Ammonia Levels Not Dropping

[Cazangel]

I have had my tank for about 3 weeks now and cant get my hands on any other filter media. I have been cycling the tank with a few fishes in and used ammo lock to start off with plus regular water testing and 25% water changes daily.

My ammonia levels were slow to start but now 3 weeks in they are over 8.0 and so is my nitrite my fish are still alive and I have stopped using ammo lock as it is giving me an inaccurate result to my test results.

I don't know what else to try and have stopped using any chemicals apart from tap conditioner when I do my water changes as I'm scared that I will use too many chemicals can anyone else tell me what to do to lower my ammonia levels as they are so high and water changes arent making any difference?/////

 

[part-timer]

I have had my tank for about 3 weeks now and cant get my hands on any other filter media. I have been cycling the tank with a few fishes in and used ammo lock to start off with plus regular water testing and 25% water changes daily.

My ammonia levels were slow to start but now 3 weeks in they are over 8.0 and so is my nitrite my fish are still alive and I have stopped using ammo lock as it is giving me an inaccurate result to my test results.

I don't know what else to try and have stopped using any chemicals apart from tap conditioner when I do my water changes as I'm scared that I will use too many chemicals can anyone else tell me what to do to lower my ammonia levels as they are so high and water changes arent making any difference?/////

Its an all too common problem with new tanks - obviously number of fish to size of tank when cycling is a big factor - those details would help as its very easy to have an ammonia overload in early days. Glad that you've stopped using ammo-lock - I've never been a fan of chemical solutions as they often make water analysis impossible as you say.

As its a new tank, try to ensure that you dechlorinate your water before you add it to the tank if you aren't already doing this- many add the water and then the dechlorinator afterwards but in a new tank with few established bacteria to break down the ammonia any beneficial bacteria can be killed off by fresh tap water.... there is also some question of whether ammo-lock and similar can prevent the growth of necessary bacteria - your continually high readings may be down the the tank water still containing a lot of ammo-lock albeit gradually diluted as you do more changes.

Just keep doing the changes to further dilute any remaining ammo-lock and eventually you should start noticing a drop in ammonia levels. There are some great topics on here covering ammonia spikes with lots of solutions and personal advice so worth a look but I've always gone with the dilute...dilute...dilute approach which works fine for me.

 

[omordn]

I have had my tank for about 3 weeks now and cant get my hands on any other filter media. I have been cycling the tank with a few fishes in and used ammo lock to start off with plus regular water testing and 25% water changes daily.

My ammonia levels were slow to start but now 3 weeks in they are over 8.0 and so is my nitrite my fish are still alive and I have stopped using ammo lock as it is giving me an inaccurate result to my test results.

I don't know what else to try and have stopped using any chemicals apart from tap conditioner when I do my water changes as I'm scared that I will use too many chemicals can anyone else tell me what to do to lower my ammonia levels as they are so high and water changes arent making any difference?/////

Have patience with your levels considering it is a new tank and you are running (or trying) your cycle with fish in them. Stop the Ammo Lock. I've heard nothing but bad on that chemical. When you do your water changes, make sure that you dechlorinate your water before you put it in your tank... I made that mistake a couple of times and my cycling is taking forever.

Have you tried feeding your fish less? Also, have you tested your tap water? If you haven't, get some tap water and make sure you leave it for a day before testing it. It turns out that my tap water contained some ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. I recommend you to check that out first. If it's fine.. then keep doing your water changes and perhaps try feeding your fish every other day. If that doesn't work after a couple of weeks... try Prime... it is a solution that lowers your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate without affecting your pH. I heard a lot of good things abou that solution. I am using it myself.. but make sure it is your last resort. At least that's my opinion.

Knowing what type of tank you have set up will help anyone who is willing to help you with your problem. For example, tank size... how many fish... what kind of fish.. etc.

 

[Cazangel]

I have had my tank for about 3 weeks now and cant get my hands on any other filter media. I have been cycling the tank with a few fishes in and used ammo lock to start off with plus regular water testing and 25% water changes daily.

My ammonia levels were slow to start but now 3 weeks in they are over 8.0 and so is my nitrite my fish are still alive and I have stopped using ammo lock as it is giving me an inaccurate result to my test results.

I don't know what else to try and have stopped using any chemicals apart from tap conditioner when I do my water changes as I'm scared that I will use too many chemicals can anyone else tell me what to do to lower my ammonia levels as they are so high and water changes arent making any difference?/////

Have patience with your levels considering it is a new tank and you are running (or trying) your cycle with fish in them. Stop the Ammo Lock. I've heard nothing but bad on that chemical. When you do your water changes, make sure that you dechlorinate your water before you put it in your tank... I made that mistake a couple of times and my cycling is taking forever.

