Ammonia Issues

[AshP1986]

Hello again,
Lately I have been having a lot of trouble lowering my ammonia. According to my test results(api master kit) My ammonia is about .15(guesstimate based on it not being quite yellow but not exactly lime green). So today I tested the water again... The tanks both show a slight, .15, elevation of ammonia. So I tested the tap water I use, and it looks EXACTLY the same. So this got me thinking... is something wrong with my test kit? Well I just happened to have an unopened bottle of water(ice mountain natural spring water), so I tested it and its levels are exactly the same!

Any ideas?

 

[KittyKat]

It can be a bit difficult to tell the colour when one does not have a reference to work from (and the colour swatches are not the best way to represent the colours), so I will normally test some water which I know is 100% ammonia free (for example, deionised water) and compare to the tank water sample.

 

[AshP1986]

Would the bottle of water then count as my control? and then since they are all the same I am to conclude that my water has 0ppm ammonia?

 

[Prime Ordeal]

There would be no issue with the test seeing the same ammonia in the tank and tap water but I doubt that the mountain spring water gas 0.25ppm ammonia in it. I've known both the ammonia and nitrite API tests to read high (and that's aside from the dodgy, is it green or isn't it conundrum on the ammonia test). All I would conclude here is that you potentially have a dodgy ammonia test kit and I would take a sample to the LFS to have a second opinion.

 

[AshP1986]

There would be no issue with the test seeing the same ammonia in the tank and tap water but I doubt that the mountain spring water gas 0.25ppm ammonia in it. I've known both the ammonia and nitrite API tests to read high (and that's aside from the dodgy, is it green or isn't it conundrum on the ammonia test). All I would conclude here is that you potentially have a dodgy ammonia test kit and I would take a sample to the LFS to have a second opinion.

Thanks Prime thats what I was thinking. They are also going to test for salt so I know how much I have in there.

 

[Prime Ordeal]

They are also going to test for salt so I know how much I have in there.

Is there any particular reason you have salt in the water, this is a freshwater aquarium after all and should normally be salt free? The dwarf frog in particular won't tolerate much salt.

 

[AshP1986]

The salt is for the guppies to prevent illness and for the "fw" flounder... I need to change my signiture the frog died last week... idk what I was thinking having him in salt water.

What would be a good algae eater, assuming I take out ALL of the salt?

 

[Prime Ordeal]

Oh yes, I was involved in that! I answer so many posts I forget.

Well good algae eaters are otos, siamese algae eaters and bulldog plecs. Otos are supposed to be in groups but I have three who studiously ignore each other so I'm not convinced. Bulldog plecs are small and more sturdy than the otos but they are plecs and so are poop machines. Your best bet would probably be a siamese algae eater but don't get a chinese algae eater. And, of course, there are shrimps. Probably the best algae eating shrimp is the amano. I have amanos and they are general cleaning machines, very useful to have.

 

[AshP1986]

Shrimp creep me out... I only have a 10 gallon though... do those guys get really big?

 

[Prime Ordeal]

Amano shrimp get to about three or four centimetres and they are totally harmless, to you and the fish. You may find them nibbling on a dead fish but they won't kill one (unless it is in the throws of death). They are true scavengers eating almost anything in the tank. You can happily have three or four in a 10 gallon and they don't produce viable eggs (well if you keep the salt in they might!).

You could get some nerite snails, they eat algae.

 

[AshP1986]

Amano shrimp like salt? Are they available in the states?

I mean... do you SEE this!!! They are FREAKY looking! This picture is making my skin crawl... ugh

Now the Nerite snail... He's AWESOME!

I have some kinds of spiral shell snail...

Do the Nerites multiply rapidly?

 

[KittyKat]

Would the bottle of water then count as my control? and then since they are all the same I am to conclude that my water has 0ppm ammonia?

How do you know that the bottled water really does have 0 ppm ammonia? As Prime Ordeal mentioned, your best bet is to have a second opinion.

