Ammonia levels wont go down! Please help!

[Jman23222]

So my 55 gallon freshwater tank has been cycling for a little longer than a month now. So I have two convict cichlids in there and they are doing just fine but my problem is that my ammonia levels are really high and they have been like that for like 3 weeks. I also checked my nitrites and they are also high. I've added stress zyme on the 1,7 and 14 days. But I have done about three 10 gallon water changes just to get some new water for my cichlids. Anyway could Y'all please help me out. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. If I'm doing something wrong please let me know! Thanks!

 

[momo]

What are your water paramiters?

Ammonia PPM?
Nitrite PPM?

 

[Jman23222]

Ammonia is at about 2.5-3.0 ppm
Nitrite is at about .50

 

[momo]

you said you did 3 10gal WC's?

was it over a couple of days?

i would suggest doing a big one, maybe 40-50% at one time. it will for sure drop them, and if its still high wait another say and do the same thing.

 

[Jman23222]

Yeah I did 3. I did one on the second week, third, and fourth. So you recommend doing a 50%?

 

[momo]

Yes, because all the good bacteria is in your filter media and some even in your gravel. very FEW are in the water itself so doing PWC's doesnt hurt it. since you have fish in there, do atleast a 10g a day (after a 50%) to keep it safe for the little guys. In addition, try getting a stresscoat with ALOE in it, it helps for the ammonia burns thay may incounter.

 

[Jman23222]

Ok thank you. So if I see a drop in ammonia and nitrites after these water changes, how will I know my tank is finally cycled?

 

[momo]

during cycleing your always going to see signs of ammo and rites, but once its cylce they both should be at ZERO and your rates climbing fast, then you just do a big big WC and your set!

 

[Jman23222]

Ok sounds good! So do you think I'm fairly close to getting it cycled?

 

[momo]

you said somthing about three weeks, and you have some nitrites. IMO, your getting there pretty well, i couldnt tell you an exact time. but your are for sure, getting there!

Good luck to you.

 

[Jman23222]

Ok thank you I REALLY appreciate the help. I was worried for a little while! Thanks!

 

[momo]

no prob at all, thats what we are here for

i cant stress it enough on doing the PWC's daily. i would say a minimum of 10 gallons. but other then that and a 50% WC asap, your on track to being cylced tank!

 

[Jman23222]

Sounds great! Will do

 

[CoyoteWildfire]

+1 to the water changes. They always, always help on getting Nitrogen down.

I also recommend getting a nitrAte test kit too. That'll really help you know if your nitrites are turning as that ought.

Also, bear in mind that StressZyme is going to spike your ammonia. The bacteria in it aren't the same bacteria you'd have in your biological filter. Instead, the bacteria speed up the decay of matter in your tank, i.e. excess fish food, plant matter and fish waste, turning it INTO ammonia. This is how StressZyme "speeds up" your cycle, as the more ammonia there is, the more food for the bacteria in your biological filter.

Also, live plants really help with it. I suggest anacharis, as that just feeds off the water table and doesn't need a ton of light. Or an amazon sword, which is quite hardy. You won't even need CO2 or fertilizer for those guys.

Another thing to bear in mind is that if you've been "treating" your aquarium for ammonia, most treatments turn ammonia unto harmless ammoniUM. And test kits test for both ammonia and ammonium, meaning you might be getting false positives there. That actually happened to me... I was treating my tank and when I finally got my test kit, it registered the ammonia/ammonium as over 8! I nearly fell off my feet...

Lastly, your water may have some ammonia in it too. Try testing that to see if you're introducing ammonia naturally with your tap water.

 

[WendiDell]

If you don't have one yet, you need an API master test kit. It tests Ammonia, NitrItes, NitrAtes, pH, it's essential for monitoring water parameters.
Since you are doing your cycle with fish, you need to keep your ammonia and/or nitrItes below .25ppm, in order to avoid permanent gill damage or death.
It's safe to do as many PWC as necessary to get and keep your parameters. below the .25ppm.

 

[CoyoteWildfire]

Exactly. Bear in mind that your positive bacteria adhere to objects in your tank. This is why people will tell you not to replace your filters too often (or rather, only to change them as infrequently as possible), as the majority of the healthy bacteria grow in the filter cartridge itself, on the walls of the tank, in the substrate, on decorations and plants, etc.

A PWC changes the water table and pulls out far more Nitrogen than good bacteria.