Disheartened

[phoenixgsd]

after i managed to keep plants and fish alive for several months, and getting in to the swing of maintenence, i changed to sand, since changing to sand ive had nothing but problems and am seriously thinking this isnt the hobby for me, i have been getting ammonia readings of 0.25ppm, and they wont drop, even with daily 75% water changes, there is no left over food and i only feed a pinch every other day as i only have (had) 5 fish, i came home from a 15 hour nightshift and had to do another water change as one fish had died overnight, when i really would have liked to go to bed the only other things that have changed is my brand of dechlorinator, the addition of intrapet floraboost as the plants started to yellow, probably because of the ammonia, and the addition of two small fake plants, the ph is 6.6ppm nitrite is 0ppm and nitrate is 5.0ppm, what am i doing wrong? is it possible i have overdone the dosage of floraboost and/or dechlorinator

 

[fishlove75]

Hello, I am sorry for your frustration, this forum is great and I am sure someone will have the answer for you. I don't know much about live plants and fertilizers. But I am pretty sure it takes a very big dose to overdose on the dechlorinator. So I don't think it is that. I do know that live plants can sometimes change the chemistry (for lack of a better word) and give different readings, but again I am not a live plant expert. I have used nothing but sand in my tanks, I used gravel very breifly when I first started, and when I switched to sand I never went back. So probably not the sand in on itself. But, did you rinse the sand really well before introducing it into the tank? Not saying you are an idiot or anything, but you would be surprised at how much it needs to be rinsed I know I was when I first switched to sand. Also, what kind of sand did you use? When I first switched to sand, I wanted to use red sand. I found some in the pet store, but didn't realize it was coral sand, so it messed with the chemistry, (dropped my ph down to around 6.5) and my ammonia and nitrates got all messed up until I took the coral sand out. Luckily my little Betta was fine, he was sluggish for a few days, but otherwise unharmed. But point being sand can be a little tricky if you don't get the right kind and/or rinse it really well. Also, not sure what the sand does for the plants. Again I have never kept live plants, so not sure if a sand substrate is good or bad for plants. The other thing with sand, is if you don't stir it up frequently (say with every water change) it can go aerobic, basically, gas bubbles form under the sand, and if they break through it can cause serious problems in your tank. But you would probably know if that happened, because it smells like sulfur (rotten eggs) and generally it is associated with mass death.
Well I hope that helps some, and I am sure someone will be along to give you more info re: the plants. Good luck and don't give up.

 

[balajake]

its always a good idea to check if your filter pads need a clean in old tank water. and the sand will need a swish around with something like a clean garden cane just to give it an air. it could be that food has got trapped in either or both.

 

[phoenixgsd]

hi, yes the sand was washed within a inch of death, or thats what my aching muscles and very sore hands told me it was the argos playsand recomended on here, and is only thinly layered in the tank, im at a loss as to what else to do apart from stop feeding for a bit, keep up with the water changes or buy some ammonia remover, (does that stuff even work?)

its always a good idea to check if your filter pads need a clean in old tank water. and the sand will need a swish around with something like a clean garden cane just to give it an air. it could be that food has got trapped in either or both.

that was my first thought but i have done this twice this week already with no change in results

 

[Liquid skills]

its always a good idea to check if your filter pads need a clean in old tank water. and the sand will need a swish around with something like a clean garden cane just to give it an air. it could be that food has got trapped in either or both.

Mts's work as well for airing the sand theres loads for sale in tge classified section

 

[fishlove75]

stiring the sand is not hard at all. All you really need is your fingers. But a small sand rake, or I used bamboo sticks. Just give it a quick stir during cleaning and that is it. But if you don't want to buy anything special, just run your fingers through it.

 

[ZoddyZod]

are you 100% sure you are getting a 0.25ppm reading on the ammonia? Have you tested the tap water to see if you get the same reading?

if in doubt, test again and compare the test tube side by side with a test on some bottled/mineral water. This will give you confidence that you are actually seeing green in the tank water test when compared to the yellow the mineral water will give you.

 

[phoenixgsd]

Mts's work as well for airing the sand theres loads for sale in tge classified section

i have got a few pond snails, do they not do the same job? i only changed to sand because i wanted a few loaches, obviously im holding off untill i sort this

 

[phoenixgsd]

are you 100% sure you are getting a 0.25ppm reading on the ammonia? Have you tested the tap water to see if you get the same reading?

if in doubt, test again and compare the test tube side by side with a test on some bottled/mineral water. This will give you confidence that you are actually seeing green in the tank water test when compared to the yellow the mineral water will give you.

our tap water is 0ppm tank water is deffinatly 0.25ppm

 

[fishlove75]

Pond snails won't do the same thing and the will just cause an infestation in your tank, and they are really hard to get rid of. If you want loaches, then just hold off til you get this straight, and go with the loaches. Stiring the sand up a little when you do your water changes is really not that big of a deal, and as you said you have a thin layer, you probably won't have issues anyway. On a side note you may want to make the layer a little thicker when the loaches come so they have a little bit more of a bed to play in.

As for the sand itself, sounds like you did everything right. They only thing left I can think of is the yellowing plants. If the plants are dying, would that put ammonia in the water?? Really not sure, have no real experience with live plants.

I think you have done everthing you can for now. Your sand was preped right, and it is the right kind. You verified your tap water readings, so you know for sure you have ammonia in your tank. Other than the plants, the only thing I can think of is to do a real good search of your tank, and your filter for any decaying food, or any other dead fish, or anything else that might be dead, dying or rotting in the tank and filter.

You definately seem to be doing the right things, hopefully you can find an answer.

 

[snake007]

I'm sorry this is happening to you.Are you sure there's no dead fish or dead plants rotting in the tank?That would also cause the ammonia to rise.

 

[phoenixgsd]

I'm sorry this is happening to you.Are you sure there's no dead fish or dead plants rotting in the tank?That would also cause the ammonia to rise.

its a 55LT tank and only 4 guppys 2 bamboo shrimp and 3 amano shrimp, they are all present and correct and i only have few plants, but the constant ammonia is now affecting them and probably not helping the situation as they are yellowing, could it be the tank is understocked?

 

[snake007]

Unlikely, add some prime for now, maybe get some mature media and add that.
I don't know why there is ammonia.

 

[phoenixgsd]

thats seachem prime yes? i might have to buy it online as i havnt yet come across it in shops here

 

[snake007]

Yeah thats the one, where you based?