Ammonia concerns

[StevieJack]

Hey all,

I hope you all do not mind me starting a thread on this subject as I am sure there is one already established somewhere, I was too lazy to look for more that a minute or two.

First a brief paragraph about my situation…

I have recently decided to get back into the hobby and I have set up a 10g tank with 7 Tiger barbs. I then feed them regularly, added 2 live plants and then I found this forum.
I have broken many newbie rules so far because I did not know I was doing it wrong until I read some of these topics.

I am doing 3 gallon water changes each day too keep the ammonia levels down to about 2.5 which is kind of high I guess.

I have just got my kits today (although I knew from reading that the ammonia levels were high) and my question is with a new tank (1 week old, no cycling)...

Should I only worry about the ammonia level for now?
Is there anything else i can do to help my situation?

---------------
Please Note:
I have one of those filters that hang on the back.
The fish seem to be doing fine.
I have stopped feeding them so often to aid in the reduction of ammonia.
---------------

Any help will be appreciated…


Stevie

 

[Sky042]

Hey all,

I hope you all do not mind me starting a thread on this subject as I am sure there is one already established somewhere, I was too lazy to look for more that a minute or two.

First a brief paragraph about my situation…

I have recently decided to get back into the hobby and I have set up a 10g tank with 7 Tiger barbs. I then feed them regularly, added 2 live plants and then I found this forum.
I have broken many newbie rules so far because I did not know I was doing it wrong until I read some of these topics.

I am doing 3 gallon water changes each day too keep the ammonia levels down to about 2.5 which is kind of high I guess.

I have just got my kits today (although I knew from reading that the ammonia levels were high) and my question is with a new tank (1 week old, no cycling)...

Should I only worry about the ammonia level for now?
Is there anything else i can do to help my situation?

---------------
Please Note:
I have one of those filters that hang on the back.
The fish seem to be doing fine.
I have stopped feeding them so often to aid in the reduction of ammonia.
---------------

Any help will be appreciated…


Stevie

You're kinda stuck at the moment. Continue to do your water changes. cut the feeding back to every other day at the most I'd say. Also see if you can get your LFS to give you drippings from a filter or something that might help accelerate your bacteria growth. You also definetly want to be watching your nitrites as well. I've cycled with fish before and had them live through ammonia just to have them die from the nitrites since its a longer period of time.
You've got your work cut out for you but at least you've got hardy fish.


Your other option is see if the store would take back like 4-5 of the tiger barbs and kinda hold them for you for a few weeks while you cycle the tank with just the 2 in there.

 

[StevieJack]

Thanks, i guess i will just keep at it then

It seems to be a lot clearer now with more frequent water changes, i am doing it 2 times a day at 2 gallons each time now.

Gonna ask about those filter dripping later on today too. 8)

Stevie

 

[tstenback]

When you ask check on either filter media or gravel is good as well a piece of wood or plants or ornaments will help as well. They all have some beneficial bacteria and in the order i have listed is the most to the least. All these will speed up the cycle. Do water changes to keep the ammonia level down as close to 1 ppm as you can and watch your fish carefully they will let you know if they are having difficulty. Gasping for air, redder than normal gills, shimmy, laziness are all signs that something is up.
The next phase of the cycle will be nitrITES and it is the longest part of the cycle. After that is the nitrATE phase. When ammonia and nitrITES are zero and you have a positive reading for nitrATES for a few days in a row then the tank is cycled. HTH and good luck

 

[StevieJack]

Ok i asked about the gravel and filter media and they dug me out a whole lot of gravel from a tank then cleansed the rocks in a bag, the result was about 2 or 3 cups of nasty brown water.
I have read and knew to not add water from the store but since there were no fish i guess it was ok, i have added it into the filter sponge.

I got two plants while i was there, an 'Amazon Sword' and a Wisteria'.

Only thing is i have no light for the four plants i have now.

The way i have the filter on the side of my 10g i cant add a long tube light, i need a regular screw in type.

Stevie

 

[Becca]

Ok, I have some questions regarding Ammonia as well...and since this thread is regarding ammonia, I'm gonna guess this is the best place to go.

First, a little background:
I have a 29 Gal tank using a 40g Whisper Filter, 13 Fish (1 Brown Knife, 1 Danio, 6 assorted Tetras, 1 Algea Eater, 1 Molly and 3 Newly Acquired Fish - Cna't remember their names, damnit...they look like multi-colored, overweight goldfish with long, raggedy fins.)

I setup my tank back in September 2003 after having kept 2 Danios and an Algea Eater in first a 3-gal and then a 5-gal tank for a year. I followed exactly what my LFS told me to do, but just recently thought to start searching around on the net to see what other people do. Ooooh, the wrong things I've done and the fish I've lost because of my danged LFS. *sigh*

My Problem is This:
After chatting with some fellow aquarium pals, I decided to do my weekly ammonia test. (I have yet to buy a Nitrite kit, I'll make that a top priority...) Anyway, my ammonia level has consistently been between 0.25 and 0.50 since September. Most of the fish I have in my tank now *seem* to be healthy, but I don't want to risk losing them. Are the ammonia levels I have in my tank dangerously high, or are they acceptable? From reading up on tank maint., I'm gathering my levels should be at 0...any suggestions what I should do (other than the obvious small water changes) to help lower my ammonia levels?

