Too much ammonia?

[xgillian89x]

I started cycling a tank a while ago and was putting in ammonia daily,, the ammonia peaked then dropped to 0 but still no nitrites or nitrates and the water has went really cloudy and the smell of ammonia from the water is really strong. I haven't added ammonia for 3 weeks and I've done a couple of water changes but the smell and colour of water haven't changed. The ammonia levels have went back up to 4ppm and hasn't changed for weeks. Can anyone advise me what to do? This the first tank I cycled with pure ammonia, the rest I just used fish food and they only took 6 weeks and had no problems. Thanks in advance x

 

[phin]

I started cycling a tank a while ago and was putting in ammonia daily,, the ammonia peaked then dropped to 0 but still no nitrites or nitrates and the water has went really cloudy and the smell of ammonia from the water is really strong. I haven't added ammonia for 3 weeks and I've done a couple of water changes but the smell and colour of water haven't changed. The ammonia levels have went back up to 4ppm and hasn't changed for weeks. Can anyone advise me what to do? This the first tank I cycled with pure ammonia, the rest I just used fish food and they only took 6 weeks and had no problems. Thanks in advance x

This tells me all I need to know. Yes way way way too much ammonia. The amount of ammonia you should have been putting in should have been measured in mL. You have so much ammonia that it killed all your bacteria. At this level your ammonia test is unreliable. If you can smell ammonia coming from your tank THREE WEEKS LATER you really put way too much in.

My advice is to do a 100% waterchange. Don't empty or rinse the gravel, but siphon out all of the water. Then fill the tank, turn the filter on and circulate for 20 minutes. Test your ammonia levels. I bet a dollar to a doughnut that after this you will still have ammonia levels off the chart, which will necessitate another 100% water change. Keep doing this until your ammonia levels are less than 4ppm, then just let it be and it will cycle itself.

Or you could completely empty and rinse the whole tank, filter, substrate and fill until you don't smell ammonia anymore.

On the plus side, your tank is disinfected.

I've cycled all my tanks with Ace ammonia and it takes about a week.

 

[librarygirl]

Probably too much ammonia, yes. I'd advise doing what phin said; keep doing full water changes until ammonia consistently reads 0 and you aren't smelling it anymore (if you're using strips they aren't as accurate as the liquid test). Here's a dosing calculator for when you start again (scroll down to where it says "fishless cycle---ammonia required"): Calculator

@phin: 1 week fishless cycle? Impossible unless you used a ton of seeded media.

 

[phin]

@phin: 1 week fishless cycle? Impossible unless you used a ton of seeded media.

No, you're right. My first ever cycle was fish-in, it took about 3 weeks. since then I've always had seeded media and done fishless cycles with ammonia, those have taken about 4-5 days.

Any mini-cycles I've had have lasted <2 days. I add a couple tbsp of Stability, and the tank is correct by morning.

 

[Mrs.h2012]

No, you're right. My first ever cycle was fish-in, it took about 3 weeks. since then I've always had seeded media and done fishless cycles with ammonia, those have taken about 4-5 days.

Any mini-cycles I've had have lasted <2 days. I add a couple tbsp of Stability, and the tank is correct by morning.

A fish in cycle with only fish and no seeded media to help only taking 3 weeks? I'm sorry but I don't see how that's possible. My fish in took 2 months and I had no seeded media to help only fish.

 

[phin]

A fish in cycle with only fish and no seeded media to help only taking 3 weeks? I'm sorry but I don't see how that's possible. My fish in took 2 months and I had no seeded media to help only fish.

it was an 18 gallon tank. I used a 4" common pleco. I did no water changes. 3 weeks. I had no seeded media, At the time I believe I was using Amquel+ or Novaqua+ to condition the water. I was using a penguin biowheel 150. The pleco survived. I kept him for a few more months before I took him back to the fish store. One night my nitrites were 5ppm. the next day they were 0. Once my bacteria were established they really got to work.

This graph shows about a 30-40 day timeline to complete the cycle http://www.google.com/imgres?q=aqua...w=224&start=0&ndsp=23&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:83

I apologize for my inability to post pictures from my current location.

 

[Mrs.h2012]

it was an 18 gallon tank. I used a 4" common pleco. I did no water changes. 3 weeks. I had no seeded media, At the time I believe I was using Amquel+ or Novaqua+ to condition the water. The pleco survived. I kept him for a few more months before I took him back to the fish store.

You can't safely do a fish in cycle with no water changes, ammonia will get out of hand, especially with a pleco, they have a huge bioload. The fish may have survived but the damage has already been done, ammonia and nitrite levels had to have been through the roof.

 

[phin]

You can't safely do a fish in cycle with no water changes, ammonia will get out of hand, especially with a pleco, they have a huge bioload. The fish may have survived but the damage has already been done, ammonia and nitrite levels had to have been through the roof.

Thanks for your input. But I did it, nothing blew up, my family was never in danger.

I specifically chose a pleco for the huge bioload. I specifically didn't do any water changes to speed the cycle up. I kept the fish for months afterward and he didn't show any signs of damage. In fact, there were no signs of distress during the cycle either, but perhaps I was unaware or didn't notice any that were there.

Either way, thats your opinion. To me, a $4 fish and a 3 week cycle worked just fine.

 

[Mrs.h2012]

Thanks for your input. But I did it, nothing blew up, my family was never in danger.

I specifically chose a pleco for the huge bioload. I specifically didn't do any water changes to speed the cycle up. I kept the fish for months afterward and he didn't show any signs of damage. In fact, there were no signs of distress during the cycle either, but perhaps I was unaware or didn't notice any that were there.

Either way, thats your opinion. To me, a $4 fish and a 3 week cycle worked just fine.

I'm not trying to be mean. Just informing you that any fish in cycle requires water changes; any article you read about a fish in cycle will tell you water changes are a must. Yes it takes time but it's about the health of your fish. High ammonia and nitrite levels are toxic to fish. Nothing will blow up, your family may not have been in danger but you put your fish in danger.

 

[phin]

I'm not trying to be mean. Just informing you that any fish in cycle requires water changes; any article you read about a fish in cycle will tell you water changes are a must. Yes it takes time but it's about the health of your fish. High ammonia and nitrite levels are toxic to fish. Nothing will blow up, your family may not have been in danger but you put your fish in danger.

Sometimes I have a problem taking things too literally. I apologize.

I know I'm in the minority when it comes to this thinking, but plecos are a hardy fish with a huge bioload that can handle the high ammonia levels. Yeah, the pleco had to live in that environment for a few weeks, but my cycle was completed in half the time.

If I was to do a fish-in cycle again I would use a pleco and I would do water changes to keep ammonia levels <2ppm. I would dose my tank daily with Prime (2x standard dose) to detoxify the ammonia. However, since my one, and only, fish-in cycle I have always done fishless cycles.

 

[xgillian89x]

Thanks for ur replies, will do a 100% water change tomorrow. I think I will stick to using fish food next time I'm cycling a tank, never had problems doing it that way lol. Will let u know how I get on x