splintercat
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
My tank is having an issue with ammonia right now.
I have a 10 gallon tank with 5 juvi cories in it. It has been established for almost a year. Tank parameters are stable except for the ammonia - 0-10 nitrates, 0 nitrites - but I have a low ph - it hovers around 6.
The tank is currently running an aquaclear 30 and a whisper 5-15 and is quite heavily planted with black sand as a substrate.
When I first noticed the problem maybe 2 months ago there was only the whisper 5-15 on the tank. Then I noticed I was starting to get ammonia readings and realized my filter wasn't running at it's fullest capacity. I took it apart and cleaned it and added a bunch of ceramic rings in addition to the foam insert for it. It started running better. There is no carbon in the filter.
The ammonia issue didn't subside so about 5-6 weeks ago I bought an aquaclear 30 to add to it cause I figured 5 cories, even though they're juveniles, is pushing the limit for a 10g and figured I needed more filtration eventually anyway. The aquaclear has foam and ceramic rings (that I stole from my established 29g) in it as well.
I change the water every couple days because the ammonia levels get to .5 - 1 in just a couple days. The 29g uses the same tap water during water changes and has no ammonia.
There are no dead plants or fish in the tank. I had a clump of moss I thought might be collecting debris but rinse it out with water changes. I stopped dosing everything about a month ago (excel, flourish, and iron) because someone mentioned excel might be adding to the ammonia issue.
I'll attach a picture of my (overgrown) tank if it will help. The water's a bit cloudy in the pic cause I just finished a water change.
I have a 10 gallon tank with 5 juvi cories in it. It has been established for almost a year. Tank parameters are stable except for the ammonia - 0-10 nitrates, 0 nitrites - but I have a low ph - it hovers around 6.
The tank is currently running an aquaclear 30 and a whisper 5-15 and is quite heavily planted with black sand as a substrate.
When I first noticed the problem maybe 2 months ago there was only the whisper 5-15 on the tank. Then I noticed I was starting to get ammonia readings and realized my filter wasn't running at it's fullest capacity. I took it apart and cleaned it and added a bunch of ceramic rings in addition to the foam insert for it. It started running better. There is no carbon in the filter.
The ammonia issue didn't subside so about 5-6 weeks ago I bought an aquaclear 30 to add to it cause I figured 5 cories, even though they're juveniles, is pushing the limit for a 10g and figured I needed more filtration eventually anyway. The aquaclear has foam and ceramic rings (that I stole from my established 29g) in it as well.
I change the water every couple days because the ammonia levels get to .5 - 1 in just a couple days. The 29g uses the same tap water during water changes and has no ammonia.
There are no dead plants or fish in the tank. I had a clump of moss I thought might be collecting debris but rinse it out with water changes. I stopped dosing everything about a month ago (excel, flourish, and iron) because someone mentioned excel might be adding to the ammonia issue.
I'll attach a picture of my (overgrown) tank if it will help. The water's a bit cloudy in the pic cause I just finished a water change.