We have a 29g tank. It was cycled and going just fine since September 2012. About 2 months ago we started loosing fish. At this point we have 4 male fish remaining and have been stable for 2 weeks with no fish loss. For some reason we lost all the females but the males seem to be doing well. I cannot seem to get the tank stabilized. We do 25% pwc each week and gravel clean. We do have some algae that we clean as well each week. Ammonia is somewhere between .25 and .5. Nitrite is very close to 0. A very slight purple tint. We have high ph and it is 8.2. Nitrates are at 20. No plants. I do not understand why we cannot get the ammonia back to 0 with only 4 fish in a 29g tank. Water temp is 78-80. We have an aquaclear 50 hob filter with 2 stages of bio media, no charcoal. We have also swished the sponge in tank water to remove large debris. Can we do a 75% water change at this point to try and get the ammonia down? Any other suggestions? We do very small feedings for about a minute at most. Very little food makes it to the bottom. Should we add a catfish back in for bottom clean up? Any suggestions are appreciated.
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Mrs.h2012
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That is bizarre. I would do a large water change to get ammonia down as much as possible. All you can do is watch things, maybe even try and get your hands some seeded media to see if that helps get rid of ammonia?
egrape
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it seems like you are Doing everything right. it sucks how sometimes these things just happen. some charcoal would be good to cycle through the waste, but I think the most important thing would be to get some API quick start, or a similar product. it's full of beneficial bacteria to help your tank fix this last bit of cycling. it's a great creation!
I would not do a large water change. you should never do a water change larger than 25 percent no matter what. . your issue is that something has happened to the bacteria that should be processing the Ammonia, so taking out more of them will only cause more harm than good and send your tank further backwards. you also don't want to stress out your fish.
I would not do a large water change. you should never do a water change larger than 25 percent no matter what. . your issue is that something has happened to the bacteria that should be processing the Ammonia, so taking out more of them will only cause more harm than good and send your tank further backwards. you also don't want to stress out your fish.
I just retested the ammonia and now its between 0 and .25(closer to 0). We just did a pwc about 30 minutes ago. Do you need to wait a certain period of time before testing after a pwc? I guess it is possible I put in too many drops the first time.
egrape
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no you don't have to wait a specific time, a half hour is good. I would keep an eye on it though. test it again later in the day, again the next morning. sometimes readings can get funny so it's good to have a progression to look at when you are monitoring your tank
Zimmanski
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There's no specific amount of time to wait, though some people have ammonia in their tap water so you could be testing ammonia that has been bound by water conditioner but not yet taken in by the BB, I always wait 24 hours after WCs to test because a fully cycled aquarium would have more than enough time to take care of anything in tap water, you also get a better reading on ph
I will restet tomorrow morning and afternoon. The ammonia is pretty much 0 and nitrites are 0 after this test now. I did buy an active mag sponge filter from angels plus when I started the tank, maybe I should put another one in for a few weeks to keeps things going. Will let everyone know the test results tomorrow. Should we add a catfish first before restocking the community in the future?
Mrs.h2012
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I'm sure putting another active sponge filter would help, any sort of seeded media would help
I would think.
Latest testing
OK. Tested a few minutes ago, about 24 hours after the pwc. Ammonia between .25 and .5 Nitrites 0 Nitrates 5. I see that aquaclear makes an ammonia remover cartridge. Is this something I should consider purchasing and adding to my filter? Any other suggestions for ammonia removal? No food on the bottom. Do weekly 25% water changes.
OK. Tested a few minutes ago, about 24 hours after the pwc. Ammonia between .25 and .5 Nitrites 0 Nitrates 5. I see that aquaclear makes an ammonia remover cartridge. Is this something I should consider purchasing and adding to my filter? Any other suggestions for ammonia removal? No food on the bottom. Do weekly 25% water changes.
Mrs.h2012
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How long have you had the ammonia readings? I had a trace amount of ammonia once after being fully cycled for months, after a water change it was gone and I haven't had a problem since or did I ever find out why I randomly had ammonia show up, it just happened for some reason.
I have had this reading for 4 weeks now. However I just retested and it was reading close to 0 now? When I compare the tap to the tank water the tap is more yellow than the tank but not by that much.
I made sure that I shook the API ammonia solution bottles really well before adding them. Could I be getting false readings from not shaking the solution bottles enough? The kit is 8 months old and almost empty. I have new solution bottles for when the others are gone.
I made sure that I shook the API ammonia solution bottles really well before adding them. Could I be getting false readings from not shaking the solution bottles enough? The kit is 8 months old and almost empty. I have new solution bottles for when the others are gone.
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