TexasBlues
Aquarium Advice Newbie
Hi all,
I have been recording the numbers and I'm not sure whether I have a ghost pouring pure ammonia in my water while I sleep or what - any help as to what's happening here would be super appreciated.
About a week ago we got 2 ADFs and put them in our 2.5 gallon. I had it established previously with tetras, but we also purchased a 10 gallon tank and I moved the filter from the 2.5 to the 10 (it was a TopFin internal Filter 10, and it said it filtered as much as 97 gph, which seemed way to high for the 2.5 gallon even though I had it on the minimum setting.) I bought a Tetra Whisper 3i for the 2.5.
My 10 gallon ammonia hasn't been a problem and my 4 guppies seem to be enjoying themselves a great deal.
However, the ammonia in the ADF tank seems impossible - like, mathematically impossible. (I have a API kit)
Tuesday, noon: My ammonia in the 2.5 tank read 3 ppm. I immediately put them in a jug of conditioned tap water (that read .5 ammonia) and changed about 90% of the water, just left the little bit at at the bottom I couldn't get to. I refilled with 2 gallons from the big tank (I now know I was risking bringing disease into the small tank but didn't realize that at the time) where the ammonia read somewhere between 0 - 0.25.
So, 90% of the water is .25 and 10% of the water is 3. That night around midnight I checked and it read 1.5. My math isn't what it used to be, but I don't think that works! It gets worse:
Wednesday, noon: The ammonia in the 2.5 tank read somewhere between 3-4. How is this possible?! I again took out 90% of the water, leaving the little bit at the bottom I couldn't get, and this time I used spring water that tested with 0 ammonia. After I did this 90% change, the ammonia read 1. Again, I don't get how this is possible for 90% to be 0 ppm and 10% to be 3-4 and 100% to be 1.
Now, at this point (Weds, noon) I added 10 ml of Tetra Safestart out of desperation, so I know I added some ammoni*um*. I tested Wednesday at midnight, I tested and it read 2. I know the API doesn't distinguish between ammonia and ammonium, so I'm not 100% sure what to make of it.
I tested today just now and it still shows 2 ppm.
Does anyone know what could be happening?
Some thoughts: Could the bottom inch of water + the gravel have an absolute ton of ammonia that's rendering my 90% water changes mostly pointless? Could the gravel harbor so much crap in it that it's producing this insane ammonia levels from 1 ppm to 3 ppm in 24 hours? I did not do a total tank cleaning when I moved the tetras and the Topfin internal power filter to the 10 gallon, so maybe there's a buildup of tetra crap making it so bad - however, the ammonia during the three weeks the tetras were there was 0, though maybe the relatively powerful topfin filter was just able to handle everything.
And what do you guys suggest I do now? I can do a total tank cleaning, I can try and get a test that will differentiate between ammonia and ammonium? Should I try and have a bare bottom tank to keep anything from building up? Will nitrifying bacteria still be able to form on the bare bottom tank like it would on the gravel?
Any suggestions would be much appreciated. My frogs seem in good shape so far and I want very much to keep it that way.
Edit: I've been feeding them 10 bloodworms every other day with tongs, so I'm not just spray-and-praying handfuls of frog pellets in there, so we can rule that out for accounting for the crazy ammonia. Thanks guys.
I have been recording the numbers and I'm not sure whether I have a ghost pouring pure ammonia in my water while I sleep or what - any help as to what's happening here would be super appreciated.
About a week ago we got 2 ADFs and put them in our 2.5 gallon. I had it established previously with tetras, but we also purchased a 10 gallon tank and I moved the filter from the 2.5 to the 10 (it was a TopFin internal Filter 10, and it said it filtered as much as 97 gph, which seemed way to high for the 2.5 gallon even though I had it on the minimum setting.) I bought a Tetra Whisper 3i for the 2.5.
My 10 gallon ammonia hasn't been a problem and my 4 guppies seem to be enjoying themselves a great deal.
However, the ammonia in the ADF tank seems impossible - like, mathematically impossible. (I have a API kit)
Tuesday, noon: My ammonia in the 2.5 tank read 3 ppm. I immediately put them in a jug of conditioned tap water (that read .5 ammonia) and changed about 90% of the water, just left the little bit at at the bottom I couldn't get to. I refilled with 2 gallons from the big tank (I now know I was risking bringing disease into the small tank but didn't realize that at the time) where the ammonia read somewhere between 0 - 0.25.
So, 90% of the water is .25 and 10% of the water is 3. That night around midnight I checked and it read 1.5. My math isn't what it used to be, but I don't think that works! It gets worse:
Wednesday, noon: The ammonia in the 2.5 tank read somewhere between 3-4. How is this possible?! I again took out 90% of the water, leaving the little bit at the bottom I couldn't get, and this time I used spring water that tested with 0 ammonia. After I did this 90% change, the ammonia read 1. Again, I don't get how this is possible for 90% to be 0 ppm and 10% to be 3-4 and 100% to be 1.
Now, at this point (Weds, noon) I added 10 ml of Tetra Safestart out of desperation, so I know I added some ammoni*um*. I tested Wednesday at midnight, I tested and it read 2. I know the API doesn't distinguish between ammonia and ammonium, so I'm not 100% sure what to make of it.
I tested today just now and it still shows 2 ppm.
Does anyone know what could be happening?
Some thoughts: Could the bottom inch of water + the gravel have an absolute ton of ammonia that's rendering my 90% water changes mostly pointless? Could the gravel harbor so much crap in it that it's producing this insane ammonia levels from 1 ppm to 3 ppm in 24 hours? I did not do a total tank cleaning when I moved the tetras and the Topfin internal power filter to the 10 gallon, so maybe there's a buildup of tetra crap making it so bad - however, the ammonia during the three weeks the tetras were there was 0, though maybe the relatively powerful topfin filter was just able to handle everything.
And what do you guys suggest I do now? I can do a total tank cleaning, I can try and get a test that will differentiate between ammonia and ammonium? Should I try and have a bare bottom tank to keep anything from building up? Will nitrifying bacteria still be able to form on the bare bottom tank like it would on the gravel?
Any suggestions would be much appreciated. My frogs seem in good shape so far and I want very much to keep it that way.
Edit: I've been feeding them 10 bloodworms every other day with tongs, so I'm not just spray-and-praying handfuls of frog pellets in there, so we can rule that out for accounting for the crazy ammonia. Thanks guys.
