Ammonia Issues

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emi1990

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Aug 31, 2015
Messages
19
Hi!!

I need some advice on ammonia levels.

I have a 64L tank (pics attached) in the tank I have :
1 Dwarf Gourami
5 Rummy nose tetra
1 Cardinal Tetra
1 Rubber nose plec

I have the thermostat set at between 25 and 27 degrees and the water has a temp of 26 degrees. It has a filter with carbon filter pads and I feed them every other day on flake food and algae wafers/ cucumber for the plec.

We had some deaths around 4 weeks ago so after I had the water tested at the pet shop I found that my ammonia levels were too high. So, i immediately did a 50% water change and I am currently doing a 30 - 40% water change weekly. I was told this would correct the levels of ammonia in the tank.
Today I have done a 40% water change treated the new water with tap safe and my ammonia levels are still reading 0.25
I recently changed the filter pads as recommended too.
In the beginning we cycled for a week before purchasing fish and in hindsight i know this wasn't long enough. We originally had 2 dwarf gourami and 6 cardinal tetra's. All but one cardinal died and the two gourami were fine. We had to return a gourami to the pet shop as the bigger of the two was relentlessly attacking the smaller one. Read mixed reviews about keeping two males together and thought we would try to but didn't work out well.
The new additions to the tank( Rubber Nose plec and rummy nose) are 3 days in and seem to be doing well all are eating very well and the cardinal has now joined there little school which is great!!
Just seems to be an issue with the ammonia levels in the tank, i have read about ammo lock that you can buy that prevents the ammonia from being harmful. Has anyone used this or wouldImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1441024447.406890.jpg anyone be able to recommend something else i can try to reduce the ammonia?

Thanks in advance


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Hello and welcome!

I think we just have a simple case here of an uncycled tank. Cycling doesn't finish in a week or even 2 weeks under normal circumstances.

Here's a guide to help you through FISH IN cycling your tank, I ise this on social media for people as well.

What is cycling? Cycling is short the Nitrogen Cycle. Basically, bacteria live in your tank, they are what consumes waste so it doesn't become toxic and harm your fish. But your filter does not just "come with bacteria" right out of the box! This is where cycling comes in.

Why is cycling important? Many people have said "well I didn't cycle and my fish are just fine!" Well that's because most of those people have very hardy fish like bettas, guppies, etc, they can rough it through a cycle without issue.

Where does bacteria live? Let's make this really simple: 97%=filter 2%=substrate 1% water, decor, and plants. Basically, your filter is the home of all the bacteria you care about.

Where does bacteria come from and how do I grow it? This is the miracle of nature and science. I can't tell you specifically "where" bacteria comes from, only because I don't know. What I do now is how to grow bacteria, otherwise known is cycling a tank.

What you need to cycle a tank:
1. LIQUID test kit- I will stress this till the day I die. Test strips are junk. Liquid looks expensive but in reality you save a bunch of money because it can do 200+ tests for $10 more than a 25 pack of strips. I mean who wouldn't snag that deal?? You MUST have a test kit that you can get actual numbers from or else cycling will be near impossible without trips to the store for them to do it.

2. An ammonia source. This can be produced in a variety of ways. Fish obviously is the first method, this is the path of FISH-IN cycling. Simple right? Other sources include 10% grade ammonia from the hardware store, this is only a couple bucks. You can use uncooked shrimp from the grocery store and put it in a pantyhose so it doesn't make a mess. Or plain fish food is fine too but not as effective sometimes. These sources are used for a FISHLESS cycle.

Why do we need an ammonia source? This is what begins cycling. Ammonia is what feeds your bacteria to where they can reproduce and allows you to continue through the nitrogen cycle.

Enough questions let's get on with it:

Fishless cycling: this is really easy method, but you have an empty tank. On the flip side, you can do whatever adjustments you want to it so when you get fish it's perfect. If you are dosing ammonia by the bottle: shoot for 3ppm-4ppm. Google can provide a dosing calculator so you can know just how much to dose for your tank size. If you are using a table shrimp, just throw it in, it will naturally boost the ammonia and you just add a new shrimp when the other has decomposed. Now you want to use your test kit to measure how much ammonia you need to dose, it's simple math once you know how much makes 3ppm.

