1Ppm Ammonia In Aged Tank

[gregswimm]

I have a 29 us gal that i just planted last wk. I also added 6 black phantom tetras friday and started feeding the fish brine shrimp. The stock is 2 kribs and 6 phantoms. My filtraion is 2 tetra whisper ex 20s. I noticed a few dead leaves on my B. Pennywort, but I removed them. I also don't see any plants rotting, everything looks to be in tip top shape. I feed the fish 1/8th of a brine shrimp cube and another 1/8th of a baby brine shrimp cube. I checked my ammonia (test kit is for NH3/NH4+) yesterday and it was at ~.25PPM today it is at 1PPM. Should I stop feeding whole foods until the ammonia goes away? What else can I do? And is this a 'mini cycle'?

 

[Prime Ordeal]

When you disturb the substrate for planting you also disturb a lot of organics which in turn will be converted to ammonia. You really need to give your substrate and probably your filter a good clean out to remove the muck that will have accumulated there. Also the addition of more fish will cause a temporary mini cycle. You're seeing the combination of both effects. Stop feeding for a few days and then feed every other day.

I'm assuming that you've done nothing else which might directly affect your filter and that you're not overstocked. What else do you have in the tank, is it just the kribs and phantoms?

 

[gregswimm]

I'm assuming that you've done nothing else which might directly affect your filter and that you're not overstocked. What else do you have in the tank, is it just the kribs and phantoms?

Yes, I just have the kribs and phantoms.

I tested again this morning and it's going back down. between .5 and .25 on my test. So I guess the tank is adjusting.