Problem With Ammonia Levels

[CANicholls]

Hi - I have a 60L tank stocked with:
 
4 platys
4 rummy nosed tretra
1 shrimp
1 loach
6 neon
 
Gravel base, no live plants or wood, Temp 23 -24C.  Tank set up August 2012.  Last fish introduced in February.
 
I can't seem to keep ammonia levels at 0.  Has been sitting at 0.25ppm for about a week now.
 
In the last 3 days I have done 3 water changes:
 
1/3 then 3/4 then 1/3 again.
 
Last change was yesterday and just tested water (API test kit) and ammonia level has rinsen to 0.50ppm.  Had slight high nitrite but that is now level.
 
Yesterday I changed one of the filter sponges and one of the filter cartridges.  Water crystal clear and tank is clean.
 
I've read somewhere else to stop changing the water but I'm worried that the fish won't like these levels.  I have added an airstone which might help them a bit.
 
Any thought appreciated.

 

[laurac94]

I think maybe with all of your water changes too often and cleaning the filter you might have reduced the amount of beneficial bacteria in your tank, leading to the ammonia spike.
I would leave everything running for the next week or so to allow your bacteria to multiply. Do keep up with regular testing though as a high ammonia spike 0.5 or above is really dangerous and you will need to do a partial water change to bring it down again.
Also check the stocking of your tank as it just seems a little high to me, and under feeding fish is better than over feeding, a small pinch once or twice a day should do, as much as they can eat in 2 minutes.
Lots of things can effect ammonia levels, these tips will hopefully help.

Good luck.

 

[CoryLover95]

Have you cycled your tank?
 
If not, overstocking might be your problem.  60 liters equals about 15 gallons, and the rule that I use is 1 inch of fish per gallon of water.  You have:
4 platies - 3" maximum = 12"
4 rummy nosed tetras - 2" maximum = 8"
1 shrimp - never kept these, not sure if they add to the bioload
1 loach - what kind of loach?  A few that come to my mind are khuli loaches, 2-3", or clown loaches - up to 16", which is huge, so I'm not thinking you have any of those for a 15gal tank.
And 6 neons - grow to about 1" = 6"
 
All this comes to 26", plus the loach & the shrimp.  Therefore, you should ideally have a 26-30 gallon tank (98-113 liters).
 
I hope this hasn't come across as too harsh.  Overstocking is a very common mistake so don't feel bad

.
And welcome to the forum!
-CL95
 
EDIT:  I'm sorry, I just realized that your tank was set up August 2012, so obviously it's cycled.  Sorry about that!

 

[Nik00117]

It seems like your tank is over stocked. I would consider rehoming the platies, tetras or neons. 

 

[CANicholls]

Thank you for all of your comments.  I am very cross with our LFS who assured me my tank would not be overstocked.  Assistant said neons didn't add much to the bioload and my only option for a glass sucker was a Hillstream loach.
 
Would prefer not to rehome fish as children have chosen!  Is there any way I can keep them all and clean/filter accordingly?
 
This might be a silly question but how often should I test water while I am leaving it unchanged this week?  And is it sufficient to only check Ammonia or should I do the Nitrite/Nitrates as well?
 
Thanks again everyone.

 

[laurac94]

You could get a small external filter, with atleast 180litres of turnover per hour, hook that up to your tank and leave it to run with your current filters for 2-3 weeks for the bacteria to grow before removing the other filter.
It would free up space in your tank and will probably slightly counter the over stocking problem.

I would check ammonia levels daily or once every 2 days depending on levels just to make sure it stays low.

 

[the_lock_man]

You would need to run the 2 concurrently for a lot longer than that, 6-8 weeks.

A better idea would be to put the media from the old filter in the new one and then top up with new media.

 

[CANicholls]

I'm back again, I left tank since since last Saturday keeping on eye on ammonia levels and feeding lightly.  I decided to change water today.  Ammonia test 0.5 before water change.  Did 50% water change and now have an ammonia level of 0.25.  I'm so disappointed it is not 0.  Shall I leave again for a week and see what happens?
 
Two dead fish this week btw.

 

[the_lock_man]

Do the maths. 0.5 - 50% = 0.25.
 
If you want it to go down further, you need to change a larger proportion of the water. I would suggest doing another 50% change (which should take you down to about 0.125ppm, not that your test is accurate enough to show the difference, but you know what I mean). THat will buy you some breathing space, but you really ought to test water again tomorrow.
 
BTW, whereabouts in our lovely county are you?

 

[Supraman]

^ beat me to it, it's quite easy managing amonia levels actually, just need to keep up with water changes and test the water frequently

 

[CANicholls]

Thanks....helpful as always.
 
From Chichester

 

[the_lock_man]

So, if your location is Hampshire, I'm guessing somewhere around the Havant/Emsworth area, then?

 

[CANicholls]

Now have more of an understanding of ammonia levels, thanks.  Hopefully can get it sorted.
From Emsworth

 

[snazy]

Yesterday I changed one of the filter sponges and one of the filter cartridges. Water crystal clear and tank is clean.

 
By changing these you are removing the good bacteria that is responsible for ammonia/nitrIte conversion.
You don't ever need to change them, unless the media is falling apart which may take years, and even then you just take out a quarter of media at one time.
Just wash the media in tank water when they have clogged but don't overclean them.
 
If the above isn't the reason for your tank going into re-cycling itself, then your filter may not be coping(low flow rate and can't remove the ammonia/nitrItes in an overstocked tank fast enough), then you may consider adding a second filter. An external is best as it holds more water/media and will eventually(4-6 weeks) stabilize the tank. You still need to do water changes by then to keep the levels lower and also at least 50% weekly afterwards. I've ran tanks overstocked but you need good filtration and not being lazy about water changes.
 
Do not overfeed in the mean time too.

 

[Arcticfox1977]

Your tank has been going longer than my tank. I've been up and running for 6-7 weeks now with fish in. I get ammonia hitting 0.25. I do a 20% WC to lower. I test my water every 12hrs which is twice a day. If my 2nd test still shows ammonia I do a 40% WC which takes it to 0. I can go a day and a half without a WC. No sign of nitrite or nitrates yet. I have 3 platies, 2 mollys, 4 neons. I did start off with 7 neons, but 2 were attacked by a platy and the other died for no reason 2 days ago. Also use a liquid test for your water.