Ammonia Headaches

[Scoobcake]

I dont know what to think about my ammonia levels. I've had my 29 gallon tank running two months now but cannot seem to achieve 0 ammonia.

could is be an overstocking issue? I have 1 dalmation Molly, 1 swordtail, 2 kuhli loach, 5 danio (they are greenish with orange stripes), 5 glass catfish, 1 bn pleco, and 1 snail. All are pretty young.

My ammonia lvls were consistently 0 for about a week at that time I had three less glass cats but everything else was the same. After adding the 3 glass cats extra I haven't got 0 again always .125 or .25. I'm running a marine land 350 and a tetra whisper 40 on there.

I tested some other water sources to see how my kit looks normally these were my results today:

Bottled water- a clear 0ppm
Tap water- about .125
Tank water- a little more than the tap but less than .25

Not sure what to make of these numbers.

 

[steez]

Do you replace filter media?

What's your water changing schedule like?

It sounds like your bio-filter can't keep up with the load the fish are producing. So the biggest concern to me would probably be if you overfeed them. What's your feeding schedule?

 

[librarygirl]

How long since you've added the glass catfish? You're about at capacity but not overstocked. The bacteria may just need to adjust to the new load but if it's been more than a week since you've added the glass cats things should have stabilized by now I think.

What's your water change schedule normally?
Also what do you feed, how much and how often?
Do you vacuum the substrate?

It's possible there is some leftover food and/or waste decaying at the bottom of the tank that's causing the issue (or possibly in the filters; you might want to swish the filter media in old tank water during a water change to remove any debris).

 

[Scoobcake]

The glass cats have been in for about 2 weeks. Water changes currently are 50% every other day. Was just once a week when parameters were good. I feed once a day but a good amount because I worry about my scavengers getting enough food. I do flakes and a few algae pellets. Every few days I sub some frozen brine shrimp in for the flakes for variety. I do notice some flakes going into the filter during feeding. I also try to vacuum but between decorations, fake plants, and driftwood I don't get a lot of the substrate. Should I remove all that when I vacuum and how often should I do that? Also no I havent changed media other than to remove the carbon and add polyfil.

 

[Scoobcake]

Anyone have any more input?

 

[librarygirl]

You could try removing some of the decor and vacuuming underneath; food and waste can get under decorations and cause issues although if that's happening then you're probably overfeeding. I'd also lightly swish the filter media in old tank water during the water change to loosen up any debris that might be in there and causing issues (no need to replace it, just a swishing in old water will do). Try that and see if it helps. I'll keep thinking in the meantime.

Edit: do you have gravel or sand? If it's gravel do you suck up the gravel in the vacuum or just swish it over the top? You may want to suck it up in the vacuum tube to get all the debris that's fallen between the gravel. Here's a good video:

 

[Scoobcake]

So i think I found the culprit. Could decaying plant matter be the cause? I ask because I did an extensive gravel vacuuming today and filter cleaning and found my old hornwort everywhere. I took it out because it wasnt growing well and was generally making a mess with it's leaves. Everything looked clean but when I pulled the filters and swished them in a bucket of tank water they were full of leaves still. Also most of the gravel was pretty good but where I moved the decorations and vacuumed it was pretty dirty. Do you think these factors could be contributing to my ammonia?

 

[librarygirl]

So i think I found the culprit. Could decaying plant matter be the cause? I ask because I did an extensive gravel vacuuming today and filter cleaning and found my old hornwort everywhere. I took it out because it wasnt growing well and was generally making a mess with it's leaves. Everything looked clean but when I pulled the filters and swished them in a bucket of tank water they were full of leaves still. Also most of the gravel was pretty good but where I moved the decorations and vacuumed it was pretty dirty. Do you think these factors could be contributing to my ammonia?

Yes definitely could be! Now that it's all out keep an eye on the ammonia for a few days. If it's 0, you found the issue.