PLEASE HELP!!! Ammonia problem (formerly LouLou)

[Bear]

Our 30 gal tank has been set up for about a month and a half. We (accidently) added fish before the tank was cycled.

We have:
3 guppys
3 black mollies
5 gouramis
2 albino tetras

Our ammonia level is EXTREMELY high (off the charts - over 5 ppm) and has been for the past 2 weeks. From all of the information I've gathered here, it sounds like our ammonia level has "spiked". We are consistently adding AMMO-LOCK to help get our little guys through this, and are doing 20% water changes every day, and a weekly vacuum of the gravel.

Is there anything we can do to speed up this process? I noticed a black spot on one of our gouramis and one of our guppys - from the info here, I'm guessing ammonia burns.

How long will this take and is there anything we can do to speed up the process? I'm wondering if a LFS will give us some filter floss out of one of their established tanks to help us out - can you do that?

Anyone? Please help!

Thank you!

 

[Bear]

...wanted to add, our nitrite levels are 0 - we don't have a nitrate test right now, but plan to buy one tonight.

We have the Whisper 30 (I think) filter.

I wonder if it's the filter?

 

[thecichlidaddict]

Ammonia burn shows up on the gills.

Two weeks straight and the fish are still ok. I wonder if it's testing accurately. Do you use a product called Amquel?

Do larger water changes to dilute it better. As long as you match the temperature closely and dechlorinate you can do 50% changes no problem.

In the mean time you can stuff your filter full of established filter floss from another filter of a friend or the fish store, this will give a good boost to your tank.

I don't think the filter itself is a problem with those stocking levels.

 

[Bear]

We are using AMMO-LOCK, not Amequl, but it sounds like they basically do the same thing. I think you're right - it sounds to me like the AMMO-LOCK is giving us a false test - I wonder

Back to nitrates - when the cycle is complete, there are existing nitrate levels, right? The main goal is:
ammonia=0
nitrite=0
nitrate=what???

And then water changes are actually meant to keep the nitrates at a low level, yes???

Stupid LFS - I swear I've had to investigate every frickin topic to find out the proper steps!!!!!!!!!!!!! NO ONE TOLD ME ABOUT NITRATES!!!!

We aren't going to add any more AMMO-LOCK.

So, what's the nitrate level supposed to be?

Thanks dude!

 

[manddave]

I thought that when you use AMMO-LOCK, it neutralises the ammonia but it doesnt remove it from the water. So your results from your test would still show a large amount of ammonia but it isnt harmful.

Thats just what I heard though.

 

[Bear]

Here's what I'm going to do - check the nitrates tonight - if they are around 40 (which I suspect they are), I'm going to assume that the AMMO-LOCK is giving us a false reading and the tank is fully cycled.

If the nitrate level reads 0, then the tank is NOT cycled - the ammonia is actually that high and we'll continue treating them with the AMMO-LOCK and doing daily water changes.

I'll also see if I can swipe some used filter floss from the pet store, and I'll be sure to rinse out the filter floss from our filter in the old tank water when doing our water change tonight to make sure that our filter isn't clogged and working ineffectively.

How does that sound?

I really want to get more fish! I want cory's!!

 

[LoveMyOscar]

 

[cation]

Ammonia Lock WILL give you an incorrect reading for ammonia levels. I had this problem once....


Better than ammonialock are frequent (daily) partial water changes.

Edited to add: ...which it appears you are already doing! *grin*

 

[Bear]

Update - checked the nitrates last night and they are at 10 ppm. We've stopped adding AMMO-LOCK b/c it looks like everything is on track.

Thanks for your help everyone!

 

[thecichlidaddict]

Good to hear things are on track bear. You learnt a valuable lesson - never tust the LFS unless they've proven themselves to be reliable.

Now, nitrates are best under 20, true, but most feshwater fish can handle 40, 60 or even 80 without a problem, it's marine fish that are very susceptable to them. Keep them as low as you can, but don't fret if you cant keep them under 40, many people's tap water has that much nitrate in it already! (in which case avoid delicate fish or keep lots of plants).

 

[Bear]

Thanks for that tip! I'm so happy that we are totally cycled and disease free! Plus, I decided to remove the carbon from the filter and just use the filter floss, so we are 100% chemical free!!!!

 

[CackD]

Bear - I had a similar issue with using Ammo-Lock - my Ammonia readings were off the chart.

Have you been testing the water for ammonia since you have stopped using Ammo-Lock? And how long did/does it take for an accurate reading once you stop using daily ( or every-other day ) doses?

 

[Bear]

Bear - I had a similar issue with using Ammo-Lock - my Ammonia readings were off the chart.

Have you been testing the water for ammonia since you have stopped using Ammo-Lock? And how long did/does it take for an accurate reading once you stop using daily ( or every-other day ) doses?

We haven't checked it yet - everything looks fine in there and I'm guessing it's still out of whack.

I'll let you know when we do though!

 

[CackD]

Good deal - I'll keep an eye out for an update!

 

[sandyd]

Glad to hear that you figured out the problem and that you are cycled. Now you can get your corys. Yayyyy Lots of great little guys to choose from.

To keep track of my nitrate levels, I checked the nitrate that comes out of my tap water to see the lowest number i could get my tanks at. Luckily my tanks all stay about 20, but be sure to check what your tap water is first, so that you know what your bottom level is. Good luck and keep us posted.
Sandy