What happened?!

[Chess46]

Hey everyone,

If you have seen my other threads, you would know I am trying to set up my biological filter with fish in it. I do daily water changes and tests. The past 3 days my ammonia test has been .25 but, when I tested last night a got a 1.0 reading on ammonia. What is going on? I did a 50% water change as soon as I saw the results. The fish however were still as active as ever. I use declorinated tap water but it also has ammonia in it. It's city water. What should I do about this? That's a awful big jump over night.

 

[swimwithme]

Have you tested the tap water for ammonia?

 

[Chess46]

Yes I have. It's 1.0

 

[librarygirl]

That's what happens in a fish-in cycle. Ammonia is going to rise, so you'll need to keep up with water changes to keep it down under .25. You'll need to increase your water change frequency daily until ammonia can stay at 0 on its own (for example, with ammonia at 1, I'd do two-three 50% water changes today) . After this phase comes the nitrite phase, which is when nitrites rise fast like ammonia is doing now. Just keep up with the testing and water changes as needed for the next 3-8 weeks and you'll be fine.

 

[GTFCTIM]

Not much use if his pwc water has 1.0ppm Ammonia.

 

[Chess46]

Librarygirl, does it matter that my tap water has 1.0 ammonia in it?

 

[eco23]

Not much use if his pwc water has 1.0ppm Ammonia.

Prime neutralizes (up to 1ppm I think) of ammonia. But it needs to be re-dosed to keep the ammo / no2 in the tank non-toxic. So until the bio-filter is developed and capable of removing the ammonia on it's own...pwc's should still be done every 24-36 hours IMO to refresh the water and reintroduce the Prime.

 

[Chess46]

Okay, that makes sence. I'll add prime to every pwc. I had just been adding mainly aqua safe due to the rumor that prime will harm the bio filter.

 

[LyndaB]

due to the rumor that prime will harm the bio filter.

It is just that, a rumor. There is no validity to it at all.

 

[eco23]

It is just that, a rumor. There is no validity to it at all.

Yeah, that's not just a rumor...it's blatantly wrong information. Prime doesn't remove ammonia, it simply converts toxic ammonia into ammonium which is non-toxic. The beneficial bacteria doesn't care whether it's free ammonia or ammonium...it's perfectly available for the bio-filter to consume and colonize. Prime and fresh water are the 2 most valuable tools (and really the only necessary ones) to deal with a fish-in cycle.

 

[Chess46]

Thanks so much for the replies. That helps a lot. I should use the amount directed on the bottle of prime..right?

 

[swimwithme]

Thanks so much for the replies. That helps a lot. I should use the amount directed on the bottle of prime..right?

Yes, use as directed.
BTW...what kind of horsie do you have?

 

[Chess46]

Thank you.
He's a quarter horse. 6 years old

 

[swimwithme]

Thank you.
He's a quarter horse. 6 years old

Cool. I have a 5 yr old palomino Tennessee Walking horse gelding. Do you show or just trail ride?

(my apologies to anyone who is reading this and says "what does this have to do with fish?")

 

[Chess46]

I used to barrel race but I am too busy with work for that anymore. I trail ride him now. What about you?

My apologies also.

 

[LyndaB]

Hey, it's your thread, you can do whatever you want with it.

 

[swimwithme]

I used to show TWHs until I got tired of the politics. I now just trail ride when I can. I haven't been able to in the last year because I was pregnant. I had my baby in February. I have since been back in the saddle, but have yet to get to go riding with anyone.
But it was nice to be able to start riding again. I look forward to when my daughter wants to go riding.

 

[Chess46]

I agree. I can't imagine not being able to ride my horse. Why did politics get in the way of your showing?

 

[eco23]

Hey guys, I personally don't care what you guys chat about...but a mod is gonna come along and delete all the posts and give you a warning for being OT. PM's are a good way to communicate, and if you're both online together you can hop into the chat room where you can talk real-time and is a pretty cool (yet rarely used) feature of the site.