amonia problem
- Thread starter manny09
- Start date
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
loyalrogue
Aquarium Advice Freak
I'm sorry for your loss. 
First thing to do is an emergency water change... I'd do at least 50% up to 100%, and retest again. Repeat if necessary.
Although you probably won't see it recommended too often, I always keep a bottle of AmmoniaLock around for just such an emergency situation where I might not be able to do an immediate water change.
Second thing to do is find out where the ammonia is coming from and eliminate the cause. (overfeeding, insufficient filtering, waste buildup in filter media, etc.)
Tell us a little more about your tank, how long it's been setup, tank size, number of fish/cleaners, filtering, how much LS & LR, feeding habits, other water readings, etc.
First thing to do is an emergency water change... I'd do at least 50% up to 100%, and retest again. Repeat if necessary.
Although you probably won't see it recommended too often, I always keep a bottle of AmmoniaLock around for just such an emergency situation where I might not be able to do an immediate water change.
Second thing to do is find out where the ammonia is coming from and eliminate the cause. (overfeeding, insufficient filtering, waste buildup in filter media, etc.)
Tell us a little more about your tank, how long it's been setup, tank size, number of fish/cleaners, filtering, how much LS & LR, feeding habits, other water readings, etc.
its a 55 gallon... 3 weeks old.. i tested the water before adding anything and everything was at 0 nitrates nitrites and amonia...
i added 15 lbs of rock wednesday and 30 on thursday .. on friday i added the 2 nemos 4 chromis and 2 corals... maybe i added to much??
i added 15 lbs of rock wednesday and 30 on thursday .. on friday i added the 2 nemos 4 chromis and 2 corals... maybe i added to much??
loyalrogue
Aquarium Advice Freak
Ouch.
What Hara said.
A little too much, too fast.
Your tank most likely hasn't had a chance to build up enough beneficial bacteria to cope with your bioload yet.
Did you use wet live rock or dry base rock?
If dry, then it will take a lot longer to become "live" enough to properly filter.
If wet, then it will begin filtering right away, but it will probably have at least some die-off that will create an initial ammonia spike.
How about your substrate?
Are you using live sand, dry sand, crushed coral, etc., and how deep is it?
Be prepared that there is a chance you may lose the other fish before your tank has properly cycled.
Some aquarists say that Bio Spira is worthless junk, but I've had good luck using it on my tanks in the past.
It's a liquid pouch of live bacteria that's kept refrigerated at your LFS until you use it.
It's expensive, and there's no guarantee it will help, but if you can afford it, it won't hurt anything but your wallet to give it a try.
You also might want to consider taking the fish back to the store for safe keeping until your tank has fully cycled, and then add them back a little at a time.
What Hara said.
A little too much, too fast.
Your tank most likely hasn't had a chance to build up enough beneficial bacteria to cope with your bioload yet.
Did you use wet live rock or dry base rock?
If dry, then it will take a lot longer to become "live" enough to properly filter.
If wet, then it will begin filtering right away, but it will probably have at least some die-off that will create an initial ammonia spike.
How about your substrate?
Are you using live sand, dry sand, crushed coral, etc., and how deep is it?
Be prepared that there is a chance you may lose the other fish before your tank has properly cycled.
Some aquarists say that Bio Spira is worthless junk, but I've had good luck using it on my tanks in the past.
It's a liquid pouch of live bacteria that's kept refrigerated at your LFS until you use it.
It's expensive, and there's no guarantee it will help, but if you can afford it, it won't hurt anything but your wallet to give it a try.
You also might want to consider taking the fish back to the store for safe keeping until your tank has fully cycled, and then add them back a little at a time.
Did you allow your tank to cycle? If not it has to. I see so many things that could be a problem. Adding 45 lbs of LR and adding 6 fish and 2 corals all of this within a three day period. Remember in this hobby Patience is a virtue. If you have not cycled then you need to get all livestock out as they will not make it. If you have cycled then frequent PWC`s will be needed. I would not do more than a 30% but do it every 3 days till it gets down IMO.
