Well, well...new question for y'all.

[awakebyjava]

My tank is coming along, I think the cycle is starting to get somewhere.

Ammonia: 2.0 ppm
Nitrite: .25 ppm
Nitrate: <5.0 ppm

Did a partial (1/2) water change about 4 days ago, seems the ammonia runs wild in here. Anyhow, doing a pwc right now (1/3), and I have a new issue. (Picture Below) I seem to have some algae? Not really sure, but it looks like algae, wipes off with a finger. Thought my rocks might have iron in them, but its soft, not rust. Any ideas? Thanks!

 

[verucaproduce]

Is the 'algae' brown? If so it is probably just a diatom outbreak. Normal when you are cycling a tank.

 

[bluerose]

If you are cycling with fish... and would like to keep those fish alive... do a MAJOR PWC to get those ammonia levels back down below .5ppm. Anything above .5 is not safe for the fish and ideally they should be between 0 and .25.

Algae happens when you have an imbalance- as tanks cycle such things happen. I wouldn't worry about it terribly yet.

 

[Alaris]

Looks like diatoms which happens in a new tank. Don't mess with it and it will run it's course and die off.

 

[awakebyjava]

Cool. Regular algae, nothing to worry about. And yes, I know about the Ammonia level. I have been doing partial water changes every couple of days, but they remain high. I am starting to think that my testing kit is wrong. After a 50% change you would expect the level to go down, even after a few days. Fish seem fine, active and playful. Just did a 30% change. I am hesitant to change too often, as I have no idea what is going on in the water of this city. I de-chlorinate, but you never know. Thanks for the help!

 

[bluerose]

Maybe check the ammonia level straight out of the tap... could be chloramines?

 

[black hills tj]

I agree that its most likely diatoms.

Take your water to a LFS, and they can verify or disprove your test results. Which test kit are you using?

 

[Alaris]

I agree, check your tap water. Even if your dechlorinator (like Prime) is locking up the ammonia, it will still show on your test.

If you think you're test is expired...are you using the API liquid test? There is a lot no. on the bottle. Example, mine is 33A0708 on bottle 1 and 84A0708 on bottle 2 which means they were made July 2008 (the last 4 digits). According to: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/api-master-tk-105769.html#post895779 , ammonia test kit is good for 3 years.

 

[TheChards]

When you do a water change, are you hoovering up anything from the gravel at all? If you're not removing the source of the ammonia, it could be that your ammonia levels are remaining high even shortly after a large water change because the source of the ammonia is still present. I always try to hoover up any fish poo when I change the water and make sure I remove any dead bits of plant or excess fish food etc. Feeding just once a day may help as well...

Good luck!

 

[Sombunya]

Maybe check the ammonia level straight out of the tap... could be chloramines?

As most folks know Chloramines are formed when the water company adds Ammonia and Chlorine to water as a disinfectant. About 5 parts Chlorine to 1 part Ammonia. While not as strong of a disinfectant as Free Chlorine, Chloramines are used because it is longer lasting disinfectant and leaves much less disinfectant by-products (DPB's). Many of these DPB's are suspected of being carcinogenic so Chloramines offer an advantage there.

The problem worsens when the water travels through the transmission piping. There is a demand that is placed on the disinfectant and the Chlorine is eaten up. That leaves an excess of ammonia behind. Not enough to be dangerous if drank by humans but very hard of fisheys.

Some of our facilities are using Chloramines and we dose the water with Ammonia at or slightly above .5 ppm. Chlorine at 2.5 ppm. If it's any consolation, most operators do not like using Chloramines because they are a pain in the neck. Unfortunately I think they are the wave of the future...