Ammonia Levels At 4.0 -

[ProHaloSniper]

Yo all,

I have a 55 US Gal that is currently been cycling for a week. I got the water tested today at my LFS and he told me the ammonia level was a 4.0. He told me to add 18 teaspoons of AmQuel plus into it and drop 15 feeder fish in.

I'm not entirely sure what this actually accomplishes. Can anyone give me an answer?

Thanks in advance!

--Jim C.

PS: Its a freshwater tank. He also mentioned something about the level "spiking" or something.

Thanks again!

 

[ArauraDiscus]

No, you can try adding bacterial supliments, but don't add the fish. They will likely die and if they don't you will be left with feeders that you may not want when you are done cycling. Just continue to let it sit with the filter running. Eventually the bacteria will build up and convert the ammonia into nitrites, which will in turn be gradually converted to nitrates, however the nitrifying takes longer than the ammonia.

 

[MoonstruckMuse]

I think he's basically getting you to switch from a fishless cycle to a well... fish cycle. The Amquel will remove the ammonia from your tank, and the feeders would... well, be the fish that provide the ammonia again for the cycling.

 

[ProHaloSniper]

The LFS owner said he would buy back the feeders if I didn't want them. I may just toss em in my pond?

Peace,

thx for the info.

--Jim C.

 

[Amunet]

Just do a fishless cycle. The feeders will only produce enough bacteria for themselves. So when you go and add in more fish, you'll more than likely go through a mini-cycle.
With a fishless cycle, you're continually adding in a high amount of ammonia that will build up a very large amount of bacteria which will allow you to stock your tank with many more fish at once (max or almost max) when it's finished cycling.

 

[rdd1952]

The LFS owner said he would buy back the feeders if I didn't want them. I may just toss em in my pond?

NEVER, EVER, EVER just toss a fish in a pond. It can be a major disaster to the eco system when a non-native species is suddenly introduced. Just look at the snakehead fish that has been released in the US. It is completely wiping out entire ponds of aquatic life. Some states have even gone so far as to poison and totally decimate the entire population of a lake just to get rid of them. They then restock the lake with native fish. Quite an expensive thing and we are paying for it as tax payers.

Back to the original post, I'm a little confused. You say it is being cycled for a week but the ammonia level is 4ppm. Did you add ammonia to the tank to start a fishless cycle? If not, then the LFS employee either has no clue how to read a test result or you have some serious tap water issues. If you added ammonia to start a fishless cycle, it won't happen in a week. You will most likely have bacteria to process the ammonia in that time but not the nitrite.

You should definitely buy yourself a liquid master test kit. having to rely on the LFS to test your water is not good. If you have a problem and can't get to the store, you have no clue what your water parameters are. Second, read this thread on fishless cycling. Well actually the original article. You don't have to read the whole 31 pages. Using feeder fish is cruel and then what are you going to do with the ones that don't die (and some will definitelydie) once the tank cycles.

 

[ProHaloSniper]

I already own a master test kit. I use it once every other day. I had my water checked by him to see if I was ready for fish...and my stingray.

Yes, it was 4ppm and I didnt add ammonia to the tank, but I did add "Cycle" the first day I got it (2 weeks ago today).

Lemme know what I should be looking for when I test later today!

--Jim C.

 

[ArauraDiscus]

I think he means his personal koi pond??? Maybe...

 

[ProHaloSniper]

Yes. its my own personal pond...I thought I established that.

--Jim C.

 

[rdd1952]

What is the ammonia reading in your tap water. If you haven't added ammonia to your tank (via bottled ammonia or fish flakes that decay) then the tank water should definitely not show an ammonia reading. You aren't ready for fish until you have zero ammonia and nitrite and the tank can completely process 4 ppm of ammonia to those numbers in 10 to 12 hours.

As for adding the fish to a personal pond. Even that isn't a good idea. The snakehead fish I mentioned can travel across land from one body of water to another when the food source runs out. Even in a personal pond, there is still the possibility that the fish could get into a natural body of water and wreak havoc.

