Can't get Ammonia level to zero

[fish4thewin]

Hi. I'm new to the hobby and I've having an issue getting Ammonia levels down to 0 in my fresh water tank. My Ammonia levels consistently read 0.25ppm despite by attempts to bring it down. I'm hoping someone can be some pointers or other things to try.

Tank Setup
I have a 30 gallon fresh water tank with 4 mollies, a Pleko and gravel substrate. There's also a live large amazon sword plant and two small mothball plants. The tank has been operational for about 3 months. I went through the cycling process and waited about month before adding fish. (I was trying to make sure I could keep the plants alive before adding fish.)

Filter
I have a small Whisper 30 filter that uses charcoal in a media bag. On a previous attempt at a tank, I was changing the filter media every time I did a water change. I haven't changed the filter since I started this tank and wasn't planning on doing it until the bag started to fall apart. Is there a problem with this approach that might be keeping my ammonia level up?

Ph
When I first started this tank, I had a high Ph. Using straight tap water gave me an 8.8. My plants actually weren't doing so hot when the tank started, but I quickly attacked the Ph problem and my plants turned around in a couple days. It was kind of cool to see them rebound so quickly and watch brown leaves turn to green. I now have a consistent Ph of 7.6. I brought the Ph down by adding a couple large pieces of driftwood and by using more neutral water that comes from the filtered water dispenser on my refrigerator.

Plants
Now that the Ph is under control, the Sword has sprouted another bud and has started forming a second Sword about 8" away from the parent. I use Flourish twice a week with the recommended dosage.

Fluval Biomax
I stumbled on Biomax and thought that might be a way to inject some more good bacteria into the process. I never found good instructions on how to add the Biomax to the tank, so I just stuck a bunch of them in one of the media bags that came with the Whisper 30 filter and crammed it next to the filter that was already in-place inside the Whisper 30. After about two weeks with this setup, I haven't seen any change in the Ammonia levels. I just checked the media bag that was holding the Biomax tonight and it mostly covered in green "stuff". I've decided to take the Biomax out of the bag and just put them directly into the Whisper filter. I'm hoping this will make it easier to get the Bacteria into the Biomax instead of having it get stuck on the media bag.

Fish
The fish seem to be doing well. I just found some baby fish in the tank tonight so it must be comfortable enough for them to reproduce.

Feeding
I fed every other day initially with the tank, but I'm now feeding every third day or so.

Water Change
I've been trying to keep the water change around 10%, but my vacuum sucks up so much water that it can pretty quickly get to 25%. I do it about once a week. When replacing water, I take it out of filtered water dispenser on my refrigerator and put into a 5 gallon bucket. Then I put a little Prime in it and let it sit for at least an hour. I've gone stretches of 2 weeks to see if I was adding too much water, but it doesn't seem to affect the Ammonia level - still 0.25ppm

Final Thoughts

At this point, I'm starting to think it's a filtration issue. It doesn't seem like 4 little Mollies and a pleko would be able to create too much waste for the filter I have, but what else could it be?

 

[Jessy2363]

Does your filter only have charcoal in it or is there filter media also? Sounds like the filter isn't all that great. Maybe it's having problems soaking up the beneficial bacteria. I don't know this filter sorry.
My tank took about 6 weeks to cycle and I had terrible time doing it. I felt like it would never cycle. But I use a big canister filter which has plenty of sponges and bio balls and noodles etx for the good bacteria to live in. Have you had a nitrite spike yet? Maybe it hasn't even started cycling yet?
Make sure your ph doesn't drop below 7.5 otherwise it will never cycle.


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[Masha]

Just to check - you say you went through the cycling process, so I suppose that at some point, you did have ammonia readings of 0, right?

The reason I ask is that I've seen some people say that the API test kit always shows an ammonia reading of 0.25 even at the lowest level, even if they have no ammonia. But if you had lower readings before, then it seems you probably do have cause for concern.

No, leaving filter media in for as long as you can is actually better for managing ammonia, as otherwise you are removing all the beneficial bacteria colonising that filter media. On the other hand, as Jessy says, if you filter ONLY has charcoal as a media, that is probably the source of the problem. I'm not familiar with that filter, but if it's not possible to add a sponge or filter floss, you should consider getting a different filter. Aquaclear filters are the ones I know - they are nice because you can easily put in whatever media you want.

 

[Caliban07]

First thing I would do is test your tap water for ammonia.

Test your tank water just before a water change.

What substrate are you using? There should be enough bacteria on the gravel, plants and ornaments etc after 3 months to complete the nitrogen cycle.


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[BBradbury]

Your Tank

Hello fish...

Here's how I keep the tank water safe for my fish and plants. I remove and replace half the water every week and replace it with pure, treated tap water. I use a nitrogen removing filter media and have a lot of floating plants in the tank.

Toxins from the dissolved fish waste take time to build up to a harmful level. By regularly removing the old, dirty water and replacing it with pure, treated water weekly, there's no time for toxins to build up before they're removed through the water change. This will guarantee a steady and safe water chemistry.

B

 

[gilpi]

Your filter might be part if the problem. You need a filter that holds enough media, sponge, floss etc and to never replace it, just rinse lightly.
Not sure how the whisper works but most of the HOB filters I've seen have a thin cartridge type media with sponge and carbon built in that IMO barely hold any beneficial bacteria, they move lots of water but that's about it unless you can diy something thicker made out of sponge to fit your filter.
Something else that helps are frequent water changes.

