ARRGG...now ammonia is up

[vsnsofadrgn]

my ammonia is reading .50 ....(refer to nitrates throught the roof) ive been doing weekly water changes and cut feedings to frozen every couple of days........ what do i do!!!!!!!?????????

 

[JPloman]

Have you tried to use another testing kit? It could be that you have a bad kit.

I have been keeping track of most of what you have done to make changes in your tank, but please list everything from start to where you are now. It may be something very silly that is being over looked. Make sure you list all your tank info as well; e.g. size of tank, amount of lr, amount of sand, age of tank, etc.

FYI: Avoid using windex or any glass cleaner on or around your tank, they all contain ammonia.

 

[i have crabs]

for the amonia test some premade water or tap water so you can see the difference between the two, i thought mine were up once but the test always turns yellow while i thought it should be clear,if you only have 2 clowns and your nitrate are up what are you feeding,mabey your putting too much in at a time not too often what filter do you have have you cleaned the filterfloss,or whatever you have in it ? if you have prime water conditioner use a cap it will nutralize the amonia and nitrates a little and mabey stall thing untill its under control.
how long have you had your tank also ?

 

[austinsdad]

Looking back over some past posts, looks like you got a 20g, set up since Feb 05. Since you first started posting, you've had nitrate and now ammonia issues.

Still only 2 clowns? What else is in your tank. Fish, rock, substrate, filtration... stuff like that. How are this fish acting with the ammonia reading tyhat high? Give us a summary of your tank so we may be able to help you more. I'd also take a sample to the LFS for testing or try another test kit like recommended.

Most of all, I think you got that small tank w/seemingly small things happening, yet big consequences in that small tank. I'm just concerned you may get frustrated and not be able to enjoy that hobby this way. Any chance of a larger tank?

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

20 gal tank, 17 lbs lr, 18 lbs ls, protein skimmer (barely works), heater, 2 powerheads, 2 clowns, 5 hermits, and a snail...... up since feb 05..... ive been doin weekly water changes (5 gal). i was feeding flake, but have swiced to frozen and feed about every other day to every couple of days. i was using tap water for top off, but im going to buy bottled from now on... im going to take water to get tested at lfs tomorrow. ive been using tap water to clean out my testing supplies, could this have an effect on my results?? (stupid tap water) i might be able to upgrade to a 30 gal, but that would all i can afford right now im trying to add a sump and get a new skimmer now... thank you so much for replying......

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

heres a pic

 

[i have crabs]

being a 20g isnt the problem what type of frozen food are you using,i seen that you use sponges on your powerheads,if you dont have an anemone i would take them off unless your clowns are very small(less than 1" mabey) do you clean the media in your filter ever,or mabey over cleaning it and killing the benificial bacteria in it?
i have a 20g with 3 baby cardinals and mabey 15lbs of rock i clean the filterfloss every 1-2 weeks and change water every 3-4 and not because of any problems i just do to avoid problems

 

[Hara]

do you have any other type of filtration other than the rock in the tank? If not, that is going to be the problem. Ideally, you should have roughly 2 lbs per gallon for filtration.

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

ive got the protein skimmer, but it only works half of the time .... ive been using prime reef frozen food, i cut each cube in to peices and soak in garlic...put in about 3 of the chunks, they are only about 1/8 each.... i used to clean the sponges in tap water, but now i use the unused lfs water to rinse them out. should i take them off?? mt clowns are about 1.5 - 2 inches... i just added a hob filter b/c the lfs guy said the carbon would help with the nitrates...that was 2 weeks ago, but i was told that that wouldnt help much, but it was just what i had on hand. im doing another water change tomorrow and getting the water tested, hopefully my tests are just off, im worried about my fishes and my lr, any infor will help, thank you

 

[JPloman]

First and for most, get a new and better protein skimmer. I would remove the sponges completely. I would also greatly increase the amount of rock I have in the tank, like Hara said "roughly 2 lbs per gallon for filtration". Adding and changing these things will help greatly. Even if your ammonia is really up, it is not going to really damage your live rock. It may kill some natural bacteria, but your are more likely to loose your fish and inverts than anything.

In reality, I would take the fish to the lfs and get credit. Next I would make the necessary changes to the tank in order to maintain life in a healthy environment. I know you are most likely attached to the fish, but this is what I would do. It is better for the fish.

It also looks to me like you have a pretty significant case of cyanobacteria in the tank from the photos. I think I have seen you posting about this. How is your water flow? Do you have power heads running over the surface of the water and the deep? The surface will help with the oxygen exchange and the deep will keep it from having cyano settle in.

I really hope this helps!

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

i moved the powerheads. should i rub the cyano and suck it up when i do my water change??

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

ive also modded my skimmer, so now theres actually some bubbles... i also tested the water from lfs, and it says that the nirtates are at 10, so i will defeinately be bringing a sample there, b/c i dont think thats right. my test kit must not be right. hopefully there isnt as much damage as i thought.....

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

well i went to the lfs and got my water tested. he said everything was fine, of course, he didnt test nitrates becuase they were out of the supplies. he also told me not to worry about nitrates!!! i told him the results of my testing and he didnt seem to think that was bad. then he tried to get me t buy a chemical that would take them out. i told him i didnt feel comfortable adding chemicals to my tank. i explained that i would eventually like to get corals, so the nitrates need to be 0, and i was worried about my fish, and he said not to worry, when their tanks have nitrates, they dont really do anything about them. im hoping with the protein skimmer modded, the addition of caulpera (ordered wed. not here yet) and the addition of the sump that im going to build that it will fix this problem, along with the weekly pwc..........

 

[Hara]

I will mention it again, you do not have enough liverock in the tank for sufficient filtration.

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

im going to get some lr when i get paid next ... now that the skimer is working again, will that help unitl i get the lr and caulpera??

 

[Hara]

It will help. You should shoot for at least 40 lbs. Some of this can be in the form of rubble and can be put in your sump when you set it up.

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

well i just ordered 10 lbs from ebay (1.99 lb, good deal) for now, it was half the price of going to lfs, even with s/h... ill get more and more every time i get paid until i get to 40... and hopefully with the addition of the caulpera, this will help alot. i just want my tank to be ok for now...

 

[JPloman]

Yes, rub the cyanobacteria into a vacuum when you are cleaning the tank. It will help to remove the waste from the actual bacteria. The stuff you see is basically just the byproduct of cyanobacteria.

I would not trust everything the people at the lfs say. Sometimes they are wrong. Most think they know all about fish tank, but in reality they are just hobbyists like us. There is still so much everyone can learn about the hobby. It is a constant learning experience, even for the most skilled and experienced hobbyists. I would be concerned, not worried, about my nitrates for the simple fact that they can cause tank problems if they get too high.

I am very glad to hear you are ordering more rock. It gets very expensive. You can actually purchase "dead rock" that is cheaper, since you already will have about 20 lbs of live rock. Here is a link that I found where you can find some base/dead rock http://www.reeferrock.com/store/Qst...1419&BACK=A0008A1B01054349108B1C01054761346C1

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

thank you for the link, i was going to get some base rock later, i wanted more lr right now. next pay check im going to build the sump, and the one after that, ill get the base rock. my caulpera should arrive today (hopefully).

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

no caulpera yet i guess tomorrow.. the lr is on its way, and ive got the tank ready for curing..(hopefully it wont take long so i can get it to the main tank) ive done another water change, and tried to run some of the cyano off, didnt seem like alot, everythings settled again, and i see a little, but ill get it when i do the water change next. it didnt seem to come off that easily...