Ammonia spiked high recently

[Socialrainxl39]

Ok my tank was fully cycle before i added my two bettas and dwarfs cat fishes that are on total 5 in my 20 gallon tank.

Ammonia is 2.0
Nitrite 2.0
Nitrate 2.0
Ph 7.8
Hard water 8.4

I had done 40 percent water change and still the same results.

I tested the tap water and ammonia read 1.0 and added water conditioner and bacterial after water changes.

So i would like to know if i need another water change? Stop using tap water? Remove fishes? My cycle no longer exist? I dont want my fishes to die? Need help with advices and solution.

 

[Angellove78]

Holly! Your tap water is reading ammonia level @ 1.0 that's not good. Your not gonna get anywhere with changing out with tap water. If you use it you gotta detoxify it over night with seachem prime. Fill some buckets, get some prime. I'd double dose it and let it sit. As far as your fish. I'd remove them if you can. But, using that water will kill them or cause internal damage for long term. Do you have different water you can get?&:

 

[Socialrainxl39]

Im here asking to save my fishes and nobodys is here to help me so i decided to flush them down because my fishes are dying over this ammonia, and had done water changes twice and still reading the same result. I try my best to stick around the hobby but is way to expensive and i dont have enough knowledge, this is why i join this forum for tips and help and all seems nobody care to help out and gives zero opinions. I started with a 10g and now im stuck with a 20g and nothing has worked out for me. I done the monthly cycling, add bio media, filters, light and airstones, all kind of liquids to make it safe and make it work and it seems im killing my fishes with chemicals. Thanks anyways

 

[Delapool]

One way would be to run the 10 gallon empty (but cycled). Change tap water into that and allow it to cycle to nitrates. Plants would be next step but I’d leave that for moment if looks complex, else try floating plants in it like duckweed. Then use that water for changing main tank. As long as below 40ppm nitrates would be fine for hardy fish.

Another way would be using bottled water. I assume you are in US where bottled water seems cheap.

Using bottled water to start with, eventually you may be able to mix with some tap water (eg to 0.25ppm ammonia as you have high ph which makes it more toxic) as your main tank filters get more established (these don’t seem completely cycled perhaps).

A product like seachem prime will detoxify ammonia for 24 to 48 hrs to allow the filter to process it. I’d grab some of that to start with as well.

Definitely doable, just small water changes and light stocking.

 

[Angellove78]

Sorry I tried. With tap water that high in ammonia there's steps you gotta take to be able to use it. Hope you don't drink that stuff.

 

[Autumnsky]

You posted at 8:15 pm on a Saturday night and got a response. People sleep at night, majority of members are sleeping after that but could be out or busy in the evening (from USA).

You can use the search option to look for additional threads which deal with high ammonia.

Earlier a week ago your ammonia was at .25. So somehow it was much less than 1.0.

Water changes are important to keep toxic levels away. Using a liquid test kit correctly is also critical to the health of the fish, and important when doing a fish in cycle.

The article link in my signature will also give you the information you need to understand the nitrification cycle.

You can purchase RO (reverse osmosis) from a saltwater fish store and add a remineralizer if you have such bad water.

What would really suck is for you to flush fish down the toilet instead of following a fish in cycle. If you read through the article below there are link articles for doing fish in cycle.

Also it mentions that when using Prime water conditioner as directed it neutralizes the ammonia and it turns to ammonium which is still able to register on the test as ammonia even though it isn't toxic to the fish.

 

[Socialrainxl39]

Few fishes had died in my tank and i had to flush them down because of my lil kid crying to seeing him on the bottom. Been tough and im trying to keep the other fishes alive, this ammonia spiked has been tough to deal with and i cant bring it down, im using the stress out coat by APi to conditioner my tap water and i had read that also makes water ammonia related so in here sitting like a duck and scared to clean flush my tank off.

 

[Autumnsky]

Did you do any water changes?

As Angel said treat the tap water with the water conditioner that removes ammonia. [Also make sure you use one which treats chlorine/Chloramines if your city or town uses it.]

And then do a couple 50% pwc - one after the other.

Have you checked for nitrIte in the water? And NitrAtes?

