Ammonia Levels On The Up . Why? How To Resolve?

[TraceyB]

Hi I have been on the site now for a few months and have found many of the posts interesting and helpful. I know I have asked for advice before and I know there are loads of posts on ammonia ....
I hope you read this and give me advice because I am at a loss as to why I am having the problem which is

Rising ammonia levels

I have a 200l tank which has had an external ex1200 tetratec filter running for about 6 weeks . When I switched from my fluval internal filter, I moved over all the media and filters to prevent the tank from cycling again.

I did a clean out of the tank about 2weeks ago (following treating for ick) this included cleaning the filter (not with tap water though) and I removed the old media etc thinking it would be OK......

The problem I'm having now is raised ammonia levels. Testing in the morning the levels are reading 0.25-0.5ppm tonight creeping in again about 0.25ppm. My PH has dropped (6 - 6.4) which is expected considering the ammonia readings. I have been changing about 80litres of water daily and adding prime.

There are no dead fish about I wouldn't say I am over feeding. Didn't feed yesterday and fed once today minimal amount.

I have got a couple of small bits of coral in the tank to help raise the ph gradually, but I think this isn't going to help as I have to tackle the ammonia

This is where I am at a loss as I don't know where to go from here without having to add other chemicals etc to reduce it.

The tank looks fine no signs of stress from the fish. No gasping etc.. I have added about 5mls of prime tonight to help bind it until the morning.

This really can be silent killer as the tank looks clear and no signs yet of stress from my fishies

What is happening and why ???

Stock levels are

17 neon/cardinal tetras
x2 syno hybrid and multipunctata
x3 cordoras
3 Pearl gouramis
x5 danio (various types)


Other readings

Nitrate 0-0.5ppm
Nitrite 0ppm


HELP !!!!

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

When you get a reading of 0.25mg/l or higher of ammonia, the toxicity is related to the pH and the temperature of the tank water (soft acidic cool water is relatively much safer than hard alkaline water), but whenever I get a reading like that I remove ~95% of the water (and I've had to do a number of these on my Rio240 in recent months, changing ~220l). When refilling after such an event, I try to increase the rippling at the water surface, in the hope of aerating the water better which will help the bacteria muliply quicker.

Hard to say for sure, but perhaps you lost some bacteria during your recent tank issues and medication?

What do you mean by removing the old media during the post-Ich tank cleanout? As in you threw away your mature media that came from the Fluval internal, which was placed in the new EX1200? This might be your problem here.

 

[KittyKat]

I did a clean out of the tank about 2weeks ago (following treating for ick) this included cleaning the filter (not with tap water though) and I removed the old media etc thinking it would be OK......

Did you replace the filter media with new stuff? Cleaning the filter and media with old tank water should not have caused a problem, but replacing all or most media will, as the bacteria live on the surface of the filter media.

p.s. on a side note, do get your Corys and danios into schools once your problems are sorted.

 

[TraceyB]

It was the media from the fluval that I removed.... What an idiot ..... I'm so annoyed with myself for doing it....I guess I should do a larger water change.

KittyKat - I'll look at increasing them at some point, how many cory's do you suggest? As for the danios, the are greedy bandits anymore and they'd hog all the food........

 

[KittyKat]

I guess I should do a larger water change.

As many as are needed to keep the ammonia as close to 0 ppm as possible. You should also switch to using a dechlorinator which will "deal" with ammonia and nitrite, just in case.

KittyKat - I'll look at increasing them at some point, how many cory's do you suggest? As for the danios, the are greedy bandits anymore and they'd hog all the food........

I recommend that all shoaling fish should be kept in groups of at least 6 per species and ideally 10-15+. This does apply to Corys and danios. If the danios are not getting along with the other fish by out-competing them, you should consider trying to find them a home with equally active fish, where they can be kept in a school.

 

[watertown28]

Try some sinking pellets along with regular flake food. Feed flake first to get the dinos all excited and eating everything in sight, and then add a few sinking pellets for the corries. Your dinos may go after the pellets as they sink, but interest is usually short lived and they go after the much easier stuff in the flakes.

I would do that anyways regardless with corries. They will get some of the flake food too that happens to fall, but to be on the safe side try to give the pellets at least every other day. Thats what I do. Granted, I take to to vacuum the gravel every week so any extra food usually gets sucked out.

I have 4 corries and 2 clown loaches... they are fun to watch as the dinoes are going crazy on the surface while the corries and loaches are on the bottom all excited in search of food.

 

[eggo]

may be a good idea to add Seachem Stability after water changes