Ammonia in tank before fishless cycle

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I bought everything brand new since I was planning all kinds of new things to do with it.
 
Thanks for the advice everyone. I broke the tank down and wash it with mild bleach and let it air dry before adding the new sand. That was last night. I didn't test the ammonia then and I probably should have. After testing tonight I got two readings of 8.0 ppm. I found out today that my LFS is open again after a remodel but are now completely out of the aquarium business. I'll see if Petsmart will test my water. It's a simple test but maybe I'm doing it wrong. I really have no clue at this point.
 
Keep us updated please...this is something I'm definitely interested in hearing the outcome of.

API Master Kit? Shaking both bottles, adding 8 drops of #1, 8 drops of #2, shaking for 5 seconds and then letting it sit for 5 minutes?

I have heard of API messing up and putting two #1 or two #2 bottles in a package instead of one of each. Maybe something worth looking at.
 
It is API test kit and I was in the process of saying I do exactly what you said but I don't. Neither the bottles nor the booklet said to shake before using. I just looked to be certain. Is it possible that it's something so simple or that even the tubes were poorly cleaned and I didn't realize? I'll try that and test again but that would have shown on the bucket control test wouldn't it?

If I ever do manage to get fish that new sand is amazing. Wish I had gotten that from the start. Thanks for that.
 
Didn't think it would be that simple. I'll let everyone know what petsmart tells me tomorrow. I have to figure out if I really want to sacrifice one of my cats to appease the fish gods.
 
c_leed said:
It is API test kit and I was in the process of saying I do exactly what you said but I don't. Neither the bottles nor the booklet said to shake before using. I just looked to be certain. Is it possible that it's something so simple or that even the tubes were poorly cleaned and I didn't realize? I'll try that and test again but that would have shown on the bucket control test wouldn't it?

If I ever do manage to get fish that new sand is amazing. Wish I had gotten that from the start. Thanks for that.
Click to expand...

I forgot about the other test...I guess we'll see...but this is maybe the biggest mystery I've seen in my time on the site, lol. The booklet doesn't say to shake it? Huh. With the nitrAte test it's super important to shake...but I coulda sworn all bottles and tubes needed it to some degree. I agree it's probably not the sole cause, but worth trying.

And yeah, that PFS is awesome. Once you switch to it, it's all you'll ever put in your tank. it does cause me to vacuum a few times a week since any waste sits visibly on the surface (I'm aquarium OCD), but there's no such thing as too many water changes and it's great to not have all those organics gathering under a gravel bottom and fowling the water.
 
eco23 said:
I forgot about the other test...I guess we'll see...but this is maybe the biggest mystery I've seen in my time on the site, lol. The booklet doesn't say to shake it? Huh. With the nitrAte test it's super important to shake...but I coulda sworn all bottles and tubes needed it to some degree. I agree it's probably not the sole cause, but worth trying.

And yeah, that PFS is awesome. Once you switch to it, it's all you'll ever put in your tank. it does cause me to vacuum a few times a week since any waste sits visibly on the surface (I'm aquarium OCD), but there's no such thing as too many water changes and it's great to not have all those organics gathering under a gravel bottom and fowling the water.
Click to expand...

Being a mystery is getting a bit frustrating lol. I just read through all the instructions and it only says about shaking nitrate bottle 2. Nothing about any others. I tried anyway though with no luck. I have no idea how much ammonia I'd have needed to get the tank up to this point. I would think it would be a decent amount so I'm just stumped how it magically appeared. I know you are as well.

I haven't tried cleaning the PFS yet but it will probably be a breeze compared to that playsand. If just the spraybar wasn't angled perfectly the sand would be blowing. Nice not having that problem anymore.
 
Usually I've got a random idea or two floating around in my head...but on this one there's a big question mark floating above my head. I'd swear if you were living in a bachelor pad or something...somebody would have to be messing with you. And yeah, 8ppm is a LOT of ammonia. For it to build up that quickly in an empty tank deserves to have some science lab experiment on it, lol. Have any major universities nearby? :D
 
Even when I lived in a bachelor pad everyone knew better than to mess with my pets lol. I kept firebelly toads well enough to breed them then (only thing I had at the time with a filter). Not sure about the universities lol. I do know the guy to ask though since my friend just moved across the country on a free ride to get his doctorate in chemistry at Berkeley :D I'll drop him a line and see if he has any thoughts.
 
Worse comes to worse...fill the tank up, forget about it for a month or two, and if there really is that much ammonia in the water you should have automatically grown the worlds largest bio-filter without ever adding a drop of ammonia :D. It'd be a self cycling tank, lol.
 
lol That might be my only hope/option at this point. I could right a guide too. Set tank up...do nothing for a couple months. Now do nothing more for a couple months. :ROFLMAO:
 
40 gallon breeder. Too small for a whale probably lol Maybe one of those pygmy manatees from the amazon instead.
 
Haha it would be cool to have a whale though! Have you put any thought into your stock? Or are you just worried about getting the issue solved at this point? If worse comes to worse you could just start selling seeded media to people!
 
It's a combination. I had my stocking halfway planned before I even bought the tank. This is definitely giving me plenty of time to research things though, so while I'm looking up what could possibly be wrong I get sidetracked and research fish. So my potential stock list just keeps growing, and growing, and growing lol
 
Ha ya I know what you mean. I have a 75 gallon and everytime I look at more fish to add I always go over board with it. I never actually get the fish because I have to restrain myself but still. Haha
 
Right now my list is pretty much any small South American characin, any Corydoras but the coldwater ones, and possibly dwarf plecos. I start a thread yesterday about my build because I was foolishly optimistic about things getting better. I figured I'd get some help narrowing things down but I'll probably have to leave that on the backburner for a while until i sort things out...or until I get more bored than frustrated lol
 
Ha true. Well I hope you get your situation under control. This sounds very confusing
 
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