Ammonia Levels High

[rewlyn]

my ammonia level keeps going back to 4. 24 hrs ago it was 4, 12 hrs ago itwas 2 now its back up to 4 is this normal

 

[rewlyn]

just did a double chack now the ammonia is up to 8 gettin scared what to do

 

[fatheadminnow]

Okay, this is getting serious!

You must do water changes to keep it down to .25 ppm!

You have 11 Cichlids, that is a lot of fish to do a fish-in cycle!

Either you do more water changes, or you get rid of some of the fish, that way there will be less ammonia build up.

I would do like 50% water change each time now.

Also, with an ammonia of 8 ppm, we actually start colonizing a different type of bacteria in our filters, not the kind we want.

So it is extremely important to keep ammonia down, and in your case, a fish-in cycle, it must b down to .25 ppm.

-FHM

 

[rewlyn]

should i take half and can i set them p in a 20 litre bucket or shuold i get somethine else instead

should i take half of my fish out and can i set them up in a 20 litre bucket or should i get somethine else instead

 

[fatheadminnow]

A fish-in cycle like you are in take on average 4-8 weeks to complete, so you are going to be in for a lot of water changes for a long time.

Your fish are constantly producing ammonia, and it takes time (weeks) before you can colonize enough good bacteria in your filter to process all of the ammonia.

Once ammonia starts to be processed, it turns into nitrite, and then another type of bacteria in our filter will start to colonize to process nitrite into nitrate.

This entire process takes on average 4-8 weeks.

So that is why you are seeing ammonia high all the time, until you have grown enough bacteria in your filter to process it.

You must keep up on the water changes, as it is essential to your fishes survival.

-FHM

 

[rewlyn]

so i kep al my fish in the same tank just keep up the water changes like i have been

 

[rewlyn]

i also havent feed them in about 30 hrs should it rise that much

 

[fatheadminnow]

i also havent feed them in about 30 hrs should it rise that much

Feed them once a day as much as they can eat in 2 min.

You can raise this time period when the cycle is completed.

But for now, more you feed your fish, the more they are going to produce waste, which meant that there is going to be ammonia produced quicker.

-FHM

 

[rewlyn]

thats what i thought

 

[fatheadminnow]

thats what i thought

Yup.

So, your main priority is to keep ammonia, and when it starts to become present NitrIte, down at or below .25 ppm, until there is enough bacteria in your filter to process it for you!

-FHM

 

[rewlyn]

im inthe middle of my changes ill let you know i go give me an hour

 

[fatheadminnow]

im inthe middle of my changes ill let you know i go give me an hour

Okay!

I will be eagerly awaiting your response.

You can use some basic math to figure out how much water to change.

EX: Say you have 4 ppm of ammonia, if you do a 50% water change, (50% being half), you are going to take 4 ppm down to 2 ppm.

You should be able to quickly be able to figure out how much water you need to change out every day, as it will become a repeating process over the next couple of weeks.

-FHM

 

[rewlyn]

ill get my pen and paper i tell you this is not a good time to quit cigarettes

 

[fatheadminnow]

ill get my pen and paper i tell you this is not a good time to quit cigarettes

The trick is to try to keep your ammonia, and/or nitrite down low all the time, not letting it get high like your case.

This will allow you not to do a lot of water changes all the time.

Just make sure to stay on top of your water changes until this whole process is done.

-FHM

 

[rewlyn]

will do