Kurt_Nelson
Aquarium Advice Addict
Get the coral out too, pronto!
i went to the lfs and the tested my water... everything was fine!!!...
he told me the reason the tiny clwon fish may have died was due to the fact that my plate coral might have hurt him, because i had seen the clown in it for a little... he also told me an anemone would be good..
i have 50 lb live sand
45lb live rock
blue tang, 2 clowns, 4 chromis, and a gobi....
and for corals the plate coral and the polp and the newly added anemone...
i also have a couple questions...
do i need to add any thing to my tank such as calcium or anything to that extent??...
and i no that the clown fish and the anemone is about a 50 50 chance... how long does this usually take? and does it happen with tthe lights off or on??
thankk uu
he told me the reason the tiny clwon fish may have died was due to the fact that my plate coral might have hurt him, because i had seen the clown in it for a little... he also told me an anemone would be good..
i have 50 lb live sand
45lb live rock
blue tang, 2 clowns, 4 chromis, and a gobi....
and for corals the plate coral and the polp and the newly added anemone...
i also have a couple questions...
do i need to add any thing to my tank such as calcium or anything to that extent??...
and i no that the clown fish and the anemone is about a 50 50 chance... how long does this usually take? and does it happen with tthe lights off or on??
thankk uu
loyalrogue
Aquarium Advice Freak
I would still keep testing on a daily basis, and keep enough SW onhand for an emergency water change just in case.
Your tank is still very young and your bioload was rushed IMHO.
Like the Boyscouts say, "Be prepared".
As for the clown and hosting... those are probably tankraised clowns in which case your chances may be a lot slimmer than 50/50, unless the one that hosted the plate coral is still alive...
I've got 3 tanks that have clowns in them and the hosting situations break down like this:
Tank 1: Tank-raised O. clown won't host anything. Not anemones, corals, powerheads, magfloats,... nothin'.
Tank 2: Wild harvested Clarki clown. Immediately and aggressively pounces on and hosts any anemone that's placed in the tank. 3 have passed thru his tank (BTA, Sebae, & LTA) and he's loved on all 3. Currently hosting the LTA.
Tank 3: Wild harvested Maroon Gold Striped clown. First hosted an LPS coral after 5 mins in the tank, then I got him a BTA which he also started hosting within 5 mins, then when the BTA got stuck in a PH went back to hosting the LPS again.
Here's a pic of him and the coral.
So to sum up, both my wild clowns hosted immediately and the tank raised one just don't play that game.
Good luck with yours.
On a side note, does anyone know what kind of coral that is?
I bought it with the tank and I haven't seen any in my LFS to ID it yet.
Your tank is still very young and your bioload was rushed IMHO.
Like the Boyscouts say, "Be prepared".
As for the clown and hosting... those are probably tankraised clowns in which case your chances may be a lot slimmer than 50/50, unless the one that hosted the plate coral is still alive...
I've got 3 tanks that have clowns in them and the hosting situations break down like this:
Tank 1: Tank-raised O. clown won't host anything. Not anemones, corals, powerheads, magfloats,... nothin'.
Tank 2: Wild harvested Clarki clown. Immediately and aggressively pounces on and hosts any anemone that's placed in the tank. 3 have passed thru his tank (BTA, Sebae, & LTA) and he's loved on all 3. Currently hosting the LTA.
Tank 3: Wild harvested Maroon Gold Striped clown. First hosted an LPS coral after 5 mins in the tank, then I got him a BTA which he also started hosting within 5 mins, then when the BTA got stuck in a PH went back to hosting the LPS again.
Here's a pic of him and the coral.
So to sum up, both my wild clowns hosted immediately and the tank raised one just don't play that game.
Good luck with yours.
On a side note, does anyone know what kind of coral that is?
I bought it with the tank and I haven't seen any in my LFS to ID it yet.
great picture...
another question wont the Maroon Gold Striped clown be to aggresive with my normal clowns... and if not i will go and buy myself a moroon clown tom and for shure tom i will get myself a clarki...
..no one has answered this question maybe u can.. do i need to add calcium or anything of that extent??
any other suggestions with for fish 4 the reef aquarium?
another question wont the Maroon Gold Striped clown be to aggresive with my normal clowns... and if not i will go and buy myself a moroon clown tom and for shure tom i will get myself a clarki...