 

[Delapool]

im using the stress out coat by APi to conditioner my tap water and i had read that also makes water ammonia related so in here sitting like a duck and scared to clean flush my tank off.

Pick up seachem prime - api stress coat will not detoxify ammonia (that I know of). The api amono lock will but seachem prime covers everything for a water conditioner.

Then I’d test a sample of any bottled water (should be 0 ammonia which checks test kit is working); the tap water (all readings but ammonia and ph most important) and tank water. Post all results.

Catching up but it sounds like you have a tank still cycling but tap water with ammonia? Is that it?

This is doable to keep a tank. Having the test kit means you are ahead already. I know it isn’t great times but some planted tanks will use quite heavy amounts of ferts each day so can be done.

I assume filters are being left alone or cleaned in old tank water?

 

[Socialrainxl39]

Ok i did 50% wc with added prime, 1 fish died of schocked, i did add the water the same aa temperature as my tank, which dint make sense. Havent tested water till sometime, i had cleaned my filter with same tank water and my ceramic bio remains intact. What a journey, ill hope my test comes clean.

I dont understand why prime dont add a better measurements, like for example once capsule 5ml is 50 gallon and i couldn't figure it out 10 gallon setup, so added 1ml.

 

[Delapool]

Yeah, rough trip!

That’s ok on prime - better to over dose than under.

Sounds like fish was just weak. Good that you temp matched water. I assume water was also poured slowly into tank?

The readings would be great - than we have a complete starting point.

 

[Socialrainxl39]

Ok my readings are
ph 7.8
Amonnia 1.0ppm
Nitrine 1.0ppm
Nitrate 5.0ppm

What should i do now? This is the part i get lost.

Yesterday i did 50% water changed and water was poured in 15% and waited 30 mins for each input. , what is the next step?

 

[Delapool]

Is that readings for tank?

We need readings for tank and tap water to pick which way.

I would also test on bottled water which should have no ammonia to check the test kit is working.

 

[Delapool]

This depends on your tap water ammonia but main aim is to just slowly pour into tank during a water change.

 

[Socialrainxl39]

Ok tap water reads between 0.5 and 1.0 and water bottle aquafina reads 0 ammonia, tanks reads 1.0 ammonia.

 

[Autumnsky]

Nitrite is very dangerous to the health of the fish. Ammonia of course isn't good either. If you can do 2 50% water changes one then right after the other.

The reason is that it makes the change of water easier on the fish. But if it is between that and not having enough time better to just get to 75% and add water back to full. And treat with Prime to 7x the regular dose. This will help with the nitrite. Test again afterwards to see how nitrite is.

 

[Socialrainxl39]

Ok so i have 20 gallon tank and prime do 50 gallon per 5 ml cap, so what is my ratio for 10 gallon water change X 7 dose? I dont want to over complicated my self. Please explain.

 

[Autumnsky]

So it would be 1ml per 10 gal.

If doing the partial water change, use that number.


To treat the nitrIte problem would be the dose of 7 times for the whole tank, since the whole tank's water amount of nitrites is dangerous - 20G = 14ml which is the emergency treatment for nitrites.

If you just now did a pwc, then you could subtract the # of ml you already added for the pwc from the 14 ml emergency dose for your 20G tank..

I can't link it atm, but you can go to Seachem Prime and it details the product and correct usage. For your comfort and future clarification of using the product.

 

[Delapool]

Can you set up the old 10gal you had and run that empty (but cycled with a filter) to process / cycle that tap water ammonia of 0.5 to 1ppm? Then use that tank water to do water changes into display tank. From memory the 1ppm ammonia (assuming worse case) will convert to 4 or 5ppm nitrates which is of no concern.


As the check with bottled water shows the ammonia test kit is working as you got a 0 reading.

 

[Socialrainxl39]

Ok i did a 75% water change and i added 7x rhe prime dose another fancy gumpy died and i tested my water and is

ph 7.6
Ammonia 0.50
Nitrite 1.0 and 0.50 cant tell the outcome
Nitrate 10ppm

Im about to give up, all i do i cant bring nitrite and ammonia down.

I have done 50 water changes 4 days in a row and today 75. What a nightmare for my fishes.