Question about ammonia

[Matt68005]

Sequel

The only problem with those is they are expensive and they neutralize ANY other chemical in your tank. You don't need them at all. I don't use them anymore...what if say you need to adjust ph? Not gonna happen if you use prime with ever water change. all you need is ammo lock, and tap conditioner and do water changes until it's cycled, about 2-3 weeks....so easy, gets even easier if you start out with some seed bacteria or a used filter pad.

 

[touchofgrey]

Well, all fish are accounted for, the tank seems to have cycled (0 nitrites, 15ppm nitrates). The tank is a 180, I have 2 canisters each rated for 125 gal tank plus 2 HOT250s running ammochips. Temp runs between 76 and 80, usually around 78. I'm just going to dose daily with the Amquel for the next few days and see where the ammonia goes...

 

[touchofgrey]

status update

Well, things are looking a lot better now. I have the nh3 down to about 0.025ppm based on the chart. My pH crashed in the meantime (around 5.0) and I lost a nice mono argentus I had just bought. I don't know what happened other than I did a water change and I think the city may have done something to the tap water. Other than that, everyone seems very happy. Much more activity, better appetites, clearer water...I think I might finally have this monster under control. We'll see. I truly appreciate everyone's suggestions and comments, especially you, Threnjen- you are fantastic! I'll let you know how things go; I'm getting ready to hook up 2 fluidized bed sand filters to up my biological filtration. Should be fun. Thanks again!
Kelly

 

[KimAnnKitz]

Oh my gosh! I want to thank Threnjen too! I am currently having ammonia problems in a nano, 5 gallon tank that's only been up and running for 5 weeks. I thought it was cycled until I added some RCS and they all died. I got the API test kit and found out that my nitrites and ammonia were on a little high. Have been testing a lot now and doing a lot of water changes. Thought it was good again until I tried more shrimp! Nitrites are 0 but getting ammonia at .25 or .5 ppm every single day. Have 2 mystery snails and a betta and 2 surviving shrimp right now. Doing daily 50% water changes and getting no where. Not sure where to go, but sure appreciate the explanation from Threnjen! Awesome and understandable. Wish I could tag you so I know you read this! BTW, my tank is a Fluval Spec V with a lot of plants and the aforementioned occupants. Hate that I am stressing my beautiful betta like this!

 

[Caliban07]

Oh my gosh! I want to thank Threnjen too! I am currently having ammonia problems in a nano, 5 gallon tank that's only been up and running for 5 weeks. I thought it was cycled until I added some RCS and they all died. I got the API test kit and found out that my nitrites and ammonia were on a little high. Have been testing a lot now and doing a lot of water changes. Thought it was good again until I tried more shrimp! Nitrites are 0 but getting ammonia at .25 or .5 ppm every single day. Have 2 mystery snails and a betta and 2 surviving shrimp right now. Doing daily 50% water changes and getting no where. Not sure where to go, but sure appreciate the explanation from Threnjen! Awesome and understandable. Wish I could tag you so I know you read this! BTW, my tank is a Fluval Spec V with a lot of plants and the aforementioned occupants. Hate that I am stressing my beautiful betta like this!

Have you tested your tap water for ammonia?