Ammonia levels way to high

[Ledmark]

Hello - I have a 120 gallon fish tank with 4 Wisper 40 filters running. My ammonia levels are running very high and it seems no matter what I do it won't come down. I do know that it was initially caused by me overfeeding but I have drastically cut down on the chow. I have lost 4 fish now and I'm afraid to loose more - I have fancy goldfish and my two largest and biggest have died. I did partial water changes (1/4 tank) every day for four days and the levels went down some but not enough, then I was told to try Ammo-Lock. I did this and the next day all my fish had Ick and two were dead. I did another water change and put in medicine for the ick. The remaining fish got better but the ammonia level is staying around 2.0 I have been doing water changes (1/4 tank) every other day for about two weeks with nothing getting better. They suggested I do the Ammo-Lock again but this time take out the carbon because maybe that was absorbing the ammo-lock. Again my fish got ick and look aweful and they also told me to try Easy Fix? I put that in and they told me to check the ammonia level again in 12 hours and it should be better - when I checked this morning it was double what it was yesterday. I am at my witts end trying to get the ammonia level down and do not want to try any more chemicals! Can anyone please tell me a safe way to decrease the ammonia levels so i don't loose any more of my fish?

Thank you
Laura Edmark

 

[jlk]

Hi Laura! Welcome to AA!!! Lets start with some basic information. How many fish do you have now? Are they all goldfish/what type of goldfish/other fish? Have you added any new fish in the past 2 months? If so, how many/were they qt first? How long has the tank been setup? Was it cycled before adding fish? What are you using as a water conditioner? What type of tests are you using (liquid or strips)? What are your exact numbers for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate & ph in your tank? Exact numbers for your tap water?

Ok, first of all, stop with the meds. Fancies do not fair well with ich meds and I am not positive that it is ich unless new fish have been added recently. Ich does not appear and disappear from one day to the next. If you can post pics of the ich, we can id whether this is the case or not. If it is ich, we can help you address it once you are able to get your ammonia levels under control.

Second, a couple of whisper 40 filters are not sufficient for a 120g tank. A whisper 40 is only rated to 200gph- this filter is only good for a 20gal tank. You need a big canister or two that runs atleast 1200gph (gallons per hour). The lack of filtration is likely a factor here as well and needs to be addressed asap.

The amm-lock is likely not helping much either. Get yourself a bottle of Prime and start stepping up your water changes. It will take mutliple water changes in one day to drop your ammonia levels down to a more tolerable level (.25ppm or less). Make sure you temperature match and properly condition the new water. Change no less than 50% at time- if your amm is at 4ppm right now, it will take four 50% water changes to drop the amm down to .25ppm.

Once we have some more information, we will be better able to help you!

 

[LyndaB]

Excellent advice/questions above.

 

[Ledmark]

OK - lots of questions I have 7 fancy goldfish, no new ones for months. My tank has been up and running for 1 1/2 years. For a water conditioner I use the Stress Zyme and I am using the kit to test ammonia that has drops. I have no idea what the exact numbers are for any of the things you listed and will have to know what to use to get exact numbers. When I test the ammonia it compares to a color chart and it registers between 2.0 and 4.0 Since I'm at work and don't have my camera I can't send you pics right now but can tell you what it looks like - they are covered with a white film that almost looks like their skin is melting off. This morning the white film is peeling off again and they are looking a bit better but still not right.

The label on the Whisper 40 says it is good for up to a 40 gallon tank so i thought 4 of them would be good. I'll have to look at a filter system that goes through 1200 gph - any kind you feel is good?

I will get some Prime - If I do 3-4 50% water changes will that shock the hell out of my fish? What if I did 50% twice two days in a row? Plus I have to do this by 5 gallon bucket so 3-4 would take me 4 hours but I'd do it.

 

[Cichlid Kid]

Jlk gave excellent advise. If your ammo is that high it's definately at toxic levels. I understand pwc's are alot of work but ar this point it's the only thing that will help your fish. I would do 2 50% pwc @ no more than 10-12hrs apart. Secondly, as already stated, you need filtration built to keep up with goldfish. Once you get that established the hard parts overwith. It will be work, work, work to get you to that point though.

 

[Ledmark]

I'll do the water changes tonight and in the morning to get the amonia down. I am looking at filter systems - can you please tell me if this one would work:

EFU-45175 gallons11.41" x 11.41" x 19.8" h48 Liters290
It is made for 175 gallon tank. This is what it looks like:
Aquarium Filtration & Water Quality: JBJ Lighting Reaction 4-Stage Canister Filter with UV

If this will work then I'll order it right away. Should I only be using the prime for my water changes?

Thanks for all your help.