Have you tried feeding your fish less? Also, have you tested your tap water? If you haven't, get some tap water and make sure you leave it for a day before testing it. It turns out that my tap water contained some ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. I recommend you to check that out first. If it's fine.. then keep doing your water changes and perhaps try feeding your fish every other day. If that doesn't work after a couple of weeks... try Prime... it is a solution that lowers your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate without affecting your pH. I heard a lot of good things abou that solution. I am using it myself.. but make sure it is your last resort. At least that's my opinion.

Knowing what type of tank you have set up will help anyone who is willing to help you with your problem. For example, tank size... how many fish... what kind of fish.. etc.

Thank for thr replies so far very useful, I have tested my tap water and it has no ammonia, nitrite or nitrate in it so It seems fine. I add dechlorinator before I add the water to the tank so it;s not that one either the only thing I could think of is that I havent started cleaning the gravel when I do water changes I have just taken water from the top and changed that.

 

[Cazangel]

I have had my tank for about 3 weeks now and cant get my hands on any other filter media. I have been cycling the tank with a few fishes in and used ammo lock to start off with plus regular water testing and 25% water changes daily.

My ammonia levels were slow to start but now 3 weeks in they are over 8.0 and so is my nitrite my fish are still alive and I have stopped using ammo lock as it is giving me an inaccurate result to my test results.

I don't know what else to try and have stopped using any chemicals apart from tap conditioner when I do my water changes as I'm scared that I will use too many chemicals can anyone else tell me what to do to lower my ammonia levels as they are so high and water changes arent making any difference?/////

Have patience with your levels considering it is a new tank and you are running (or trying) your cycle with fish in them. Stop the Ammo Lock. I've heard nothing but bad on that chemical. When you do your water changes, make sure that you dechlorinate your water before you put it in your tank... I made that mistake a couple of times and my cycling is taking forever.

Have you tried feeding your fish less? Also, have you tested your tap water? If you haven't, get some tap water and make sure you leave it for a day before testing it. It turns out that my tap water contained some ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. I recommend you to check that out first. If it's fine.. then keep doing your water changes and perhaps try feeding your fish every other day. If that doesn't work after a couple of weeks... try Prime... it is a solution that lowers your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate without affecting your pH. I heard a lot of good things abou that solution. I am using it myself.. but make sure it is your last resort. At least that's my opinion.

Knowing what type of tank you have set up will help anyone who is willing to help you with your problem. For example, tank size... how many fish... what kind of fish.. etc.

Thank for thr replies so far very useful, I have tested my tap water and it has no ammonia, nitrite or nitrate in it so It seems fine. I add dechlorinator before I add the water to the tank so it;s not that one either the only thing I could think of is that I havent started cleaning the gravel when I do water changes I have just taken water from the top and changed that.
I am going to by a gravel cleaner tonight and try that and then do another water change and test the water straight afterwards, I have a 180 litre tank about 3ft by 4ft with one Congo tetr, 5 phatom tetras and a plec.

Hope that helps and anymore advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

 

[Spooky76]

Cleaning the gravel will not drop your ammonia significantly, if its that high you need to keep up smaller regular water chanages.
I would do a 10% change, test again, if its still high after an hour, do another 10% and so on until its 0.

Ammonia is poisonous to fish, so you need to get that down. Dont clean your filter media, just make sure when you do the water change its not out the water for more than 10-30seconds, try to keep all your bacteria wet.

The levels will come down, just be patient and make sure you leave it an hour after changing water to test again. What might be useful is to put some additive in, doing so many changes can remove your electrolytes from the water. something like tetra easy balance might be good once your ammonia is 0.

 

[siamese lover]

I have had my tank for about 3 weeks now and cant get my hands on any other filter media. I have been cycling the tank with a few fishes in and used ammo lock to start off with plus regular water testing and 25% water changes daily.

My ammonia levels were slow to start but now 3 weeks in they are over 8.0 and so is my nitrite my fish are still alive and I have stopped using ammo lock as it is giving me an inaccurate result to my test results.

I don't know what else to try and have stopped using any chemicals apart from tap conditioner when I do my water changes as I'm scared that I will use too many chemicals can anyone else tell me what to do to lower my ammonia levels as they are so high and water changes arent making any difference?/////

Hi Cazangel
I've learned a lot about water quality, mostly the hard expensive way. I agree with others that water quality should be achieved without chemicals.
Have a look in my profile at my set up. My tank looks on paper to be well overcrowded yet I never have water quality issues.

No1 FILTRATION:
My hood filter built into the tank by the manufacturer is enough for the 200 litre tank that it's on. BUT I have altered it's make up and instead of using the pump supplied to push the water into the spraybar I have installed a "FLUVAL 405" external filter ( good enough for 400 litres) I use this to draw water from the tank and pump it back out through the tanks spray bar into the hood filter to be filtered again before returning the water to the tank.
ie; my filtration is good enough for a 600 litre tank - 3 times larger than mine.