 

[PoPoV]

The LFS owner said he would buy back the feeders if I didn't want them. I may just toss em in my pond?

NEVER, EVER, EVER just toss a fish in a pond. It can be a major disaster to the eco system when a non-native species is suddenly introduced. Just look at the snakehead fish that has been released in the US. It is completely wiping out entire ponds of aquatic life. Some states have even gone so far as to poison and totally decimate the entire population of a lake just to get rid of them. They then restock the lake with native fish. Quite an expensive thing and we are paying for it as tax payers.

Back to the original post, I'm a little confused. You say it is being cycled for a week but the ammonia level is 4ppm. Did you add ammonia to the tank to start a fishless cycle? If not, then the LFS employee either has no clue how to read a test result or you have some serious tap water issues. If you added ammonia to start a fishless cycle, it won't happen in a week. You will most likely have bacteria to process the ammonia in that time but not the nitrite.

You should definitely buy yourself a liquid master test kit. having to rely on the LFS to test your water is not good. If you have a problem and can't get to the store, you have no clue what your water parameters are. Second, read this thread on fishless cycling. Well actually the original article. You don't have to read the whole 31 pages. Using feeder fish is cruel and then what are you going to do with the ones that don't die (and some will definitelydie) once the tank cycles.

Ease up man, I dont think his feeder comet is going to crawl a 100 yrds on land and desimate a popoulation of animals. Try to be a little more polite when sharing information.

 

[rdd1952]

Ease up man, I dont think his feeder comet is going to crawl a 100 yrds on land and desimate a popoulation of animals. Try to be a little more polite when sharing information.

I apologize if it sounds harsh but I just wanted to emphasize how serious the attitude of just throwing a non-native fish into any pond was (granted it's his pond but cluld still be an issue depending on the native fish in that area). It most states it is also against the law. Not only have non-native fish been an issue but even non-native plants have choked out native plants in some areas.

 

[ProHaloSniper]

Didn't sound harsh, just kind of dumb. No offense. Its not like I'm tossing in a Great White Shark or something. They are harmless "goldfish looking" feeder fish. 10 for $1.50.

Anyhow, I will get you guys an ammonia reading from the tank and tap after dinner. If it matters, my tap water comes from a personal well, 215 ft down.

Can anyone define what the LFS owner said about the ammonia "spiking." Maybe thats where I'm lost?

So far, feeders are all alive and kicking, and eating! I guess they were the "lucky bag" huh?

Thanks again!

--Jim C.

 

[rdd1952]

The spike is when the ammonia gets to it's highest point before the bacteria can finally process it all. If you put fish in the tank, you don't want it to ever get that high or the fish will die. I'm not a fan of his method of cycling as you are basically using the feeder fish as expendable objects that it doesn't matter whether they die or not.

After the ammonia you would also have a nitrite spike as the bacteria that processes that will also have to develop. Once again, you would not want to let it spike or it would kill the fish. The way to get around the spike is to do daily water changes to keep the ammonia and nitrite levels as low as possible, preferably always under .25 ppm.

Since you have well water, it is possible that the ammonia is in your tap water. That would be a bad thing as you would always have ammonia issues after a water change and be almost totally reliant on chemicals to keep the ammonia in check and non-toxic.

And lastly on tossing the fish in the pond, as I said, I just wanted to stress the importance of not just tossing them just anywhere. For all I know, your pond could be one that feeds a stream or something else, not just a back yard goldfish/koi pond. And with you being a very new member, I had no idea of your knowledge of such things. Anyway, even in your personal pond, you don't want to introduce a fish that will out compete your other fish for food.

 

[Amunet]

Didn't sound harsh, just kind of dumb. No offense. Its not like I'm tossing in a Great White Shark or something. They are harmless "goldfish looking" feeder fish. 10 for $1.50.

--Jim C.

I bet that's the exact same attitude people had when they threw out their own fish. Oh it's just a soandso fish, totally harmless....
And something as rdd explained with the snakeheads happened.
Just b/c they're little feeders doesn't mean they can't do damage. You should really listen to the advice given to you.