Amonia Level at 2.0 *** Looking for Bernie ***

[Bernie]

William....

Not to say there are never probs with shipping Bio-spira..... I suppose there
always could be an isolated case.... (like we discussed in a previous thread somewhere)..... You never commented to me on any prob and so we have no
idea what happened to "your" pkg. That is, how it was handled?? whether
it sat in mailbox, etc??? And like I've explained before in that thread, we
had and still do have shipments going all over the place (including Fla...
some that same week to Fla) and no probs.

Getting back to Fishy's case; Yes, he could use Bio-spira and i would be
happy to ship it to him. HOWEVER, I'm not terribly convince he NEEDS it;
....
We were trying to determine just what the rather erradicate readings of ammonia
were due to??... and where in his "cycle" progress he was. Fish were doing
OK and he seemed to have control of situation via his water change routine.

Again, I would think he's at least half way through his cycle and was trying
to see if he was going to show any Nitrite readings.

But to get back to Bio-spira again..... even Marineland has explained that
temps are NOT CRITICAL.....just so long as they stay "stable" and avoid extremes...(either freezing or boiling). The cold packs are used primarily
to assist in stablity and NOT to keep it COLD!!
Using Bio-Spira in existing problem cases is a "tricky" venture in itself!!
If your readings are HIGH beforehand.... then you would have to risk
NOT DOING water changes after adding Bio-spira in order to let the bacteria
establish itself in the aquarium.....that takes a few days or more
(depending on the extremities of the readings)!!

SO......!!! Which way to go here???

I think with a light load and his basic understanding and learning what's going
on.....he'd be OK working this out. AND at the same time finding out if his
"DETOX" was really the culprit here!!

I suppose FISHY will have to decide, though!

Bernie

 

[Bernie]

P.S.

Hey, guys....

I like the "SNOWFLAKES" here!!!! and the Santa HATS on the smileys!!!

COOL!!

Bernie

 

[Fishy]

Hey Guys ... Fishy here (pssst ... I'm a she!)

Well checked the ammonia level and it's a whopping 2 again might even be slightly higher. Today I am going to do another large water change and vacuum the gravel. It's time for that.

I did some reading yesterday (checked out a ton of books over the past few weeks) and read that higher temps will elevate the ammonia level. Well I had ick so I used Alli's heat method which has worked. I got the temp up to 88 degrees for 14 days. I have (since Thursday) started slowly backing down the temp. Today it is reading 85 degrees. Maybe that is part of my problem???? My nitrite level still remains at 0. Although I have to say the color of 0 is a very light blue with the next level being a purple ... I think the blue is getting darker so maybe nitrites are starting to increase. Time will only tell on that one.

Still planning on the daily water changes and I will keep you all posted. I really appreciate all of the help that I have been getting here.

I also love the snowflakes!

 

[Bernie]

Fishy.....

Good going!!! (Sorry about the he/she.....I always seem to goof up on that!

I do think you're right .... temps do have a good bit to do with conversions
of Ammonia (NH3/NH4 etc).

I'm thinking you're on track with cycling and should be seeing some nitrites
soon (light purple)..... leave all your filter material intact (do not change out);
try not to gravel-vac much unless you've overfed (hope not); just siphon
water as needed to keep levels within tolerances.

Hopefully another week to 10 days should get you there!

Keep us posted.

Bernie

 

[Fishy]

Uh-oh ~ I changed my filter yesterday. It recommends every 3-4 weeks. Did I really goof that up? Yikes! :?

 

[William]

William....

Not to say there are never probs with shipping Bio-spira..... I suppose there
always could be an isolated case.... (like we discussed in a previous thread somewhere)..... You never commented to me on any prob and so we have no
idea what happened to "your" pkg. That is, how it was handled?? whether
it sat in mailbox, etc??? And like I've explained before in that thread, we
had and still do have shipments going all over the place (including Fla...
some that same week to Fla) and no probs.

To be honest, I didn't know the website was your store :\

I didn't send any email back to your site because I used it anyways blinded by my urge to get my tank under control, and most places I deal with won't do anything if you open/use the contents

and I was there, got it right out of the mailmans hands, and opened it quick and felt the biospira, which was hot.

Like I said, its no big deal because the main problem is my fault for using it when I knew it was bad [ see: blinded by baseless hope ]

 

[Bernie]

William.... no big prob with me either, but I do strive to make my customers happy
and ALWAYS invite feedback so we know if something is not right. In your
case, I wouldn't have the foggiest as to what made it hot...other than the weather?? I will apply a credit for the amount of the product under your name
should you decide to order anything else from the store (like your Omega
or ???).. Fair enough??

Fishy..... no big prob, on changing your filter cartridge.... but hold off on doing it
again; until we're over this. If you want to clean it ...... just rinse it out in
some of the removed aquarium water as you do your water changes.