No2 BACTERIA:
I buy a live culture that has to be refridgerated called "BACTINETTES" made by a French/German company called Soll.
There is not a product available on this planet that is better. It costs about £5 or $10 a dose.

No3 WATER:
Find a supplier for R/O ( reverse osmosis ) WATER. It's really cheap and the best water you can start with. Tap water is full of chemicals added by the water company to ensure it's safe for human consumption. You will need to add some minerals to it but your supplier will do that if you ask. Forget your hose pipe and get some 25 litre drums and a siphoning tube.

No4 ROCKS / TANK FURNITURE etc:
Always buy aquarium approved products and use old tank water to clean them, not tap water. Also try to use real plants not plastic imitations. Real plants help your cycle enormously.

I NEVER HAVE AMMONIA / NITRITE PROBLEMS ------- When my NITRATE level exceeds 10 I do a 15% water change.

Good luck.

 

[Cazangel]

Thanks for that , I'm really struggling now as I don;t know what else to try the water changes make no difference the ammonia levels are still really high and even after a 10% water change then checking the levels after an hour they aren't dropping at ALL. What else can I do I know that everyone keeps saying more water changes but I'm worried that I will loose my fish as I keep doing the changes and the levels arent dropping

 

[Kaylee]

Thanks for that , I'm really struggling now as I don;t know what else to try the water changes make no difference the ammonia levels are still really high and even after a 10% water change then checking the levels after an hour they aren't dropping at ALL. What else can I do I know that everyone keeps saying more water changes but I'm worried that I will loose my fish as I keep doing the changes and the levels arent dropping

Just keep doing the water changes i do a 25% water change daily due to ammonia right now and it brings it down to a safe level. Are you sure your testing isn't faulty, maybe try a different testing brand.

 

[Cazangel]

Thanks for that , I'm really struggling now as I don;t know what else to try the water changes make no difference the ammonia levels are still really high and even after a 10% water change then checking the levels after an hour they aren't dropping at ALL. What else can I do I know that everyone keeps saying more water changes but I'm worried that I will loose my fish as I keep doing the changes and the levels arent dropping

Just keep doing the water changes i do a 25% water change daily due to ammonia right now and it brings it down to a safe level. Are you sure your testing isn't faulty, maybe try a different testing brand.

I think it's fine cos it was working before and it tests tap water correctly it cost £18 so it better be working !

 

[Cazangel]

Right this is really getting ridiculous now I have done a 50% water change using tap water that I have dechlorinated, I took out 50% of the water using my gravel cleaner which sucked up loads of poo and dirt that was in the gravel, I replaced the water with dechlorinated tap water and left it running for an hour.

I used my water test kit again to test the levels and I can't believe this is right but the results were ;


Ammonia 8.0
Nitrite 1.0
Nitrate 1.0

So the Nitrite and Nitrate levels have dropped considerably but the Ammonia is still really high, is it possible that there is soething wrong with the test kit, it's an Aquarium Pharmaceutical Freshwater Master Test Kit has anyone got one of these it's a liquid test kit and I am following the instructions precisely but I refuse to believe thatmy fish would still be living happily if that Ammonia result is correct what do you think ?

 

[Andy7000]

Your experience with ammonia sounds very very strange. I'd get a new test kit as said before. If your new test kit shows high readings in ammonia i'd be very worried about the tap water, I wouldn't bother drinking it if I were you!

 

[Cazangel]

Your experience with ammonia sounds very very strange. I'd get a new test kit as said before. If your new test kit shows high readings in ammonia i'd be very worried about the tap water, I wouldn't bother drinking it if I were you!

Still no drop in the levels and I'm doing everything that has been suggested to me. I have tested the tapwater and that is fine ammonia is 0 so I don't know what else to try

 

[siamese lover]

Try an "APi" test kit it's never let me down.
The ammonia kit is two bottles you use 8 drops from each into a testube with 5ml of tank water in it.
The test takes 5 minutes and is very accurate.

 

[Tolak]

What water conditioner are you using to dechlorinate your water? If you have chloramine, which is a combination of chlorine & ammonia, what you may be seeing is the ammonia portion of this with your tests. Ammo-Lock, which is basically hydromethane sulfinate, converts ammonia to ammonium. Ammonium is harmless to fish at levels commonly found in your aquarium, but used the same as ammonia by your nitrifying bacteria. The 8 drop API test, which is a single reagent nessler test, will not discriminate between ammonia & ammonium the way a two reagent salicylate test will.

What you can try is filling a bucket with tap water, adding your dechlor, then doing an ammo test. This will tell you if you are getting ammonia split off from chloramine. While I don't believe in adding any chemical to an aquarium that is not absolutely needed, Ammo-Lock is a good product, one commonly found in the tool box of people who maintain aquariums professionally, and the same chemical found in water treatments that eliminate or neuteralize ammonia.