CluelessInNY
Aquarium Advice Activist
Any ammonia is too high for fish. It burns their gills. During cycling with uncured LR my ammonia went off the charts (8.0+).
If using fully cured LR you may never see a reading above 0 if you have enough of it to cover your bioload. The fact that you are seeing an increase in ammonia means that a) you don't have enouhg fully cured LR to cover the bioload of 1 fish; b) the LR was not fully cured.
OR, do you still not have any LR in the tank, just the live sand?
Why don't you post listing everything you have in the tank including all the equipment you have. Please post real number for the water parameters too.
What size is your tank?
How old is your tank ? This a a 20 gallon, right?
How much LR, a/o LS is in the tank? 20 pounds of LS, but no LR yet?
Is the LR cured ? (when)
How did you cycle your tank and when? Still cycling, correct?
What inhabitants do you have ?
What filter are you running ?
What PHs are you running? (power heads used for water movement)
What kind of H20 are you using ? Distilled , tap , RO/DI ?
Are you using any additives?
What are your water parameters ?
Ammonia
NitrIte
NItrAte
PH
SG
Temp
Tank size: 20 gal
Age: one week
LR/LS: no live rock, only live sand 10 lbs
inhabitants: one damselfish (4 striped)
Filter: biowheel with filter
pH: 8.2-8.4
Water: tap (I topped off with distilled and did a single PWC - a negligable 10% change)
Additives: none
Temp: 80 degrees
Ammonia: 0.5
Nitrites: 0.2
Nitrates: 5.0
Spec. grav: 1.024
(all measures as of yesterday)
What am I doing wrong? I don't see ammonia spiking.