HELP!! Amonia

[lando]

Well, i posted earlier on the sudden cloudiness of my tank water. Tonight I noticed my copperband and purple tang gilling faster then normal. I pulled out a different test kit (red Sea) and tested amonia. They were .25!! What could have caused this over night? Last night my tank was fine, this morning my amonia read zero on another test kit (SeaChem). I just started mixing up 15 gal. of SW. I will let it heat up and circulate tonight and do a water change in the morning. I have to work at 7 a.m. so up extra early for me, I guess. I am not missing any livestock, everything is accounted for. this is really wierd, the only thing I can think of is maybe a snail that died or something. Any comments or suggestions welcome. Thanks! Lando

 

[Sparky]

I don't know why, but I have had a few snails die on me the last couple of weeks. My water parameters are perfect. Maybe old age??????.... I doubt it, but I have no other explaination of it.

Could be what you are experiencing Lando. I got so many snails that I can't recall the numbers. I just see a shell setting in the same place for a couple of days and then take a look and it's empty. The crabs are probably eating them up after they die (or maybe they are making them die?)..they green emerald crabs and I doubt it that they are doing it. Just one of the puzzling things that go on.

I had my pH drop like a rock for no apparent rean as did Quarryshark. Brought it back up and had no prboblem since. Maybe it's just the triple witching hour for fish this month...LOL

Mike

 

[lando]

Just an update...This morning my amonia was not .25 anymore although it was still detectable. I think my biological filtration began to catch up with the amonia. All fish and coral are looking okay, but the lights were off. I did a 15 gal. water change and will just have to wait. I get home from work tomorrow morning so I can not monitor it throughout the day. See how it goes. Should I suspet a slight rise in nitrites as well? Thanks! Lando

 

[quarryshark]

Did you add anything lately?

 

[lando]

That is the strange thing. The last thing I added was a mushroom colony a few days ago and a fire shrimp last week. All are doing well. I did not dump in any water fromt he LFS into my tank. Still very weird.

 

[Sparky]

I would think that you would see a rise in Nitrites also, probably slight but a rise all the same.

 

[lando]

Got home this morning an dthe tank looks perfectly normal again. Amonia is undetectable, fish and corals are fine. Still wonder what caused it. I am thinking dead snail or something. I have no idea how many snails I have so hard to keep a body count. Good news...Lando

 

[quarryshark]

Go figure, I'm glad to hear it though. Sound like your biofilter caught up with the problem.

 

[lando]

I think the biofilter did catch up, so far nitrites are still undectable. I will continue to check once a day for a week or so to make sure everything is okay.