"Ammonia" issues! Please Help!

[voltageknight]

Two weeks ago I decided to start up a quarantine tank for a future fish purchase. It is a brand new 10 gallon tank with a brand new filter and heater. I used bottled water (to flush out carbon, residues, etc.) that was free and clear for every test with naturally the exception of PH. Even though I know it shouldn't have nitrates or nitrites, I figured its better to test anyway. Chlorine shows a false positive for ammonia anyways.

I used tap water to fill the tank before placing any media or the heater. It tested positive for ammonia so I know there had to be one heck of an amount of Chloramines in it since it sat in buckets for 2 days prior. I treated the tank after adding water to it with Stress Coat+. No change happened. I grabbed my bottle of Ammo Lock and gave it a 20 gallon dose of that, still no change. I even bought a new master test kit thinking it went bad. The same. I even tried treating every two days with a 20 gallon treatment.

Yesterday I took the plunge and put as much Ammo Lock as I could till it hit 0ppm of ammonia. It held for 12 hrs. yesterday. I just finished testing first thing a few minutes ago and I am right back to where I was. With half a bottle gone (about 160 gallons worth) on a single 10 gallon tank and reading 1ppm. I am stuck and stumped.

No fish. No media. No gravel or substrate. Nothing. I allowed the water to circulate till the following morning before testing.

At fill up: PH 7.4, AM well above 8++ppm, NI 0ppm, NA 0ppm.

Now: PH 7.2, AM 1ppm, NI 0ppm, NA 0ppm.

Please help. I can't and don't feel at all comfortable with trying to start a cycle when I have this issue still going on after two weeks of fighting it.

Thanks!

 

[Andrewz00]

Have you tested your tap water?

 

[voltageknight]

Have you tested your tap water?

Yep. Been treating it for two weeks too. No luck and don't know what else I can do at this point... No sense in doing a water change since it is going to provide me the same headache.

I'm just happy I didn't start with my 125 that is waiting.

 

[jlk]

What are the readings you are getting for amm straight from the tap?

 

[voltageknight]

What are the readings you are getting for amm straight from the tap?

It's now 1 ppm. It was over 8 ppm two weeks ago before treating. Why on earth would it keep coming back on an empty tank?

 

[jlk]

Thats very odd if there are no fish & no source of ammonia (fish food, rotting plants etc). I am honestly not sure why it would spike like that without an ammonia source. The only thing i can think of is something amiss with your tap water. Do you have city or well water?

 

[voltageknight]

City water. I just got done having it tested by a tech and he said it was within permissible range. Which honestly means nothing for fish.

Would it be safe to add a minnow or two to get the ball rolling or do you think the fish and the start of a cycle wouldn't do well?

 

[jlk]

You have to decide if you want to a fish-in cycle or a fishless cycle with an ammonia source. Just my opinion, but with your tap already having quite a bit of amm in it, you may want to establish your tank/bacteria before adding any fish. This way, your bacteria can convert the amm from your tap so your fish stay healthy. Do your research on both ways of cycling & decide which will work best for you.

 

[voltageknight]

Will the ammonia I am detecting be of any use for doing a cycle? I can only find ammonia with surfactant in it and nothing without it in my area. Is this kind ok? I am not in a complete rush to do this since the larger tank will have to take a uhaul of water to fill it up with (exaggeration). I just want to do it right to avoid negative consequences later.

 

[jlk]

The amm in your tap is a good start! I would be hesitant to use amm with additives in it. Im not sure where you live, but you can try googling to see if there are any Ace Hardwares in your area. If not, amazon does sell Ace Hardwares 10% Janitorial strength amm. If you absolutely can not find any pure amm, another option would be to use a bag (pantyhose or mesh) of raw shrimp. Not as accurate as pure amm, but it would still provide an amm source beyond your tap. A third option would be to cycle your tank at your taps level of amm (1ppm) & then slowly (over a few wks) stock your tank to allow your bacteria to adjust to the increasing bioload from your fish.

 

[voltageknight]

That's great to hear! I guess not to worry way to much about it then. Would thawed out frozen raw shrimp work as well?

 

[jlk]

Yes, they should. The increase in amm wont be instant because they will have to decompose to some degree first. Just monitor your amm levels & add/remove shrimp as needed to adjust your amm.

 

[voltageknight]

Awesome! Thank you so much!

 

[Andrewz00]

It's now 1 ppm. It was over 8 ppm two weeks ago before treating. Why on earth would it keep coming back on an empty tank?

wait... your TAP water ranges between 1 and 8 ppm over a two week span??? that seems like an awful large swing for city regulated water....

 

[jetajockey]

You aren't going to see a difference in the ammonia level after dosing ammo lock, it doesn't remove the ammonia it only 'binds' it temporarily.

The raw shrimp method is definitely a good 'set it and forget it' approach. Considering that you have a steady source of ammonia via the chloramines in the tap water, it wouldn't take much to get the tank cycled other than time and replenishing that source.

 

[voltageknight]

wait... your TAP water ranges between 1 and 8 ppm over a two week span??? that seems like an awful large swing for city regulated water....

It is and as always they deny everything. The guy that came out to test it today looked at me funny when he turned on the faucet. I decided to say: "That chlorine smell is awfully strong isn't it? Wanna drink?" I guess he wasn't thirsty, and that's why he turned the offer down...

 

[voltageknight]

You aren't going to see a difference in the ammonia level after dosing ammo lock, it doesn't remove the ammonia it only 'binds' it temporarily.

The raw shrimp method is definitely a good 'set it and forget it' approach. Considering that you have a steady source of ammonia via the chloramines in the tap water, it wouldn't take much to get the tank cycled other than time and replenishing that source.

**Sorry anyone for the double post***

Good to know, Thanks! That 125 is tapping me on the shoulder now...