Cameronb_01
Fish Fanatic
Hi Guys,
Two days ago, (almost exactly three years into the lifetime of my planted discus tank), I finally resolved to get rid of my horribly coloured and tacky, (as well as completely waste saturated), substrate and replace it with some new quality stuff which I'd had my eye on for quite a while to give the tank a bit of a makeover: ADA Aqua Soil Amazonia. My process in performing this exchange thus far is set out below:
16/11/2017 [00:00] - Drained 100L of water from the tank into a 125L bucket.
16/11/2017 [00:17] - Installed a spare external filter/heating unit for the 100L of water in the bucket.
16/11/2017 [00:24] - Transfered the 10 Discus from the tank to the 100L of water in the bucket.
16/11/2017 [00:39] - Turned off/removed from water all the apparatus associated with the tank, (filter/air-pump etc.)
16/11/2017 [00:45] - Drained from the tank another 100L of water into a separate 125L bucket.
16/11/2017 [01:02] - Emptied the remaining 250L or so of water from the tank and discarded it.
16/11/2017 [01:41] - Removed from the tank all of the old gravel substrate and cleaned the glass thoroughly.
1611/2017 [02:09] - Added 12L of ADA Power Sand, (Size L)
16/11/2017 [02:18] - Added 36L of ADA Aqua Soil Amazonia
16/11/2017 [02:46] - Added 9L of ADA Aqua Soil Powder Amazonia as final layer
16/11/2017 [02:53] - Started filling the tank up with water straight from RO filter, (very slow).
16/11/2017 [15:59] - Tank contained approximately 180L of 100% RO water.
16/11/2017 [16:02] - Decanted the 100L of old tank water, (from the bucket not containing fish), back into the tank.
16/11/2017 [16:13] - Resumed filtration, heating and aeration in the tank.
17/11/2017 [04:04] - The tank was 100% full of water!
17/11/2017 [04:06] - Added 60ml AmmoLock: https://www.apifishcare.com/product.php?id=654#.WhFxQ0pl-Uk
19/11/2017 [08:01] - Added 60ml of Api AmmoLock for the second time and tested my water for NH3 & NO3.
RESULTS: Ammonia readings were off the charts high (>6ppm), nitrates were completely fine, (around 7ppm).
19/11/2017 [12:00] - I began composing the post you are now reading.
API Ammo-Lock claims on the bottle that it "works instantly"; adding that "AMMO-LOCK does not remove ammonia; it converts it to a non-toxic form. After using AMMO-LOCK, your aquarium water will still test positive for ammonia even though it is in a non toxic form which will be removed by the biological filter."
Essentially my question is: does this mean that I can be confident of returning my 10 discus fish to the tank without the chance of their suffering adverse effects from ammonia poisoning? (Assuming I continue to dose AmmoLock as instructed every-other-day?)
Any responses would be much appreciated as I am all too aware of how fragile and sensitive a species Discus are and keeping them as they are now can definitely not be more than a short term solution.
Thanks again.
Best wishes,
Cameron
Two days ago, (almost exactly three years into the lifetime of my planted discus tank), I finally resolved to get rid of my horribly coloured and tacky, (as well as completely waste saturated), substrate and replace it with some new quality stuff which I'd had my eye on for quite a while to give the tank a bit of a makeover: ADA Aqua Soil Amazonia. My process in performing this exchange thus far is set out below:
16/11/2017 [00:00] - Drained 100L of water from the tank into a 125L bucket.
16/11/2017 [00:17] - Installed a spare external filter/heating unit for the 100L of water in the bucket.
16/11/2017 [00:24] - Transfered the 10 Discus from the tank to the 100L of water in the bucket.
16/11/2017 [00:39] - Turned off/removed from water all the apparatus associated with the tank, (filter/air-pump etc.)
16/11/2017 [00:45] - Drained from the tank another 100L of water into a separate 125L bucket.
16/11/2017 [01:02] - Emptied the remaining 250L or so of water from the tank and discarded it.
16/11/2017 [01:41] - Removed from the tank all of the old gravel substrate and cleaned the glass thoroughly.
1611/2017 [02:09] - Added 12L of ADA Power Sand, (Size L)
16/11/2017 [02:18] - Added 36L of ADA Aqua Soil Amazonia
16/11/2017 [02:46] - Added 9L of ADA Aqua Soil Powder Amazonia as final layer
16/11/2017 [02:53] - Started filling the tank up with water straight from RO filter, (very slow).
16/11/2017 [15:59] - Tank contained approximately 180L of 100% RO water.
16/11/2017 [16:02] - Decanted the 100L of old tank water, (from the bucket not containing fish), back into the tank.
16/11/2017 [16:13] - Resumed filtration, heating and aeration in the tank.
17/11/2017 [04:04] - The tank was 100% full of water!
17/11/2017 [04:06] - Added 60ml AmmoLock: https://www.apifishcare.com/product.php?id=654#.WhFxQ0pl-Uk
19/11/2017 [08:01] - Added 60ml of Api AmmoLock for the second time and tested my water for NH3 & NO3.
RESULTS: Ammonia readings were off the charts high (>6ppm), nitrates were completely fine, (around 7ppm).
19/11/2017 [12:00] - I began composing the post you are now reading.
API Ammo-Lock claims on the bottle that it "works instantly"; adding that "AMMO-LOCK does not remove ammonia; it converts it to a non-toxic form. After using AMMO-LOCK, your aquarium water will still test positive for ammonia even though it is in a non toxic form which will be removed by the biological filter."
Essentially my question is: does this mean that I can be confident of returning my 10 discus fish to the tank without the chance of their suffering adverse effects from ammonia poisoning? (Assuming I continue to dose AmmoLock as instructed every-other-day?)
Any responses would be much appreciated as I am all too aware of how fragile and sensitive a species Discus are and keeping them as they are now can definitely not be more than a short term solution.
Thanks again.
Best wishes,
Cameron