 

[Ledmark]

I'll do the water changes tonight and tomorrow morning - should I be using the prime to take out the chlorine? Not the stress zyme - or can I use both?

I am looking at the following filter - will you please tell me if it will work?

Reaction 4-Stage Canister Filter
Aquarium
Size up toDimensionsMedia
BasketsTotal Media
CapacityMax
gphEFU-25100 gallons11.41" x 11.41" x 15.25" h24 Liters198EFU-35150 gallons11.41" x 11.41" x 17.52" h36 Liters250EFU-45175 gallons11.41" x 11.41" x 19.8" h48 Liters290
I would buy the EFU-45 - will this work? It's on the Drs. Foster & Smith website.

Thank you for all the help! I won't order any filter until I know if it will work.

Laura

 

[Cichlid Kid]

Use Prime if possible. There's no need for a second dechlorinator. I'm not familiar with the canister filter in question so hopefully someone else will jump in.

 

[jlk]

With a 120g tank, you really need to consider investing in a water changer (aqueon, python, etc)- it will make your life ALOT easier! You also need to invest in an API freshwater master test kit- this has the ammonia test but it also has tests for nitrite, nitrate, ph & high range ph. You likely have have high nitrite & nitrate levels as well. Its important to know all of your tanks parameters so you can act accordingly and keep your tank healthy. Amazon has great deals on water changers, the master test kit, Prime and filters. You can also check ebay for for deals, too.

What you are describing on your fish is most likely a combination of high ammonia/nitrite levels and possibly a low ph levels. High ammonia & low ph will 'burn' a fish's protective slimecoat off- the result will be a white film that peels off. Knowing the rest of your water parameters will help alot!

Do your best with the water changes- I know its quite difficult to do this via the bucket method with a big tank and its very time consuming. As Cichlid kid mentioned, its going to be LOTS of work to get your tank into order and your parameters under control but its a must in order to ensure your fish will heal from this ordeal and be happy & healthy in their tank.

I personally dont have experience with canisters but if you post a new thread asking for canister recommendations, you will receive lots of advice from members and what brands they recommend. I actually dont know if theres one canister that runs in the 1200gph range- I know theres canisters that run in the 600+gph range and you may have use two of these or one of these plus the tetras to reach a combined gph flow of 1200gph.

Heres the fish-in cycle link- it will explain what you are going through right now (a fish-in cycle). Please ask if you have any questions!

I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?! - Aquarium Advice

 

[Ledmark]

Can anyone else tell me if the filter system I have listed will work for a 120 gallon tank with 7 fancy goldfish?

Thank you!
Laura

 

[jlk]

Ok, this filter runs 290gph. If you choose this filter, you will need to run the tetras in combo with it to achieve a decent gph. What a filter 'says' its rated for (ie 50g or 100g tank) is irrelevant because you have messy fish that need heavy filtration. If you had a tank of small tropicals, you could manage just fine with less filtration though I do believe its better to overfilter. To give you an idea, both of my big tanks (55g) with goldies run combined total of 800gph filtration each plus another additional 300-400gph with powerheads and sponges. Goldies are very messy fish!

 

[Ledmark]

OK - I'm going to order it and put it with my others - thank you so much for all your help - I appreciate it immensly

 

[BlaseMrNiceguy]

Ok, first of all, stop with the meds. Fancies do not fair well with ich meds and I am not positive that it is ich unless new fish have been added recently. Ich does not appear and disappear from one day to the next. If you can post pics of the ich, we can id whether this is the case or not. If it is ich, we can help you address it once you are able to get your ammonia levels under control.

This is not necessarily true ich can lay dormant in a tank and once the fish become stressed they can contract the disease. So ich can pop up out of nowhere even if no fish have been added, now on the other hand it will not just go away on its own. All other advice very sound advice.

 

[jlk]

This is not necessarily true ich can lay dormant in a tank and once the fish become stressed they can contract the disease. So ich can pop up out of nowhere even if no fish have been added, now on the other hand it will not just go away on its own. All other advice very sound advice.

Sorry, but the notion that ich lies 'dormant' in any fw aquarium is an old wives tale. This is not a case of ich either. Please read the following link so you are familiar with ichthyophthirius and its lifecycle.

Ich | The Skeptical Aquarist

 

[BlaseMrNiceguy]

Sorry, but the notion that ich lies 'dormant' in any fw aquarium is an old wives tale. This is not a case of ich either. Please read the following link so you are familiar with ichthyophthirius and its lifecycle.

Ich | The Skeptical Aquarist

Wow guess I was misinformed, we learn new things everyday I got my first tank about a year ago now I have five and it still amazes me how much I learn on a daily basis. Thanks for the article.