now, so we’ve also been using tetra one sometimes too. I like the terra brand it’s reliable in my opinion, yes expensive too, but I know I can trust it to work properly.. to add to my woahs my molly gave birth to about 25 fry 2 days ago too... I’m already keeping and raising about 7 from two others batches from her. So I’m having to give these away to someone somewhere. My gourami is after them through the fry trap and he ate all the dead fry I put in the tank in one swoop. So I now if I put even a cpl in he will eat them alive. So yeah extra fish extra ammonia I don’t need right now lol. Thanks for replying and sharing as I don’t feel such an idiot knowing I’m not the only one who’s done this.

 

When you get through this and things settle down, you'll probably want more tanks.

 

When you get through this and things settle down, you'll probably want more tanks.

Ohhhh we have huge plans ha ha. My fiancé has a 5ft by 2ft by 2ft tank at his dads that was shut down a few yrs ago. So we’re resetting that up bit by bit and bringing that here. I am SO looking forward to it as I’ve not had a tank that large personally. He on the other hand has that big tank and a 6ft by 2ft by by 1 1/2 ft which he had as marine. So he’s got a lot more experience than me. Oh god on a sad note I had 4 beautiful high grade red cherry shrimp who had just gone through a moult as the water went bad and today... no shrimp left. They’ve disappeared. I mean our tank is only 2 ft long and I can usually see at leas 2 if not all 4 and today none... I think my dwarf gourami has ate them. That’s the only thing I can think of as there’s no bodies. I am almost to the point of tears as they where brilliant red and so fun, I had stupidly gotten a bit attached to them as they where thriving. Now they’ve disappeared. Can’t believe it