Tank In Mini-Cycle?

SmokedPaprika

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I think I've somehow sent Rhaegar's tank into a mini-cycle - I tested ammonia levels this morning and they were at .2ppm 
evilmad.gif
 
 
 
I've checked for uneaten food and rotting plant matter and found nothing...what could cause this?  And how can I fix it?  I don't want Rhaegar ending up ill because of poor water parameters.
 
Other tank stats:
 
Nitrites - 0
Nitrates - 10ppm
pH - 6.5
Temp. - 28 celsius
 
30% waterchange, if there's still some ammonia left afterwards then this afternoon (or tomorrow, depending on what time it is where you are) do another 30-50% waterchange, do this daily until the problem is over.
 
Are you using the API kit?
 
No, I've got the Easytest kit by Interpet - it's a tablet testing kit rather than a true liquid test kit. 

Blondielovesfish said:
30% waterchange, if there's still some ammonia left afterwards then this afternoon (or tomorrow, depending on what time it is where you are) do another 30-50% waterchange, do this daily until the problem is over.
 
Thanks!  :)
 
Have no experience of that one, Paprika, but the API is notorious for giving false positives at 0.25ppm.
Have been recommended the Salifert marine ones most of which are suitable for FW too with a couple of exceptions. Am in the process of ordering some to try. 

Can you think of a reason why it could have spiked? Do you do regular weekly water changes?
If not it might be worth establishing that routine to keep the water fresh.
 
I've been changing 25% of the water weekly, and I rinse the filter in the old tank water, so I'm not sure what could have happened 
sad2.gif
  and there's only ever been Rhaegar in there, I haven't added any new tankmates.
 
Fish show signs of fast breathing or at the surface?

If not I've heard those tablets are useless.
 
IIRC, the reason that the test strips are inaccurate are because the nitrogen in the air can get into the strips and therefore skew the results. The same could easily be true of the tablets.
 
techen said:
Fish show signs of fast breathing or at the surface?

If not I've heard those tablets are useless.
 
No, fish is fine - just chilling out on his plant.
 
 
 
the_lock_man said:
IIRC, the reason that the test strips are inaccurate are because the nitrogen in the air can get into the strips and therefore skew the results. The same could easily be true of the tablets.
 
Never thought of that...is the API Master kit the better option, then?  If not, what would you recommend?
 
API seems to be the most popular one on here tho as said before the Salifert ones come highly recommended.
 
I'm using the Nutrafin test kit, bought it with the first tank before I knew about API. I've never had any problem with the Nutrafin test kit. It gave me readings during cycling of my tank (I do believe those readings were pretty accurate) and now the test tube is always clear when I test for Ammonia! 
 
Have you checked for ammonia in your tap water? I think if your city uses chloramine to treat the water that it may give you false ammonia readings!
 
Meeresstille said:
I'm using the Nutrafin test kit, bought it with the first tank before I knew about API. I've never had any problem with the Nutrafin test kit. It gave me readings during cycling of my tank (I do believe those readings were pretty accurate) and now the test tube is always clear when I test for Ammonia! 
 
Have you checked for ammonia in your tap water? I think if your city uses chloramine to treat the water that it may give you false ammonia readings!
 
Ah, no, I haven't checked that - I'm about to head out for a couple of hours, but when I get back I'll definitely have a look.  Thanks!
 
Chloramine breaks down into chlorine and ammonia. Since its normally a small amount of left over chloramine, the amount of ammonia would be very low and should not persist as, in a cycled tank, it should handle it fairly fast. Have you changed your dechlor brand recently?
 
At .2 ppm total ammonia in a pH of 6.5 and a temp of 28C, there is almost none of the toxic form ammonia (NH3)- you are at .001 ppm and the number at which potential damage becomes a problem is .05 ppm or 50 times what you have (according to the Merck Veterinary Manual).
 
I tried mightily to get information regarding what your test kit is reading- and failed. I cannot determine whether this kit is a Nessler or Salicylate based kit. If it's the former, then dechlor can mess up the results easily. Can you check the instructions to determine and post the type of kit and/or what form it says the readings are- i.e. Total Ammonia (NH3 + NH4+) or just free ammonia (NH3). If it doesn't say, then is the kit for fresh water only or for both fresh and salt?
 
The important thing is not to panic here. The odds are good its testing error and even if its low level ammonia it isn't a hazard shorter term. A good clue is not getting any nitrite reading. Excess ammonia should create excess nitrite- because nitrite magnifies the ppm in most test kits, the ppm of nitrite should read higher than the ppm of ammonia. A total ammonia of .2 ppm should translate into close to .5 ppm nitrite as a tank works through a "mini-cycle".
 
As noted above- a good clue is how the fish are behaving. If there is ammonia, they will not be happy especially if it is enough to be harmful. Sometimes our fish are more accurate ammonia detectors than our hobby test kits.
 
There is no harm in doing a water change just in case to put your mind at ease.
 
Well, the tap water doesn't show an ammonia reading, so that's out.
 
 
 
TwoTankAmin said:
Chloramine breaks down into chlorine and ammonia. Since its normally a small amount of left over chloramine, the amount of ammonia would be very low and should not persist as, in a cycled tank, it should handle it fairly fast. Have you changed your dechlor brand recently?
 
At .2 ppm total ammonia in a pH of 6.5 and a temp of 28C, there is almost none of the toxic form ammonia (NH3)- you are at .001 ppm and the number at which potential damage becomes a problem is .05 ppm or 50 times what you have (according to the Merck Veterinary Manual).
 
I tried mightily to get information regarding what your test kit is reading- and failed. I cannot determine whether this kit is a Nessler or Salicylate based kit. If it's the former, then dechlor can mess up the results easily. Can you check the instructions to determine and post the type of kit and/or what form it says the readings are- i.e. Total Ammonia (NH3 + NH4+) or just free ammonia (NH3). If it doesn't say, then is the kit for fresh water only or for both fresh and salt?
 
The important thing is not to panic here. The odds are good its testing error and even if its low level ammonia it isn't a hazard shorter term. A good clue is not getting any nitrite reading. Excess ammonia should create excess nitrite- because nitrite magnifies the ppm in most test kits, the ppm of nitrite should read higher than the ppm of ammonia. A total ammonia of .2 ppm should translate into close to .5 ppm nitrite as a tank works through a "mini-cycle".
 
As noted above- a good clue is how the fish are behaving. If there is ammonia, they will not be happy especially if it is enough to be harmful. Sometimes our fish are more accurate ammonia detectors than our hobby test kits.
 
There is no harm in doing a water change just in case to put your mind at ease.
 
Wow, thanks for all the info! :) I've had a look at the instructions and it's for both fresh and salt.  No changes to the dechlor though, I'm using the same one as ever.  And Rhaegar still seems happy, he's busy flaring at his reflection.
 

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