Ammonia spike concerns

[thatlouguy]

Hi:

If you've read some previous threads, then you know we are novices. In addition to us testing our water, our LFS offers free water testing so we decided to bring in a sample for testing. Last Monday our test showed the Ammonia was 1.0 and Nitrite was .25. We did a 25% water change. On Tuesday we re-tested and the Ammonia was 1.5 and Nitrite was 0. We did about a 10% water change. On Wednesday the LFS tested and the Ammonia was 1.0 and Nitrite was 1.5. The LFS told us not to do anything. No water change (which suprised us). They said to just cut back on feeding (we were feeding 3x per day and they were eating it all in less than 3 min) We are to bring in another sample for testing to the LFS in 7-10 days (that would be next Fri). Today we tested the water and the Ammonia appears to be spiking at 4.0, and the Nitrites are reading .25. This high Ammonia read has me concerned so I wanted to see what you good people would advise.

Thanks

Lou

 

[BrianNY]

Find a new lfs . Can you et bio-spira? If not not, I would do 30% water changes daily.

 

[thatlouguy]

Hi:

Thanks for writing. Believe it or not, we spoke to every lfs in town and these guys seemed to be the best. Yea, Bio-Spira should be here Tomorrow or Monday. In the meantime I think I'll take your advise. The water is clear and fish are acting normal but that reading is way too high.

Thanks

 

[QTOFFER]

I've looked over your previous threads and a few things come to mind:

1 There are two kinds of ammonia test kits on the market: Nessler and salicylate. The Nessler kits have one reagent, but they can give false readings. The salicylate kits use two reagents. I suspect that you have a Nessler kit and that your 4.0 reading is false. Go and buy a salicylate kit - aquarium pharmaceuticals makes one - costs about 5 bucks.

2 OK, I am a biochemist, meaning that I like to run tests all day and write down the results in a notebook. But I would suggest that you test your water params yourself - ammonia, nitrites, nitrates - EVERY day while your tank is cycling. Don't stop until your ammonia and nitrites are 0 for three consecutive days. This is the only way you will ever know for sure that your tank is really cycled.

3 Buy Biospira - $20 for three oz. It will uncomplicate your fishkeeping life!! Go to Marineland's website at http://www.marineland.com/index2.asp and find a local retailer using your zipcode. You will have to call up a few retailers since not all of them will carry all Marineland products.

Like BrianNY suggested, I would do 30% water changes daily, and I would add one oz of Biospira at each change for three days. (Shake pouch well before adding and seal unused Biospira tightly and store in fridge) Three oz of Biospira added over three days to a 34 gal tank will kick-start your biological filtration and the water changes will remove the ammonia that is hurting your fish.

4 Be patient - you've had your tank for less than two weeks. Cycling is a pain in the ***, but you are almost there. These things just take time. Also, be sure to consult this forum - the advice given here is fantastic. And don't rely on one lfs or one post for advice. Read alot, talk to several lfs, and find a consensus answer to your questions.

BTW, how is the heat treatment working on your ich? I am also using it to battle it.

 

[thatlouguy]

Thanks QTOFFER:

That's what I've been trying to do but it's hard to know what's right when you get conflicting advice. We're using Aquatic Pharaceuticals Freashwater Master test kit which has a Ammonia test with 2 reagents. Like I told BrianNY, the Bio-Spira is on its way. Nobody in town had it so we needed to get it on-line. We're hoping that will take a lot of the guess work out of the cycling. I've read a lot about the product. Some have said they didn't have luck with it but that could have been for several different reasons. It's also been hard to be patient since the results of a certain action is sometimes not known for days, but on the flip side, immediate results could be floating fish and that would be BAD! I've been avoiding running water tests everyday because I was told it will just drive me crazy, so I've tried to be patient. Thanks for your input.

To answer your question, In addition to raising the heat to 86, I also used Quick Cure for 5 days with the charcoal removed. All signs of Ich were gone in 3. I don't know if it was the product or the heat. Just to be on the safe side I raised the heat another 2 degrees and stopped the Quick Cure. I'll bring the temperature down gradually beginning tomorrow. The reason I did this was again because of conflicting advice. I reasoned it was the best way to cover all bases and the fish don't seem to mind.