In answer to any questions that may arrise:
1) Yes, I was over feeding my fish for a while, until about 3-4 weeks ago. Ammonia levels haven't dropped since I've pulled back on the food. I was feeding them 2-3 times a day, now I'm feeding them once every 2-3 days, per my LFS (haven't lost any fish due to starvation, but if I'm still not feeding them enough, let me know!!)

2) I was without any bottom feeders until about a week and a half ago. My previous algea eater passed on - thanks to some bad advice from my LFS (long story made short, I had a container to hold some "Aquarium Salts" at the bottom, he crawled in, the salt dissolved and container floated to the top. The poor guy suffocated.) Anyway, yes my tank went without any fishies picking up the dirt and crap on the bottom for a few weeks.

 

[StevieJack]

First of all I am sure I shouldn’t give any advice with my limited experience…

My problem I think was adding fish before my tank had cycled; yours may be totally different since it seems you have had it established for a while. I will say that some LFS do not know as much as you think they should and this is head scratching. Good thing this forum is here.

What I am doing as you may have read is doing 2 gallon water changes in my 10g twice a day when ammonia levels are high, I don’t feed but every other day now, I read that it is ok for fish to fast and they can go with out food for a while.

I test once a day now because of the mistakes I made, no thanks to the LFS guys, although I do occasionally find a somewhat knowledgeable one and I will remember them, some just don’t know anything (less than me and that is scary).

I am sure someone will give a good answer and good luck with your ammonia problems.


Stevie

 

[Sheila]

Ok i asked about the gravel and filter media and they dug me out a whole lot of gravel from a tank then cleansed the rocks in a bag, the result was about 2 or 3 cups of nasty brown water.
I have read and knew to not add water from the store but since there were no fish i guess it was ok, i have added it into the filter sponge.


Stevie

Stevie,
From reading what you wrote....did they only give you the water drippings from the gravel and not a few handfuls of the gravel? If so, that will probably not be enough...at least from what I've heard...I had problems with nitrites and ammonia in the beginning...lost quite a few fish and the only thing that brought my levels to zero was a few handfuls of gravel from my LFS....If you go back, make sure they put the gravel into a plastic bag with a little water so the good bacteria doesn't die before you get it home.

Sheila

 

[StevieJack]

Oh no

I will go back today and get the actual gravel.
That is what i thought i needed but the guy said that the water is all i really need.

Thanks for catching that

Stevie

 

[StevieJack]

Ok an update on my situation…

Ammonia levels have been 1.0 ppm the last 2 times I checked, that’s good I guess.

I had been watching the NitrATE but I realize that it is the NitrITE that’s next, those are confusing at times.
Anyway the nitrITE level is at .02 ppm and NitrATE is at 5.0.

I guess the only thing I can do is keep checking these levels and keep up the water changes or are there other things to help this?

P.S. I did get some rocks from the LFS that were in there tanks.

Thanks for all the help,
Stevie

 

[tstenback]

If you are fishless cycling you dont need to do the water changes as there are no fish to damage. So let the levels go mad for now. The nitrite spike is the longest part of the cycle so be patient.

 

[StevieJack]

I do have fish, 7 Tiger Barbs.

I know that is too many but i did not know at the time.
I am still learning.

The next tank i set up i will hopfully be educated a little.

The fish are starting to act a little sluggish so just wondered if there were another trick i could do besides the water changes?

Stevie

 

[MadCow]

I am not real educated on cycling with fish, but I would avoid using any kind of chemical additives that they sell to lower your levels. As I believe these will only slow down the process of cycling your tank. I would think a massive water change, like in the neighborhood of 50% may help if your fish are sluggish due to high levels of ammonia or nitrites. Also I wonder if a larger water change once per day would be more beneficial than a smaller one twice per day. These are my thoughts but maybe somebody more experienced cycling with fish can help you better.

 

[Sky042]

I do have fish, 7 Tiger Barbs.

I know that is too many but i did not know at the time.
I am still learning.

The next tank i set up i will hopfully be educated a little.

The fish are starting to act a little sluggish so just wondered if there were another trick i could do besides the water changes?

Stevie

Your levels are not in the fatal zone at the moment but they could be showing stress. Your best bet continue with the water changes you've been doing. Continue with the restricted diet. Also if you ave a way to increase aeration that will help the fish get more oxygen in their system.

As for Becca You don't actually NEED bottom feeders if you're doing regular gravel vaucuming which is an easy way to do water changes. Also Seems like you may be doing something that is retarding the growth of your bacteria. Perhaps you're washing your filter out? Or maybe using chlorinated water to rinse off the media?
Your levels aren't high but they look like levels from a tank thats not quite adaquately colonized with bacteria.

 

[Becca]

I started a new post regarding my ammonia just because this one was getting kinda lengthy.

Anyway, thanks to the help of heresmike, I found a couple of things I was doing wrong:
1) Thanks to the LPS advice, I was *not* vacuuming the tank. I had quite a high bit of debris on the bottom of the tank, and no bottom feeder for quite a while.
2) When I did clean out the filter, I was *smack head* rinsing the sponge in tap water.
3) Again, thanks to my LPS, I was not doing a water change (they actually told me it was bad...)

I just did about a 15% water change and vacuum. I didn't get ALL of the stuff, probably about 20-35% of what was down there. I'm gonna check the levels tomorrow and hopefully we'll be doing better.

Thanks everyone!