The salt is for the guppies to prevent illness […]

I normally advise against using salt in the long term, only as and when it is needed as a medication to cure something.

Otos are supposed to be in groups but I have three who studiously ignore each other so I'm not convinced.

Three is not really a group and active schooling/shoaling is not the only indication that a fish appreciates others of its kind.

Bulldog plecs are small and more sturdy than the otos but they are plecs and so are poop machines.

Bulldog plecos (L402) are not small at 5". For comparison, that's pretty much the same size as the average bristlenose pleco. Did you mean pitbull pleco (Parotocinclus jumbo)? Pitbulls are great for 60*30*30 cm tanks, but I really strongly recommend against putting a bulldog pleco into a tank that small.

Your best bet would probably be a siamese algae eater but don't get a chinese algae eater.

Please, do explain how 6* 6 inch, moderately active, mid-water swimmers are meant to fit into a 10 gallon tank? Crossocheilus oblongus are a stunning, schooling species which does well in larger tanks, but I really don't see how it would work in a 10 gallon (as the other person's signature describes their tank).

 

[AshP1986]

Would the bottle of water then count as my control? and then since they are all the same I am to conclude that my water has 0ppm ammonia?

How do you know that the bottled water really does have 0 ppm ammonia? As Prime Ordeal mentioned, your best bet is to have a second opinion.

The salt is for the guppies to prevent illness […]

I normally advise against using salt in the long term, only as and when it is needed as a medication to cure something.

Otos are supposed to be in groups but I have three who studiously ignore each other so I'm not convinced.

Three is not really a group and active schooling/shoaling is not the only indication that a fish appreciates others of its kind.

Bulldog plecs are small and more sturdy than the otos but they are plecs and so are poop machines.

Bulldog plecos (L402) are not small at 5". For comparison, that's pretty much the same size as the average bristlenose pleco. Did you mean pitbull pleco (Parotocinclus jumbo)? Pitbulls are great for 60*30*30 cm tanks, but I really strongly recommend against putting a bulldog pleco into a tank that small.

Your best bet would probably be a siamese algae eater but don't get a chinese algae eater.

Please, do explain how 6* 6 inch, moderately active, mid-water swimmers are meant to fit into a 10 gallon tank? Crossocheilus oblongus are a stunning, schooling species which does well in larger tanks, but I really don't see how it would work in a 10 gallon (as the other person's signature describes their tank).

Thank you Kitty for your input. What, then, would you recommend for a 10 gallon tank?

 

[KittyKat]

What are your water parameters (hardness, pH, temperature), dimensions of the tank and do you plan to upgrade any time soon? Shrimp or snails are probably the best option, but both would need extra feeding and I would personally prefer to figure out what is causing the algae and work on that over getting an animal specifically for the purpose of algae eating.

Also, what decor do you have? (Can you post a photo?)

 

[AshP1986]

What are your water parameters (hardness, pH, temperature), dimensions of the tank and do you plan to upgrade any time soon? Shrimp or snails are probably the best option, but both would need extra feeding and I would personally prefer to figure out what is causing the algae and work on that over getting an animal specifically for the purpose of algae eating.

Also, what decor do you have? (Can you post a photo?)

Here is the 3 gallon bow front:

Here is the 10 gallon:

Hardness- 8.0
pH- um... this is hardness... so 8.0
temp- 78
ammonia- 0
nitrite- 0
nitrate- 10
I have a standard 10 gallon tank for my adults and a 3 gallon(apx. dimensions 12.9''W x 12.5''H x 6.8''D) for my babies.
I do not plan on upgrading as this is a classroom tank.
I do not have an excess of algae, I just want to round out my 10 gallon tank so that it is not just guppies.I was looking for something to eat the guppy poo. I really like the cory catfish.

I bought 2 the other day but by the time I got them to the school 1 was doing flips and died shortly after and the 2nd one lasted all day and before I left I looked and he had started to do flips and died on the way back to the pet store.