Fish-in cycling: This is where it can get tricky. Because you have fish you need to keep them safe. During a cycle, this will require daily testing and quite possibly daily water changes. You want to keep ammonia under 1ppm and nitrite under 0.50ppm if possible as both are highly toxic to fish.

Both cycles: in the beginning you will see ammonia start to rise, over time, the bacteria will overcome this and in a fishless you will need to start dosing daily(bottled ammonia) as time goes on. From there you will move to nitrites. Once you hit nitrites this is the longest phase. One day you will wake up and nitrites will be gone and you will be left with nitrAtes. Nitrates is the final product of the nitrogen cycle and is non toxic in lower levels. This is then removed through your weekly water changes. You may see nitrAtes before your nitrites go down, don't worry they will still drop off at some point.

Once the cycle is completed you should not see any signs on ammonia and nitrites, because now your tank is cycled.

Bacterial supplements: please understand these are a game of chance. They don't always work, sometimes they do nothing. Just know, I have NEVER seen one of these fully complete a cycle, only give a jump start. Please keep that in mind that just because you dump a bottle in doesn't mean your tank cycled..


Caleb
 
Hi Caleb

Thanks for the info.

So, i presume that if i carry on as i am but up the water changes as and when required to keep the ammonia as low as possible then it will be cycling already?

I will bear in mind the info on the cardinal, he isn't showing any signs of stress and the other tetras dont seem to mind him being there. However if i do notice signs of stress i will return him to the store or if my ammonia levels are clear i will purchase a few more cardinals for him.

I will post an update in a week or so :)



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Hi Caleb

Thanks for the info.

So, i presume that if i carry on as i am but up the water changes as and when required to keep the ammonia as low as possible then it will be cycling already?

I will bear in mind the info on the cardinal, he isn't showing any signs of stress and the other tetras dont seem to mind him being there. However if i do notice signs of stress i will return him to the store or if my ammonia levels are clear i will purchase a few more cardinals for him.

I will post an update in a week or so :)



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Cycling can take weeks even up to 2 months from scratch. So be prepared for lots of water changes and if you don't have a test kit yet, get one. A test kit is like your fish doctor, it can usually tell you what's wrong if a fish is acting weird because usually it's related to something in the water.

And being a fish in cycle, lots of testing will be necessary to monitor your progress.


Caleb
 
I thought that about the filter pads but I read the instructions on the back and it said to change both at the same time. I also asked in the pet shop if I should change one and then wait a few days and change the other but they said because it's a carbon filter it should be fine.
So much conflicting information about.
I have an ammonia test kit, I usually take my tank water to the pet shop as they do free water testing. Going to see about getting a full test kit shortly so I can keep an eye on it better.
All fish are still doing well though. No signs of stress all eating properly and colours are bright.
I will post an update in a week or so


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Hi Caleb

I just wanted to let you know that i have done 3 water changes since the last post. My usual process is to empty the water out then fill a clean bucket (i have a bucket specifically for the tank) add the water conditioner and slowly add the water back in. When i do a 25% change this usually takes me over an hour. I don't want to shock the fish.
Anyway i tested for ammonia this morning and the levels are slowly dropping. Going to take a water sample to my LFS today because they do free testing for nitrates nitrites and ammonia.
In hind sight i think the issue came from adding the rubbernose and changing both filter media's at the same time, even though thats what it said to do on the packet!!
I'm going to in the future change one media wait a few days then change the other.
I will update soon. I just wanted to share a picture of my rubber nose with you too, he finally came out of his cave the other night and it was nice to watch him swimming around.
Also, can you advise on what else fish wise i could add in the future to a 64L tank? I wont be buying any new fish for at least a month because i dont want to ruin all the hard work i have put in to sort the ammonia out but i am curious.
Currently stocked:
5 Rummy nose Tetra
1 Cardinal Tetra
1 Rubbernose plec
1 Dwarf Gourami

Also the cardinal seems very happy he is so much brighter than when he was on his own.

Happy fish i think :)
ImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1441442813.359999.jpgImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1441442844.319138.jpg


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Glad to see some water changes done.

Don't worry about changing your filter contents. It's just a big scam because companies love $$$. In a year with 7 tanks I've never replaced filter media. Just rinse it clean in tank water monthly.


Caleb
 
Do you have any advice on how much more I could potentially have in my tank? I've tried to find out on google but it's all so conflicting and you seem to know your stuff ?


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