Ammonia At 8Ppm Help

[leanne2389]

Hi I really need help. My tank is completely cloudy and ammonia is spiking at 8ppm. I did a 50% water change 4 days ago. Yesterday I did another 50%-60% change retested 2 hours later and ammonia still at 8.0ppm so I did another water change and this morning its back high again and the water very cloudy. My tank is approx. 800l and its been up and running for around 3 years. I have mainly livebearers some cory's, RCS, 3 ADF's and quite a large common plec (poor advice from LFS) my tank is fairly well planted and before this week my ammonia has always been stable. The only thing ive added differently in the last week is JBL Ferropol fertiliser and my RCS. Any advice would be greatly appreciated as im really worried.  

 

[the_lock_man]

Have you recently changed your brand of dechlorinator?

 

[Lunar Jetman]

And what are you using to test the levels of Ammonia? Is it still in date?

 

[leanne2389]

I have changed my dechlorinator actually could this be causing the problem? I'm using the API kit its definitely still in date and other test nitrite, nitrate etc are coming back normal. The water is very cloudy and all the fish are at the top of the tank

 

[AeonMapa]

I suggest going out and buying SeaChem  Prime and getting it in your tank ASAP! It will protect your fish from ammonia. Till then do daily 50% water changes to keep nitrite levels low. Changing you dechlorinator could have an effect if your new one couldn't handle the chloring levels in your tap water and maybe some of your filter bacteria got killed. I suggest going back to your old brand, or using seachem prime as your primary DC. Also the cloudiness is a good thing as it shows that at least some of the ammonia is being used by bacteria. Best of luck and keep us posted!

 

[the_lock_man]

I have changed my dechlorinator actually could this be causing the problem? I'm using the API kit its definitely still in date and other test nitrite, nitrate etc are coming back normal. The water is very cloudy and all the fish are at the top of the tank

 
Prime, and some other brands of dechlor, can cause false-positive ammonia results on Salicylate test kits, of which the API is one - you need to take the test straight away after having used the dechlor.
 
I suspect that you don't actually have an ammonia problem. I suggest (and I've never suggested this before!!) that you get a pack of paper test strips, just ensure that the pack you get includes an ammonia test (some don't, bizarrely), and use one - a brand new pack *should* be accurate enough to show whether you have 8ppm or not.
 
 

I suggest going out and buying SeaChem  Prime and getting it in your tank ASAP! It will protect your fish from ammonia. Till then do daily 50% water changes to keep nitrite levels low. Changing you dechlorinator could have an effect if your new one couldn't handle the chloring levels in your tap water and maybe some of your filter bacteria got killed. I suggest going back to your old brand, or using seachem prime as your primary DC. Also the cloudiness is a good thing as it shows that at least some of the ammonia is being used by bacteria. Best of luck and keep us posted!

 
Hmmm, yeah, kinda. Leanne needs to check whether the new dechlor also deals with chloramine, and to know whether her local water company uses this to treat the tapwater, rather than chlorine. This may be an issue, in  that if the new dechlor doesn't treat chloramine, then it may have been causing damage to the bacteria, but this wouldn't have been an instantaneous thing, it would have taken a few weeks to lead to readings of 8ppm.

 

[WILDER]

How many years does it take for a tank to go get to old tank syndrome. Just a thought?

 

[the_lock_man]

Hmmm, maybe - but it's ammonia that's the issue here, not nitrate.

 

[WILDER]

Ok. Thanks.

 

[leanne2389]

Thanks guys I did do an ammonia test immediately after and got the 8ppm reading then so I think it makes sense that its the dechlorinator. My concern though is that all the fish are swimming at the surface what could be causing this if the ammonia reading is a false high?

 

[WILDER]

Are they gasping?
Water change and increase aeration.

 

[the_lock_man]

My concern though is that all the fish are swimming at the surface what could be causing this if the ammonia reading is a false high?

 
Fair point.
 
Does your dechlorinator say that it deals with chloramine as well as chlorine? What brand is it?

 

[leanne2389]

No not gasping just swimming at the surface. The dechlorinator is aquarian and it states it deals with chlorine, chloramine and ammonia

 

[the_lock_man]

So, you're definitely sure you used the right dose of dechlor? You didn't confuse litres with gallons?
 
And you haven't just changed filters?

 

[WILDER]

I would also take a test of your tap water for ammonia.