Ammonia spikes with new sand

[superstarburza]

I need some help from smarter people than I.

I have a 29-gallon tank that I recently took all the gravel out of and put Caribsea Super Naturals Aquarium Sand into. I read both options of rinsing and not rinsing but determined that rinsing was the better option after some research. I rinsed the sand a lot, trying to make it so that it was not very cloudy when I set up the tank, I would say 6-7 times. Finally, I was able to get the water to a point of very low cloudiness. I put in the packet of "de-cloudy" stuff that was included and ran the filter for about a week. The water still looked a little cloudy, but I decided to test the water anyway. Nitrate, Nitrates, and PH are perfect, but the ammonia level was WAY too high. I purchased Ammonia-lock and tried that for a week, but still was getting bad ammonia levels. I rinsed the sand again several times and put fresh water in, ran the filter for a week, and was getting the same results. I eventually pulled all the ornaments out (driftwood, plastic plants, and rocks) and was going to test each in a bucket to see what was causing the spikes. I started with the sand, and sure enough, it is the sand. I tested the ammonia of some water before putting it in the tank, put it in with only the sand, then tested it again after a few hours. The ammonia was very dark green. I tried rinsing the sand again, 4 more times. At this point, I have rinsed the sand a dozen times. The water is still a little cloudy. Do I still need to continue to rinse? Will this help my ammonia problem?

My filter is a canister with foam/floss, nirta-zorb, established biofilter, and Seachem Purigen. I also run all my aquarium water through an RO system. I have a 60-gallon cichlid tank that is perfect, but this 29-gallon is making me feel so dumb! Help!

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

(obviously, I have no fish in the tank yet, thankfully)

 

[Autumnsky]

Was the CaribSea sand dry sand or the kind with the liquid?

 

[superstarburza]

Was the CaribSea sand dry sand or the kind with the liquid?

I used two bags, they were both dry (same kind).

 

[Autumnsky]

Wow, that is so odd that new dry sand would be full of ammonia.

You mention running the water through an RO filter and do you remineralize it?

 

[superstarburza]

Wow, that is so odd that new dry sand would be full of ammonia.

You mention running the water through an RO filter and do you remineralize it?

I put the water directly into the tanks from the ro system. But it’s always while doing a water change. This is the only time I’m filling the tank with new water.

HOWEVER, I’ve been just rinsing the sand with straight tap (not wanting to waste my ro water) which has no ammonia levels. I filled the tank halfway with tap and before I “swished” the sand I let it sit for a while. The ammonia was high again.

I will note that this sand is taking FOREVER to rinse. I’m easily over a dozen times rising and I’m still getting residue. I have sand in my other tank which didn’t take nearly as long. This new sand is a little finer, but I really wasn’t expecting this much rinsing.

Do you think I’ll eventually rinse out the problem? The only reason I’m asking is to make sure I’m not missing anything. I’m fairly new to sand, but I’ve had freshwater aquariums for over ten years.

 

[Autumnsky]

This is a couple parts. The sand will settle down and using API Accu-Clear will help that. And some finishing pad, rinse it out a couple times a day after using it.

If you might have got the finest sand in the pile, the dusty part should clump together and then be removed with the filter pad and additive.

Using RO water only in an aquarium. Fish need minerals for proper osmosis, and calcium in water is needed for maintaining pH.

RO filters remove almost all the minerals in the water.

Were you using only RO? In all your tanks/ for a long time now? Did you have any pH crashes?

 

[superstarburza]

I just checked my ph levels in my 60-gallon tank. They are around 8, which is where I want them for a cichlid tank. The sand is some sort of cichlid sand that helps the PH levels. I also (possibly) misspoke earlier. I do add a water conditioner in my water before I add it to the tanks. Will that help with the minerals? All my levels are good in my 60-gallon so I am not super worried. I have been using my ro system for about a year now.

I'll grab some accu-clear and see if that helps with the residue. Do you think that will help with the ammonia as well? I tried using ammo-lock (I did two doses over a period of a week) and it did not seem to help. Do you think a mixture of rinsing a couple more times, filtering with the accu-clear and maybe doing another couple doses of ammo-lock will do the trick?

It is the weirdest thing! Also, thank you so much for your help!! I have posted this issue on several other forums and NO ONE has even commented. You are my sole hero!

 

[superstarburza]

Hi, one more thing.

A couple of people finally replied on another forum. It was suggested that since I replaced the substrate in my tank that I created a new cycle, which is why my ammonia is high. Does that sound right? There are about five people giving me various sets of opinions on how to create a new cycle. I have established bio-media in my filters and driftwood from old tanks in the new tank. I ran the water for a week and the levels did not change. Shouldn't the cycle have started to change at that point? What are your thoughts on that?

 

[Aiken Drum]

Changing substrate could easily cause a mini cycle. But i dont think it would explain this.

HOWEVER, I’ve been just rinsing the sand with straight tap (not wanting to waste my ro water) which has no ammonia levels. I filled the tank halfway with tap and before I “swished” the sand I let it sit for a while. The ammonia was high again.

I dont think crashing your cycle would cause such a rapid increase in ammonia.

Presuming im reading what you are saying correctly.

What levels of ammonia are you seeing BTW?

 

[Autumnsky]

Also you will likely see ammonia even if you use ammo-lock, as the liquid test will test for ammonia, including ammonium which is what it turns into after getting treated to make it not toxic for the fish.

And that would be 2 different things I think, a mini cycle will happen because although there is not the majority of beneficial bacteria in the substrate, it certainly will colonize one stones and gravel / sand.

But you said in the 1st post you do not have fish in there now? If you do not have fish in there, then you aren't feeding food in the tank and there wouldn't be ammonia from fish waste.

What would the source of ammonia be?

Maybe if you left out the DW or something some residual BB might have died off, but I can't imagine anything which would cause it to spike like that, for days.

Did you happen to leave your canister out in the sunshine in the scalding heat for a day, maybe killing off a bunch of BB in there??? Just wondering through possibilities, one source could be dead BB from the canister filter. Or if it dried out pretty much all the way.

I have used CaribSea sand for 10 years and haven't ever seen ammonia from it.

Maybe email or phone the company and ask them about it. Just to see if they have any insight, for curiosity's sake. You might not get a super quick response but it would be interesting.

 

[Aiken Drum]

Put some of your substrate in a bucket with some clean water. Swish it round a bit. Test for ammonia. If you test +ve then you know its coming from your substrate.