high ammonia

[Heath62]

I am having problems with high ammonia in my tank. It is a 75g with mairneland 400 filter and has a 4 in sand bottom and about 75 pounds of live rock and only have 2 mollys in it and have done numerous water changes and still ammonia wont go down. my ph is 8.2 amm is 2 and nitrite is .25 and nitrate 0 need help asap

 

[Bectan01]

How long has the tank been set up? Is it new and you are cycling? Frequent large water changes will be the only way to bring down that ammonia and with livestock in there already I would be doing that daily...


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[PB_Smith]

Yes, how long has it been running? from those numbers I'm gonna guess two weeks or less.

if nitrate is at zero your tank is only in the beginning stages of cycling.
Was the live rock cured or did it have a funky rotten tidepool smell to it?
There is the possibility that if the live rock wasn't properly cured you are experiencing a die off of organisms on/in the rock and that could account for the high ammonia.

 

[Heath62]

It has been running for 3 months. As for the live rock it was in my buddys old tank and was out of his tank for awhile. Im new to this so dont know a whole lot. But i was told to do water changes then again i was told absolutely dont do a thing while the tank is cyclying. as for the water changes the guy at the pet store said itll only slow the process down is that right? I just dont know what to do at this point any information is really appreciated. Thanks

 

[PB_Smith]

Well the fact that the rock was in a tank then left to dry would account for some ammonia increase as things in/on the rock decay, but three months is an awful long time.

I'll be honest, if the tank has been set-up and running with the rock and sand for three months, I'm at a loss at to what may be going on.
Even with very little waste input, it should have completed cycling by now.

Mix up a batch of salt water like you would for a water change, doesn't have to be much, and then test it. could be the source water you are using is the source of the continued ammonia.

 

[Heath62]

Ill try that out and see i also tested my tapwater and amm was .25 but the tank itself the nitrite and nitrate has not really gone up at all for the three months

 

[Heath62]

I mean could it be that i didnt let the complete cycle take place? Like i was told do not do anything water changes or add prime or anything until the cycle finishes and the fact that i did slowed the cycle process down i mean could that be?

 

[TheTodd]

Even if you slowed the cycle down, there is ammonia now, which will convert to nitrites , then nitrates. It is very odd to have none after several weeks. I'm wondering if the Prime has something to do with that? I would consider adding something like Dr Tim's One&Only, which adds beneficial bacteria and cycles tanks in days (usually less than a week).


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[Amitas]

You can't bottle live bacteria, it's a living organism and needs certain compounds to survive which they can't receive in a sealed container.

However you can boost bacteria growth. Dose with prime to remove the ammonia, then stability to increase the bacteria growth in your filtration.



Aquariums are ecosystems we are privileged to own, and should be treated with the full level of care we can supply

 

[TheTodd]

You can't bottle live bacteria, it's a living organism and needs certain compounds to survive which they can't receive in a sealed container.

However you can boost bacteria growth. Dose with prime to remove the ammonia, then stability to increase the bacteria growth in your filtration.



Aquariums are ecosystems we are privileged to own, and should be treated with the full level of care we can supply

Where did you get your information that bacteria can not live in a sealed container? There are many companies that do it with proof that the bacteria was alive when added to an aquarium.

When cycling the tank , you need Ammonia to turn to Nitrites, which turn to Nitrates. Taking out the first step of that biological process messed things up . The beneficial bacteria need ammonia, but will eventually turn it to nitrates rapidly. That is the end result you want from a cycle.


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[bribo12]

Certain anaerobic bacteria can live in a vacuum...


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[Amitas]

Anaerobic bacteria can survive in sealed containers, however for efficient cycling you need both. The majority Aerobic bacterias will convert ammonia into nitrite, and then Into nitrate. Where as anaerobic will convert nitrate into nitrogen gas so that it may be released Into the system. That's why the most efficient system utilize components like kaldness reactors, as well as areas where bacteria are left undisturbed


Aquariums are ecosystems we are privileged to own, and should be treated with the full level of care we can supply