1 ppm Ammonia!

[Soul-Man22]

Hey guys, well I went to get my water tested at the LFS today( I know I need my own kit bit haven't gotten one yet) and it turned out to be 1.0 ppm ammonia, .5 ppm nitrite and 5 ppm nitrate. I told the lady who did it that I just recently changed tanks from a 10 to 35 gal and I did all the right stuff like adding the old filter, using the water from the old tank, conditioning the new water, and using the old gravel. She said I should add ammonia chips to my filter to bring down the ammonia because according to here it could burn the fish. She also told me not to do a big water change because the parameters are out of whack because I added to much new water when changing tanks for the BB to handle, she said to do about a 10% change at most. And she told me not to use prime to condition the water because affecting the ammonia, nitrites, an nitrates at one time was not good. Finally she told me to check the water again in a week to see if it's better. I am kind of skeptical of this because 1) I have never dealt with this woman before so I'm not sure I she knew what she was doing, 2) her advice contradicted a lot of stuff I have read on here 3) because my fish seem to be doing fine, they are active, and eating well and are not showing any odd behavior, including my neons which are very sensitive to water conditions. I would like to know what u guys suggest because I know I can trust u guys a lot more than some lady from the fish store, thanks!

 

[Cynic]

1. Don't add ammonia chips
2. Large water changes will reduce the amount of ammonia and increase the odds of your fish surviving however it will reduce the time it takes for your bioload to stabilise
3. 10% is just stupid low and pointless
4. Prime is a good thing but yes it does make it a bit confusing to read test results, make sure you don't test for 24 hours post adding prime, i.e. before a water change is normally best

 

[Dallascowboys16]

Do a large water change (50%) that is the only way to lower the ammonia levels enough to do anything.

 

[Soul-Man22]

Ok I'll do a 50% water change right now, so adding prime is ok? So I shouldn't listen to the advise this lady gave me?

 

[Soul-Man22]

Just finished the water change and everything looks good, is there anything I should do now or just wait and test the water in 24 hours and go from there?

 

[enrgizerbunny]

Do another 50% change and that should put you at .25ppm, which is pretty safe for the fish if their alive in 1 ppm. You're in a mini cycle, so expect to do 50% changes every other day until you get out of it. It shouldn't take nearly as long as a full cycle though.

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[venymae]

I agree with enrgizerbunny. Sounds like you are in a mini-cycle. WC 25% daily or 50% every other day should keep you safe while your bb get large enough to handle your bio load again.
The reason WC do not harm your cycle is because the bacteria mostly reside on things in the tank (filter media, decor, etc), not in the water. So you are not removing many bacteria when you do a WC and it is the fastest and safest way to remove Ammonia, NitrIte and NitrAtes that would potentially hurt your fish.
So the answer to your questions is- NO, don't listen to that lady and YES do water changes.

 

[ScotJudd]

Forget taking samples to the LFS. Buy your self a test kit. The preferred kit recommended on this forum is the API freshwater master test kit. Cheaper than the cost of replacement fish. Good luck with your tank.

 

[enrgizerbunny]

One more thing, don't both vacuuming the gravel heavily until your ammonia and nitrite levels get down, the extra junk will help them grow.

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[tnfinfan]

Prime converts ammonia and nitrite to detoxify them but they aren't removed and will register on tests. That's why you measure such high toxins but the fish are still swimming. Telling you to forgo Prime is horrible "advice"! Prime is your best friend while this mini cycle resolves.

I have to ask -- did you wash the gravel when you moved it? Or did you transfer it over dirty trying to preserve the bacteria?

 

[mrvincent]

I prescribe you 50%WC each days for 3-4 days. Then monitor ammonia.

You can add BB in bottle, it can't hurt, like Nutrafin Cycle, I had luck with thoses.

 

[Soul-Man22]

I can't do water changes for the next day or two due to a severe power outage in my area, I don't want to add cold water so should I just add ammonia remover that I have in a bottle and watch the fish?

 

[mrvincent]

Prime help transforms temporarly ammonia into ammonium.

Note that the lower the PH is, the lower the ammonia will be toxic.

 

[Mebbid]

Just finished the water change and everything looks good, is there anything I should do now or just wait and test the water in 24 hours and go from there?

The next thing you should do is point her to this forum so she can actually learn about caring for fish.

I can't do water changes for the next day or two due to a severe power outage in my area, I don't want to add cold water so should I just add ammonia remover that I have in a bottle and watch the fish?

That should suffice short term

 

[mrvincent]

Can you WC now ?

 

[Soul-Man22]

I can but I got a water test kit today and my tap water is coming out with about .5 ammonia! I checked the tank today and it seems to be a tad above .5 but no where near as bad as it was before. Should I just go get some spring water or something?

 

[mrvincent]

Probably while you wait for full cycle for the tank yes, but after, the tap water ammonia will quickly convert into nitrates.

The dude "girl" in this thread have same issue than you and it seems to be resolved, her tap ammonia convert into nitrates in 1 day.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/help-0-5-ammonia-296432-6.html#post2822909

 

[Soul-Man22]

Could I use bottled spring water or should I get gallon jugs? Also should I add prime as if I'm doing a regular water change to the spring water? Thanks again for all the help!

 

[mrvincent]

Prime can do the job temporarly... What's your PH, temperature and current ammonia level ?

 

[Soul-Man22]

I think my ph now is around 6.8 my temp is about 72 but it goes below that at night when we turn the generator off.