High Ammonia

[LRPRESTO]

Hey all! I have a 20 gallon tank with two goldfish that has a high ammonia level. Everything else is normal. No nitrites low nitrates ph 7.5 just the ammonia is off the charts. I have been doing 25% water changes but nothing seems to change that ammonia level. I use NovAqua and AmQuel on water changes and I have premiun carbon ammonia neutralizer blend in the sub filter ( Emperor 280 filter and under gravel filter) I've tried ammonia clear tablets. Nothing is helping. Any ideas??

 

[fatheadminnow]

What kind of test kit are you using?

You said the tank is 2 years old, so it is very likely that the test kit is out dated.

Is there any other source of ammonia in your tank? i.e. left. over food? Do you clean the gravel with a gravel vac when doing water changes?

I would also remove the ammonia neutralizer from the filer, you want ammonia present in your tank, this will allow for your beneficial bacteria to colonize in your filter.

I would also not add any ammonia tablets either, just do water changes to get the ammonia down.

How long have you had the ammonia neutralizer in your filter?

-FHM

 

[LRPRESTO]

Hey all! I have a 20 gallon tank with two goldfish that has a high ammonia level. Everything else is normal. No nitrites low nitrates ph 7.5 just the ammonia is off the charts. I have been doing 25% water changes but nothing seems to change that ammonia level. I use NovAqua and AmQuel on water changes and I have premiun carbon ammonia neutralizer blend in the sub filter ( Emperor 280 filter and under gravel filter) I've tried ammonia clear tablets. Nothing is helping. Any ideas??

I use a gravel vacuumeach time I do a water change. There is no leftover food in the tank and I don't over feed them. my test kit is from Aquarium Pharmaceuticals and the ammonia is a fairly new bottle (about two months old) I was thinking the same thing -maybe it was just old- I haven't used the ammonia tabs in a few months (this problem has been going on for a long time now) The same ammonia neutralizer has been in the tank for about three months and I haven't changed the filter in a while but I do rinse it every other month or so (or if it gets cloged) in tank water. Thanks for your help!!

 

[fatheadminnow]

You can check on the ammonia bottle for the date when it was made, the number will usually be on the front of the bottle, (EX. 0807, means August, 2007) , check that out. If it is older than 3 years old, than it might not be any good.

The ammonia neutralizer in your filter I think is the problem. The ammonia neutralizer will change the property of ammonia to a "safe" ammonia for the fish, but will still register on your ammonia reading test.

But without the proper ammonia present in your tank, you will not be able to have any beneficial bacteria in your filter, or have a very low amount of bacteria, which would explain why you have a low level of nitrates.

How did you cycle your tank? Or did you not cycle your tank?

-FHM

 

[LRPRESTO]

the bottle says 10/08 so not that old. I did a fishless cycle for two months before putting fish in then only added one fish at a time. I also have ceramic rings in my bio filter that are supposed to allow "massive colonies of beneficial bacteria to grow" I can take the ammonia neutralizer out if you think it would help. Is there something else I should use in the sub filter instead?

 

[fatheadminnow]

The ammonia neutralizer is going to change ammonia to ammonium. Ammonium is still detectable using our test kits, but not harmful to fish.

I would take it out and replace it with more ceramic rings.

Since you do not have that much beneficial bacteria in your filer due to the ammonia neutralizer (the beneficial bacteria grow off of ammonia, not ammonium), you are most likely going to have a mini cycle until you colonize enough bacteria in your filter to support your current "bio-load."

You might want to look up fish-in cycling in the meantime, so you will be able to know how to deal with a fish-in cycle.

Basically, just do water changes to keep your ammonia and nitrite below .25 ppm.

-FHM

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

Have you treated the tank with any medication lately? How often are you doing water changes? Do you ever clean out your filter/foam?