 

[fish4thewin]

Thank you for all of the great info guys. I tested the tap and filtered water as suggested by Caliban07. Both are showing closer to 0.75ppm (if not 1ppm) so it looks like that's the main source of the problem. Would a better filter system be able to take that Ammonia out completely or should I try and get the Ammonia level to 0 before introducing it the tank? Maybe I'm not adding enough Prime to kill off all the Ammonia before introducing the new water.

My current filter is: Amazon.com : Tetra 25773 Whisper Power Filter 30, 30-Gallon : Aquarium Filters : Pet Supplies
My Filter media is: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001DCZUO0/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The filter media is basically just a fibrous bag that holds a little activated carbon. It's sounds like the consensus is this isn't a very good filter media. I haven't put much thought into the filter yet. Is it correct to say that the bag is the filter and the carbon is really only there for odor and keeping the tank clear?

@Masha - I could have swore that my Ammonia level dropped to 0 early on in the process because I remember being happy that I finally got the Ammonia down and could introduce fish. I haven't kept a written log so I can't confirm it - could have been a testing error on my part. It's definitely something to consider; maybe I should try another Ammonia testing kit.

@Caliban7 - The substrate is just some rocky blue gravel about 3.5" thick. I rinsed it pretty heavily when I put it in initially. I initially had about 2" of gravel, but I was having a hard time keeping the plan roots below the surface in a previous tank so I decided to add a bit more this time around.

Thank You again.

 

[Caliban07]

Thank you for all of the great info guys. I tested the tap and filtered water as suggested by Caliban07. Both are showing closer to 0.75ppm (if not 1ppm) so it looks like that's the main source of the problem. Would a better filter system be able to take that Ammonia out completely or should I try and get the Ammonia level to 0 before introducing it the tank? Maybe I'm not adding enough Prime to kill off all the Ammonia before introducing the new water.

My current filter is: Amazon.com : Tetra 25773 Whisper Power Filter 30, 30-Gallon : Aquarium Filters : Pet Supplies
My Filter media is: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001DCZUO0/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The filter media is basically just a fibrous bag that holds a little activated carbon. It's sounds like the consensus is this isn't a very good filter media. I haven't put much thought into the filter yet. Is it correct to say that the bag is the filter and the carbon is really only there for odor and keeping the tank clear?

@Masha - I could have swore that my Ammonia level dropped to 0 early on in the process because I remember being happy that I finally got the Ammonia down and could introduce fish. I haven't kept a written log so I can't confirm it - could have been a testing error on my part. It's definitely something to consider; maybe I should try another Ammonia testing kit.

@Caliban7 - The substrate is just some rocky blue gravel about 3.5" thick. I rinsed it pretty heavily when I put it in initially. I initially had about 2" of gravel, but I was having a hard time keeping the plan roots below the surface in a previous tank so I decided to add a bit more this time around.

Thank You again.

Hi fish

Your tank is definitely cycled. The bacteria will consume the 1ppm ammonia quick enough. You probably tested the water when this had happened when you recorded the 0ppm.

A better filtration system won't do anything now. Your bacteria are fully colonised on every surface in the tank and on the material inside the filter so don't expose any of these parts to tap water as the chlorine will destroy the bacteria. Instead just carefully clean the material (media) every few weeks in old tank water and vacuum the gravel every once in a while.

As for the 1ppm in the tap. Firstly I would find out if this meets regulations in your area and contact the water company if not.

Secondly, prime doesn't remove ammonia. It just makes it non toxic until the bacteria can remove it but prime only lasts a max of 48 hours. Since prime doesn't remove ammonia it will still show up in the API test kit because it isn't bothered if the ammonia is in it's toxic or non toxic form it will measure the total ammonia.

Hope this helps.


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[wildroseofky]

I have a Whisper 40 filter on one of my tanks. It has a black sponge pad that fits in a plastic frame and then another plastic frame with white bag filled with charcoal. Is this how yours is? The black pad holds the bacteria. The other one I found to be useless. I cut off the white material, got a pair of women's knee high hose, and -some filter floss in sheet form. I cut the floss sheet to wrap around the frame and then used the hose to hold it in place. Works a lot better at removing stuff from the tank.

If your tap water has 1ppm ammonia you have a problem. That is way above allowable limits for a water system. Call and complain loudly.

Just so you know, gravel holds a lot of fish waste. No matter how well you vacuum it a lot if trapped in the layers of gravel. Each time you disturb it an ammonia spike can occur as stuff is released into the water column and rots. A lot of waste gets trapped under decor, rocks, and plants too. That can cause high nitrates and ammonia readings. When you cycled your tank how much ammonia did you add to cycle it? Each time you add fish it will take awhile for the bacteria to build up to take care of it. If you added all the fish at once than you will get a min cycle until the bacteria grows enough to tkae care of the extra load. It is best to add one or two fish every few weeks so you do not over load the filter bacteria.

 

[Luv4dan]

This is what I use to make my own filter pads and they work really well. I have used this sheet for 4 filters already and still have some left. Like they said just rinse in aquarium water and replace only if they are falling apart which my oldest one is about 8 months old and still in good shape.


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[wildroseofky]

That is what I use as well. It works great.