ammonia in tap water

[fishynewbie]

I recently set up a 20 gallon tank and used the filter and gravel from my old 5 gallon to speed up the cycle. The old tank had a leak so I had to cycle the new tank with fish in. My readings are now ammonia .25, nitrite 0, nitrate 5.

It seems like no matter what I do, I can't keep the ammonia at 0 (it's been about 2 weeks).

I tested my tap water and it reads ammonia 1.0. I add API stress coat plus with every wc. Shouldn't this help neutralize the ammonia I am adding from the tap?

The other weird thing is that I never had any readings for nitrite, only nitrate...why?

I currently have 2 black sailfin mollys and 1 red wag platy but don't want to add any more while I still see ammonia.

Am I just being too impatient? My 5 gallon was cycled and I thought that by transferring the filter media and gravel the 20 would cycle quickly, especially since I didn't add anymore fish....

Thanks for the help! I'm lost!

 

[Guggiboy123]

I recently set up a 20 gallon tank and used the filter and gravel from my old 5 gallon to speed up the cycle. The old tank had a leak so I had to cycle the new tank with fish in. My readings are now ammonia .25, nitrite 0, nitrate 5.

It seems like no matter what I do, I can't keep the ammonia at 0 (it's been about 2 weeks).

I tested my tap water and it reads ammonia 1.0. I add API stress coat plus with every wc. Shouldn't this help neutralize the ammonia I am adding from the tap?

The other weird thing is that I never had any readings for nitrite, only nitrate...why?

I currently have 2 black sailfin mollys and 1 red wag platy but don't want to add any more while I still see ammonia.

Am I just being too impatient? My 5 gallon was cycled and I thought that by transferring the filter media and gravel the 20 would cycle quickly, especially since I didn't add anymore fish....

Thanks for the help! I'm lost!

Did u rinse out the gravel

 

[fishynewbie]

Not the old gravel, just the new stuff that I added

 

[Guggiboy123]

Not the old gravel, just the new stuff that I added

Take out the gravel and clean it then check ammonia again

 

[Jacobdlaw610]

If you are using the API test kit it will always look like you have ammonia. Try a different test

 

[fishynewbie]

Won't that get rid of a lot of the good bacteria?

 

[fishynewbie]

If you are using the API test kit it will always look like you have ammonia. Try a different test

Thanks! I thought I was losing it! Because if it were still cycling I would see nitrite too, right?

 

[Jacobdlaw610]

Possibly each tank is different but with my little experience that test kit seems to give you some false readings

 

[Guggiboy123]

Thanks! I thought I was losing it! Because if it were still cycling I would see nitrite too, right?

Yes but if ur concerned bout ammonia that's wht I would or u could buy more gravel it would only cost 15 dollars

 

[fishynewbie]

Yes but if ur concerned bout ammonia that's wht I would or u could buy more gravel it would only cost 15 dollars

Why would gravel raise ammonia?

 

[Guggiboy123]

Why would gravel raise ammonia?

Because that's where all the fish poop and unbeaten food end up

 

[Guggiboy123]

Because that's where all the fish poop and unbeaten food end up

Uneaten is wht I meant

 

[fishynewbie]

Because that's where all the fish poop and unbeaten food end up

Okay, I see what you're saying now. I vacuum the gravel really well and do not think that is the source of the ammonia. Maybe it is the test kit; however, I was able to get a reading of zero ammonia when I tested a water sample from the tap and added stress coat plus (an insane amount considering the sample size was 5 ml and I added maybe .5ml to it....obviously could not add that much to tank)

 

[Guggiboy123]

Okay, I see what you're saying now. I vacuum the gravel really well and do not think that is the source of the ammonia. Maybe it is the test kit; however, I was able to get a reading of zero ammonia when I tested a water sample from the tap and added stress coat plus (an insane amount considering the sample size was 5 ml and I added maybe .5ml to it....obviously could not add that much to tank)

Ok no fish have died or looked sick right

 

[fishynewbie]

Ok no fish have died or looked sick right

One of the mollys was looking like he had ick or fungus so I added some salt and raised the temp a couple of days ago..he is acting normal again now and white stuff is gone. Will keep up the salt and heat for a while tho incase it was ick.

The other two have been fine...also, I am careful not to overfeed

 

[Guggiboy123]

One of the mollys was looking like he had ick or fungus so I added some salt and raised the temp a couple of days ago..he is acting normal again now and white stuff is gone. Will keep up the salt and heat for a while tho incase it was ick.

The other two have been fine...also, I am careful not to overfeed

Well u should be fine then just keep on doing and keep on testing daily but if a big ammonia spike happens start another thread or post again on this one

 

[fishynewbie]

Well u should be fine then just keep on doing and keep on testing daily but if a big ammonia spike happens start another thread or post again on this one

Thanks

 

[librarygirl]

You're probably not going through a full cycle so it's OK not to see nitrite. The hint of ammonia could be from stirring up the substrate (you wouldn't believe the amount of fish food and waste that can get settled in there even with regular cleanings) but I would think after two weeks it would have settled by now. Did you add a larger filter for the new tank? Also if your tap has 1 ppms of ammonia when you do a water change you're adding ammonia in and it can take a bit for the bacteria to process it, so don't test right after a water change or you'll be seeing the ammonia in your tap.

At .25 it isn't dangerously high and if you did a water change you'll be adding more ammonia back in anyway. The API it can be finicky to read as well; 0 can look a bit greenish depending on the light in the room.

Just keep monitoring things and hopefully it'll settle down. What filter do you have on the tank? Mollys produce quite a bit of waste so a larger filter might be a good idea as well.

 

[fishynewbie]

You're probably not going through a full cycle so it's OK not to see nitrite. The hint of ammonia could be from stirring up the substrate (you wouldn't believe the amount of fish food and waste that can get settled in there even with regular cleanings) but I would think after two weeks it would have settled by now. Did you add a larger filter for the new tank? Also if your tap has 1 ppms of ammonia when you do a water change you're adding ammonia in and it can take a bit for the bacteria to process it, so don't test right after a water change or you'll be seeing the ammonia in your tap.

At .25 it isn't dangerously high and if you did a water change you'll be adding more ammonia back in anyway. The API it can be finicky to read as well; 0 can look a bit greenish depending on the light in the room.

Just keep monitoring things and hopefully it'll settle down. What filter do you have on the tank? Mollys produce quite a bit of waste so a larger filter might be a good idea as well.

The filter is a penguin bio wheel 150. When I add water from the tap should I use something to neutralize the ammonia before adding it to the tank?

 

[shellieca]

The filter is a penguin bio wheel 150. When I add water from the tap should I use something to neutralize the ammonia before adding it to the tank?

You should be using a water conditioner with your water changes, most on here use Prime. It detoxifies pretty much all the bad stuff, doesn't remove just makes it safe for fish.