I can't get my ammonia lvl to 0???

[ruffneck]

I have a new 55gallon tank and I only did a part cycle and all the tests were good before putting in fish. but now I've noticed in the last 2 weeks I've had ammonia lvls of 1.0-3.0 and all the fish seem to be doing just fine. no mater what I do I can't get the ammonia lvl to 0. The problem is I probably added too many fish at once and the fact that I didn't wait awhole cycle could be the problem. I've transfered the fragile fish back to my 20 gallon and took the danios and black skirts and put them in the 55gallon. I'm sure its not that I over feed them and its not over crowded. I've used ammonia removal with the constant 25-30% water changes every couple of days. What can I do to solve my ammonia problem fast. All the fish seem to be just fine in the tank??

 

[Susielyd]

Hi there,

You could put some filter media from the 20g into the new tank (I am assuming it is healthy and cycled). That would colonize your tank with bacteria.
Another thing is that the ammonia removal stuff may be effecting your readings. I have heard that a lot on these forums. Maybe lay off the chemicals for a few days and get an accurate reading?

maybe someone out there will have another idea
hth
susan

 

[rdd1952]

It does sound like you didn't get your tank cycled. I would stay away from the chemicals except for as a last resort. They don't solve the problem but simply mask it. As Susielyd mentioned, take some filter media from your established tank and add it to your new tank. I don't know what kind of filter you have but you could simply pull some carbon from the filter pack and add to the new filter. A lot of the good bacteria colonizes on the media in your filter. You could also ull some of the sand/gravel from the established tank and add to the new one.