jetajockey
come get me tang police!
Yeah i'd do some big WCs to get the ammonia level down, then you can cut back to every other day WCs.
I need some help with my discus tank
- Thread starter Hondatek
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Hondatek
Aquarium Advice Addict
Ok when I get it to zero would 25 percent everyother day maintain it?
mfdrookie516
Aquarium Free - 2+ Years
You'll just need to test. It's impossible to say what it'll do, there are just too many factors. But, once you get it down under .25, it shouldn't be hard to control.
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Hondatek
Aquarium Advice Addict
Ok I should of worded that question differently lol sry thanks everyone I'll post the parameters later tonite after the next change
Rosenweiss
Aquarium Advice Addict
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Your problem right now is the nitrites, not the nitrates.. your cycle still needs to catch up. Make sure to gravel vac!
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Hondatek
Aquarium Advice Addict
Im confused y are the trites a problem they are still 0 . Did you mean the problem is that they might spike?
mfdrookie516
Aquarium Free - 2+ Years
Right now the ammonia is the problem. Most likely, nitrites will spike, so just keep an eye on them.
Rosenweiss
Aquarium Advice Addict
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My bad, I read the post wrong.
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Hondatek
Aquarium Advice Addict
I did another 50 pwc still 1.0 I'll test it again in the am thanks again
USMCfishcrzy
Aquarium Advice Freak
I had the same problem in my 125 discus tank. I do 30% pwc everyday and haven't had a spike yet. Also I gravel vac every other day so I don't take to much good bacteria out. I you added or removed anything big from your tank lately?
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Hondatek
Aquarium Advice Addict
Fake grass stuff that's it. I guess since it was buried it didn't really help messing with it i guess but I though that was the cause of my problems earlier in the month
USMCfishcrzy
Aquarium Advice Freak
I had the same problems when I took out some fake rock and added driftwood. I had removed to much good bacteria so it caused a mini cycle for a bit
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Hondatek
Aquarium Advice Addict
So I tested again this morning and it's still 1.0 even after 2 50 percent wc. Shouldn't it have dropped a little bit ?
BillD
Aquarium Advice Addict
Ammonia in a tank of ph 6 is ammonium, and is not toxic. The high nitrate levels are the only real concern and water changes will remove them. Discus are difficult to keep with substrates in the tank as you can not easily keep the tank very clean. It can be done if you are fastidious, but most discus keepers avoid it to reduce the work.
Regardless of whether the ammonia is a problem there must be a reason it is still showing in the tests. With 2 505 water changes it should have dropped to less than 20% of what it was before the water changes.
Regardless of whether the ammonia is a problem there must be a reason it is still showing in the tests. With 2 505 water changes it should have dropped to less than 20% of what it was before the water changes.
jimenezlee
Aquarium Advice Activist
Let me pitch in my 2 cents, double-check your tap water just in case, quality can change day to day. Your city may be adding chloramines, which release ammonia when you use a dechlorinating agents. Test your tap 15 min after adding the dechlorinator, to see if that could be the source. If it is, no amount of water changes would help, only a well established bio filter after adding prime or other ammo detoxifier; should be gone in about 24 hrs.
Also, I read you rinse your filter in tap water, this will kill your bacteria as well. You should only rinse filters in water coming out of your tank during water changes.
Good luck, keep us posted.
Also, I read you rinse your filter in tap water, this will kill your bacteria as well. You should only rinse filters in water coming out of your tank during water changes.
Good luck, keep us posted.
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Hondatek
Aquarium Advice Addict
Ok I'll make a bucket when I get home add prime and wait and test that to see what I got from tap. Also I got the trates down to .5 after those changes. So if I still get ammonia I would have to switch to r o water right?
jimenezlee
Aquarium Advice Activist
If you have an RO unit by all means use it. I have some ammonia in my tap water, around .5 and what I do is change water as usual, but use Prime or some other product to protect fish from ammonia (ammo-lock, etc.) This will make it harmless, specially in low PH; then the bio filter removes it within 24 hrs.
The only thing is that your bio filter is questionable right now... Ideally you would be able to let it sit 24-48 hrs and verify that ammonia gets processed. Just monitor your PH to make sure it does not go above 7, when ammonium gets converted back into harmful ammonia.
To help alleviate your problem until things are under control, you can also put ammo chips in your filter, these work best if combined with a water softener pillow, as removing ammonia works better in soft water.
Here's where I found this info: Removing Chloramine and Ammonia from Aquarium Water – Pure Water Products, LLC
Good luck, keep us posted.
The only thing is that your bio filter is questionable right now... Ideally you would be able to let it sit 24-48 hrs and verify that ammonia gets processed. Just monitor your PH to make sure it does not go above 7, when ammonium gets converted back into harmful ammonia.
To help alleviate your problem until things are under control, you can also put ammo chips in your filter, these work best if combined with a water softener pillow, as removing ammonia works better in soft water.
Here's where I found this info: Removing Chloramine and Ammonia from Aquarium Water – Pure Water Products, LLC
Good luck, keep us posted.
USMCfishcrzy
Aquarium Advice Freak
Another thing I learned is that the ammonia that shows up is non toxic ammonia. The prime does break it down but will still show on the test. Keep up with the water changes if you have to twice a day. I went through all of this a few weeks ago and if you don't stay up on the pwc it will spike still.
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Hondatek
Aquarium Advice Addict
No o don't have a r o unit I wish I did. Plus a filled my canister with marineland carbon and ammo chips a few weeks ago. I use prime maybe after I check the tank later I'll prime it and pass on the water change
jimenezlee
Aquarium Advice Activist
Ammo chips will lose their effectiveness after some time. And when they do they are said to release or leach some of the ammonia back into the tank. You may be able to renew them with brine, but you may be better off just renewing the ammo chips, those fish you are trying to keep alive are well worth the price of another box of ammo-chips.