Keep us posted.


Bernie

 

[William]

Wow.. Talk about customer service

 

[Gunnie]

You never go wrong ordering from Bernie!

 

[Fishy]

Ammonia level back up to about 2 today. Did another 10% water change today. Think I am going to do a 25 - 30% change tomorrow depending on the level. Still no nitrites. If nothing better happens by the weekend, thinking of doing a drastic water change.

 

[dralarms]

Gotta stick my 2 cents in , I would try a different declorinator. I use start right by jungle. I did have a problem once with something made by tetra giving me false readings. Changed out my betta tanks once a day for a week then found out it was the declorinator.

 

[Bernie]

Fishy....I'm with justmytwocents here!!

I honestly suspected your de-tox or some water conditioner that you are
using is giving you false readings!!!

Try this!! Take some tap water....test it! Then add your de-chlor/de-tox? to
some tap water and test it! That may give some tell-tale evidence!

I'd really prefer to see you try a diff de-chlor, too!!


Bernie

 

[Fishy]

Okay ... guys, I am off to try exactly what you said. And I just happen to have the Start Right by Jungle. I was using it in my daughters Gold Fish bowl back when Goldie was still alive I will try both and report back ASAP! I did test again this morning and it was back to 2.

 

[Fishy]

Okay I am back and all the readings were ZERO! I have tested right after doing a water change (which I have been doing around 10 a.m.) each day. And the level is definitely down usually around a 1. But I always recheck the next day before the water change and it's back up to 2. My nitrites continue to remain at ZERO.

I am not overfeeding the fish. In fact, I think I am doing the opposite because I am so cautious. I only feed them once a day.

Any advice on the next step? Was thinking of doing a drastic water change. Like 40-50% today and then the same again tomorrow. Too drastic do you think? I really think that it will just go full circle and bring me right back to where I am :?

I have not been using any Detox meds since the 1st or 2nd of the month. Been using just tap water.

<----- This is me!!! hahahahah

 

[Bernie]

Fishy....

You've got me a bit confused!??

You started off by saying all readings were ZERO; then said they're back up
to 1 or 2??

Try to give me exact readings of pH, ammonia and nitrites at each stage here.
Preferably, before you do a water change, so that we can determine approx
how much is needed for the next step.

So start with the current readings now. and we'll go from there.

Bernie

 

[Fishy]

Sorry. That first sentence should have been all by itself ...

I did a test on each this morning like you suggested. I should have said the ammonia levels were:

Tap Water Sample: 0
Tap Water with Detox: 0
Tap Water with Jungle Start Right: 0

Levels of samples from the Tank Water as of 1:15 this afternoon:

Ammonia: 2-3 (leaning to the 3)
Nitrite: 0
Ph: Been steady between 7-8

Any suggestions for the next step? Hope this now makes sense. I guess I am so frustrated at this point. Been battling high ammonia going on three weeks now.

 

[Bernie]

Fishy....

Your case is definately an interesting one!!!
My thoughts are this:
that you're on a relatively slow cycle track; however since your bio-load is relatively light, your readings should not really go much beyond what you're
at now...... unless you're overfeeding or somehow producing more ammonia??

You should normally be showing some nitrite reading by now....(may be on the verge of that); so I would actually slow down the water changing a bit provided
that the ammonia level doesn't go over 3ppm. You don't want to disrupt any
potential bacteria growth, so don't gravel-vac.... just siphon water off as you
need ...only to keep level of ammonia at 3.0 or lower.

It could be possible that you still had some residual de-tox in the aquarium!?

Anyway, I'd slow down a bit and check it this time tomorrow.

Bernie

 

[Fishy]

Bernie ...

Will do! Thank you so much for your patience. I will report back tomorrow.

 

[Fishy]

Bernie ...

I am happy to report that I am finally getting a nitrite reading. It is barely a .25 but I can definitely see that it is starting. The ammonia level remains about 2-3. I am going to not do a water change and test again later and then again in the a.m.

Question for you and anyone else:

As I start to see nitrites levels rise, will I see a decrease in the ammonia level? Then what happens? Will my nitrite level then start to fall?

Sorry so many questions, but I am so new at this! Thanks again for all of your help.

 

[Bernie]

Fishy...

Yes, your ammonia should now start falling off to zero eventually (prob within
a few days); your nitrites will begin to rise (you'll want to keep them below
1.0ppm). Remember to only siphon off water as needed, only rinse cartridges
in used aquarium water, try not to actually gravel-vac that much, if any, and
go light on feeding until you've finished cycle!

Your nitrites will more than likely get higher before they, too ..start to fall.

The routine you've got sounds fine.

We'll keep check on you.

Bernie