Screwed up water parameters!!!! Help!!

[bgmann12]

Ph: 6.6
Ammonia: .25
Nitrite: 1ppm
Nitrate: 20ppm

The crazy thing is there are no fish or inverts in the tank only plants. Right now I'm running de*nitrate by seachem (what the fish store told me to do) to level it back out. Do you guys have any idea what is going on or ways to help? Thanks.


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[Puckhog429]

How long have you had the tank running? Its probably just cycling


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[CCXGT]

You really should look up some basics about running an aquarium.
It will save you from worrying about 50 things at once.


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[Sk3lly]

1. Do you know/understand the nitrogen cycle within an aquarium?

2. Have you added anything to this tank? Chemicals??

3. Do you own a test kit and if so which kit??

4. What size tank/bowl is it??

5. What are your plans for this tank? Fish/shrimp/snails??


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[bgmann12]

It has been running for 3 months I want shrimp for it and yes I do know how to get a tank cycled and it was for 2 weeks now it looks like it is not again. And I add api leaf zone once a week. Test is a api liquid test kit done by the fish store. This is the second time this has happened without a obvious reason.


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[bgmann12]

5 gallon


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[Brookster123]

Decaying plant matter can cause this to a degree, have you noticed any pest snails?

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[Mebbid]

Have you changed your filter cartridge?

What's the ammonia source you used?

How exactly did you cycle the tank?

 

[Sk3lly]

Have you tested tap water for ammonia?? Water companies can alter the amounts of chlorine/chloramines they use


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[bgmann12]

Have you tested tap water for ammonia?? Water companies can alter the amounts of chlorine/chloramines they use


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No but my 20 gallon has no ammonia and I use the same water and the water test was right after a water change on my 20 gal. Thanks anyway!


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[bgmann12]

Have you changed your filter cartridge?

What's the ammonia source you used?

How exactly did you cycle the tank?

1. No because it is a air driven sponge filter the internal one u see is used to create flow for the de*nitrate inside it
2. As of the past month and a half none that's the strange thing.
3.i used a cycle starter then gave it a week even though it is supposed to cycle instantly. Got good water test but they didn't have the shrimp I want at the time 2 weeks later they got them and my water test was messed up like this one. When the water was good again they ran out before I got there, 2 more weeks they have them and here I am with messed up water again once again without shrimp.

Thanks!


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[bgmann12]

Decaying plant matter can cause this to a degree, have you noticed any pest snails?

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No not at all


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[Mebbid]

1. No because it is a air driven sponge filter the internal one u see is used to create flow for the de*nitrate inside it
2. As of the past month and a half none that's the strange thing.
3.i used a cycle starter then gave it a week even though it is supposed to cycle instantly. Got good water test but they didn't have the shrimp I want at the time 2 weeks later they got them and my water test was messed up like this one. When the water was good again they ran out before I got there, 2 more weeks they have them and here I am with messed up water again once again without shrimp.

Thanks!


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Well, it looks like we found the culprit. Cycle starter isn't a proper way to cycle an aquarium and 95% of the time it doesn't really do much at all to be honest.

There are 2 ways to cycle a tank either of which can take up to 2 months.

1 - Fish in
This is done with livestock in the tank and you do a 50% water change any time you detect an ammonia or nitrite level above 0.25ppm

2 - Fishless
This is done by adding ammonia to the tank to the level of 4ppm and adding more once it starts going down to keep it there.

The bacterial additives aren't sufficient enough to cycle a tank if they do anything at all which is a fairly rare occurrence.

 

[Sk3lly]

Well, it looks like we found the culprit. Cycle starter isn't a proper way to cycle an aquarium and 95% of the time it doesn't really do much at all to be honest.

There are 2 ways to cycle a tank either of which can take up to 2 months.

1 - Fish in
This is done with livestock in the tank and you do a 50% water change any time you detect an ammonia or nitrite level above 0.25ppm

2 - Fishless
This is done by adding ammonia to the tank to the level of 4ppm and adding more once it starts going down to keep it there.

The bacterial additives aren't sufficient enough to cycle a tank if they do anything at all which is a fairly rare occurrence.

+1. Agree with Mebbid. Your tank is not properly cycled.




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[bgmann12]

Well, it looks like we found the culprit. Cycle starter isn't a proper way to cycle an aquarium and 95% of the time it doesn't really do much at all to be honest.

There are 2 ways to cycle a tank either of which can take up to 2 months.

1 - Fish in
This is done with livestock in the tank and you do a 50% water change any time you detect an ammonia or nitrite level above 0.25ppm

2 - Fishless
This is done by adding ammonia to the tank to the level of 4ppm and adding more once it starts going down to keep it there.

The bacterial additives aren't sufficient enough to cycle a tank if they do anything at all which is a fairly rare occurrence.

But it was cycled for a while and now is has un cycled like levels and ammonia without an ammonia source. But could that be the reason a cycled tank becomes "uncycled" thanks.


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[bgmann12]

So why was it cycled then...not cycled again?


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[Andy Sager]

So why was it cycled then...not cycled again?


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The biological filter bed is a living breathing "animal" that grows and shrinks based on the available ammonia source available at the time.

What you need to understand is that when a tank is considered 'Cycled" it means that there is enough beneficial bacteria present to consume the amount of ammonia present at that time into a less toxic nitrate substance. That means, if you had say, 3 medium sized fish in your tank when your ammonia went up and down and your nitrites went up and down, your tank is "cycled" for those 3 medium fish. If you replace these fish with smaller fish, the amount of ammonia produced may be less thereby causing some of the bacteria bed to die off due to starvation. If you replaced these fish with larger fish which produce more ammonia, then your bed would grow to accommodate the ammonia increase. The good news is that nitrifying bacteria reproduce rapidly and you may not see the ammonia rise in a water test. If you remove these 3 fish and don;t replace them with any ammonia producing product or animal, the bed would eventually die off. THAT is how it can be cycled then not cycled.

If I recall, your PH level is 6.6 which means that the ammonia present is actually NH4 ( ammonium) which is not a toxic form of ammonia. That's the good news The bad news is that, from all I've read, shrimp demand extremely clean water which means that that may not do so well in the current conditions you have in the tank. That said, you may want to take some filter media and/or gravel from your other tank and use that to "seed" this tank and don;t add any livestock until you see your ammonia level and nitrite level go back down to 0. At that point, you will need to add something live ( preferred) to keep the bacteria bed going. I suggest either a fish you want to keep in this tank long term or even a fish from your other tank temporarily to keep that bacteria bed alive while you wait for your shrimp.

Hope this helps

 

[bgmann12]

I just learned so much. Thank you very much. What should I put in there to help? A snail maybe?


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[ScaryFatKidGT]

You do realize that 20ppm nitrates isn't bad right? Its the Ammonia and Nitrites that are a little high but having all 3 means there is at least some bacteria there.

 

[Andy Sager]

I just learned so much. Thank you very much. What should I put in there to help? A snail maybe?


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A snail can help once the tank completes it's current "cycling" but only if it eats and poos. No poo means no ammonia which means no food for the bacteria
Since you do have an ammonia and nitrite reading, you do have biological activity so at this point, patience may be your best friend here Just wait until they both go back to "0" before adding anymore life to the tank. If that doesn't happen in the next week or so, you can add some of the filter material and/or gravel from your other tank to help it along.