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[dgso1036]

I just checked my water and my ammonia is at 1.0ppm again. A few days ago I checked my levels and noticed my ammonia was at 1.0. I did a 25% pwc, checked it hours later and it was still at 1.0. The next day I did a 50% pwc and the levels went down to 0.50. When I checked it today the ammonia is back up to 1.0. My other levels are Ph 7.4, Nitrites 0, and nitrates 0-5.0. What could be causing this ammonia spike? Normally my ammonia runs between 0-.25ppm.

 

[RussellC]

How old is your tank?

Lots of things can cause ammonia spikes -- overstocking, uneaten food, an undiscovered dead fish, or dead leaves from aquatic plants decaying, just to name a few.

If 'normally' your ammonia runs between 0 and .25 ppm, I suspect some kind of ongoing issue with the aquarium -- in a healthy, established and well-maintained aquarium, ammonia should 'normally' be at zero. Anything more and there is some kind of issue.

How large is your tank and what is your stocking?

What is your maintenance schedule? How often do you do water changes, and how much? How often do you vacuum the substrate? How often do you perform filter maintenance, and what kind of filter maintenance do you perform?

For now, though, you're on the right track with the water changes to keep ammonia down while you sort out and correct the root cause.

Good luck!

 

[dgso1036]

Sorry for not putting that in. I have a 20 gallon that has been running for approximately two months. My stock is 5 mollys, 1 platy, 1 algae eater and 2 catfish. I'm new to this hobby and learned you have to cycle your tank. Of course I learned that after, because I was impatient. I do weekly pwc and vacuum the gravel everytime since I believe I over feed. I've been trying to cut down the amount I'm feeding them. I normally do a 25% pwc everytime and 50% once a month. I also clean the decor once a month. I recently had a bad case of ich and got over that about two weeks ago. I cleaned my filter yesterday.

 

[RussellC]

Sorry for not putting that in. I have a 20 gallon that has been running for approximately two months. My stock is 5 mollys, 1 platy, 1 algae eater and 2 catfish. I'm new to this hobby and learned you have to cycle your tank. Of course I learned that after, because I was impatient. I do weekly pwc and vacuum the gravel everytime since I believe I over feed. I've been trying to cut down the amount I'm feeding them. I normally do a 25% pwc everytime and 50% once a month. I also clean the decor once a month. I recently had a bad case of ich and got over that about two weeks ago. I cleaned my filter yesterday.

I'll let someone else who knows your fish a lot better than I do weigh in on the stocking.

That said, at two months old your tank is still young yet, and it wouldn't be unusual at all for it to still be cycling -- there's a good chance the reason your ammonia is spiking is that your tank hasn't completely finished cycling yet.

Keep up with the water changes to keep ammonia down, and try not to overfeed -- hopefully you're near the end of the cycling process and ammonia will get to zero (and stay there) soon.

Hope this helps.

 

[butterfly_koi]

Cleaned the filter, as in how?

 

[dgso1036]

I kept the filter pad in tank water and cleaned the tubes with hot water since they had a brown slime that was coming off when I took the filter off of my tank. I probably screwed up and got rid of my good bacteria huh?

 

[dgso1036]

If I screwed up can someone please tell me how you're suppose to clean the filter for future reference.

 

[butterfly_koi]

I kept the filter pad in tank water and cleaned the tubes with hot water since they had a brown slime that was coming off when I took the filter off of my tank. I probably screwed up and got rid of my good bacteria huh?

ohhh I see you cleaned the housing, like the covers and such? Most of the BB is in pads itself not the housing. So no I don't think you screwed up by cleaning it.

 

[RussellC]

If I screwed up can someone please tell me how you're suppose to clean the filter for future reference.

It depends on the filter -- but most will come with some kind of instructions on how to maintain them (how often to change carbon, floss pads, etc.).

That said, when it comes to cleaning just about any part of a filter, always do so in water that you've removed from the tank -- though if all you did was clean the tubes and not the filter media, this may not have harmed your bacteria.

As for the tubes, if the 'gunk' was brown, it was likely brown algae (diatoms). These aren't harmful to fish, and are often seen in newly cycling tanks. In many cases they disappear completely on their own once the tank becomes cycled and more mature.

Unless you notice restricted flow through your filter, in my opinion, 'less is more' when it comes to cleaning a filter that is still cycling. The bacteria colonies can be fragile when first forming and the less that is done to upset them the better. Were it me, after couple/few weeks of zero ammonia and nitrite with steadily rising nitrate, I'd then begin to maintain the filter in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations.

Good luck!

 

[dgso1036]

So It's ok to clean the inside of the filter as long as the pad gets cleaned with tank water

 

[RussellC]

So It's ok to clean the inside of the filter as long as the pad gets cleaned with tank water

No.

Sorry if you got that impression.

Anything regarding the filter should be cleaned in water you've removed from the tank... *especially* the filter media, which is housed inside the filter.

But again, were it me, I'd leave the filter alone as much as I could until the cycle has more fully established itself.

 

[dgso1036]

Got it. Thank you for clearing that up.

 

[jetajockey]

Sorry for not putting that in. I have a 20 gallon that has been running for approximately two months. My stock is 5 mollys, 1 platy, 1 algae eater and 2 catfish. I'm new to this hobby and learned you have to cycle your tank. Of course I learned that after, because I was impatient. I do weekly pwc and vacuum the gravel everytime since I believe I over feed. I've been trying to cut down the amount I'm feeding them. I normally do a 25% pwc everytime and 50% once a month. I also clean the decor once a month. I recently had a bad case of ich and got over that about two weeks ago. I cleaned my filter yesterday.

I would test the water straight out of the tap for ammonia. What did you use to treat the Ich? If it was that blue or green stuff it likely did a number on the biofilter.

Stocking-wise, there are some concerns for long term, depending on what exact species you have in there.

 

[dgso1036]

I checked the tap water and it was 0. I used rid ich when treating. The stock is going to change once I get my 55 gallon tank up and running.