..no one has answered this question maybe u can.. do i need to add calcium or anything of that extent??
any other suggestions with for fish 4 the reef aquarium?
Kurt_Nelson
Aquarium Advice Addict
manny09 said:
I'd have a different LFS test the water. Preferably one that didn't sell you all the fish to start with!
If you put in 45 lbs of live rock - even if it was fully cured - and then put in a tang, 2 clowns, 4 chromis, and a goby... you're most likely going to have ammonia to some extent. Unless you got the live rock from an existing mature tank with a good bioload, then it's going to take a while for that bacteria to build up with that many fish going in all at once. (That tang is going to want a bigger tank than a 55 most likely.)
Regarding your calcium... it all depends on your brand of salt mix. If you don't know what your calcium levels are now, get a test kit and find out. Then you can make a decision on whether or not you need to add calcium. But personally, I wouldn't worry about the Ca right now... I'd be worried about that cycle that if it hasn't happened is probably just around the corner. Definitely have a fair amount (50-100% maybe?) of premixed saltwater on hand for frequent water changes.
loyalrogue
Aquarium Advice Freak
Thanks for saying that.manny09 said:
I just took that tonight for this thread.
It took about 20 shots to get one that wasn't blurry.
I still suck at aquarium photography, and would love to know how everyone else seems to take such clear and vibrant pictures.
My photo colors always look dulled and yellowed compared to the way my tanks look in person.
There's two schools of thought on that... take your pick.manny09 said:
One group says don't dose your tank with anything extra and just keep up with regular weekly water changes (10-20%), and your tank will get everything it needs in the way of trace minerals just from the new salt.
The other group says add the extra suppliments that you know your corals and shellfish are depleting from the water.
It's a personal choice, and personally I do a PWC about every 2-3 weeks and do about half the labels' recommended weekly dosage of calcium, strontium, molybdenum, iodine, PH buffer, Purple-up, and Essential Elements.
That's a chance you take.manny09 said:
(Btw, my maroon isn't aggressive at all, but my Clarkii is an unholy terror to anything that comes near his host.)
A 55 might be too small to keep more than one species of clown.
Of course, if you add several different young fish together, before they have a chance to establish a territory, your chances are much better.
There might be some chasing and nipping in the beginning, but so long as nobody loses any parts of their fins and they settle down in a day or two it should be ok.
If anyone does lose some fin and/or one fish obviously bullies and stresses the other then I would remove him.
Before you try it I would make sure your LFS will take back and credit you for any fish that you might have to return because they don't get along.
Of course, as someone more experienced than me said earlier, "Patience is a virtue in this hobby".
Everyone agrees that you've already rushed your tank to this point (not that I'm one to talk... I'm just as guilty of not having any self-control).
Maybe you should give it some time to adjust to the bioload and make sure you're not heading for a crash before you go making anymore major changes, hmmm?
Just my humble suggestion.
loyalrogue
Aquarium Advice Freak
For what it's worth, I looked up his other thread about this tank and he stated that it went thru it's cycle.melosu58 said:
Bwahaha. So true... Sad, but so true.Kurt_Nelson said:
They don't seem to have given very good advice so far...
I'd definitely get a second opinion.
Just wanted to quote that.Kurt_Nelson said:
Better safe than sorry.
Good luck.
lando
Aquarium Advice Addict
the presence of NH3 and the age of the tank suggest that the tank did not experience a full cycle. Coupled with this is the fact that you added too much livestock too quickly for such a young tank. The NH3 is a sign that the tank's biological filtration can not keep up with the current bioload. Adding more livestock at this point is only going to compound the issue. My suggestions...remove the livestock and give your tank more time to develope the beneficial bacteria that is so critical for the longterm health of any tank.
lando
Aquarium Advice Addict
On behalf of the livestock you currently have, I would suggest bringing them back to the LFS. Explain your situation and hope they cooperate. Also, get a basic test kit for NH3, NO2, NO3 and Ph. Testing at home is much easier then bringing in samples to the LFS.
