Ammonia Level

[dazza2123]

I have had my tank tested.

Ammonia is through the roof apparantly!!

I had my tap water tested & is quite high in ammonia

I got this tested at my LFS.

They told me to put a product call Bacterlife in.

I have been told to put a cap full every day, not feed the fish and get the water tested next week.

Will this work,

I have been advised not to change the water as my anmmonia is high anyway.

I have listened to advice from the other post and am very appreciative of you expert knowlege as i just want to keep fish in a health and good environment.

Thanks Again

Dazza

 

[twistedlink]

Hmm, high ammonia in tap water, strange.

Im relatively new to this but water changes are required every week as nitrates build up and do eventually get dangerous in very high levels, but ammonia is more poisonous.

I would assume the simple solution is to simply purchase ammo-lock and put that in the water changed water.

This turns dangerous ammonia into ammonium and it also allows it to be converted to nitrite still, fullfilling the nitrogen cycle.

Alway change the water every week, and use ammo-lock personally.

Or find a different water source.

 

[Colin_T]

reducing the food going into the tank will mean there is less ammonia produced in the water.
The bacterlife might help get the filter bacteria going a bit faster.

Any idea how high the ammonia level was in the tank and the tap water? If it is above 5ppm you need to lower it. A water change is normally recommended for this but if there is ammonia in the tap water then it won't make much difference.

How long has the tank been set up for? In a new tank the filter bacteria will develop in a few weeks and convert the ammonia into nitrite and then nitrate.
If the tank has been running for more than a month then something has upset the filters. The most common cause is washing the filters out under tap water, followed by using certain medications in the tank. Depending on how much damage was done to the filters it could take a few days to a month before they recover.

Try to increase surface turbulence to maximise the oxygen levels in the water. An airpump will do a good job as will having the outlet of power filters aimed at or above the water surface.

 

[OldMan47]

I can sypathize with ammonia in tap water. Mine comes out at about 1 ppm so I keep my water changes small but frequent. If I add 15% tap water to my tank I get about 0.2 ppm because it is diluted with the old water. A few hours later it tests at zero because I have cycled tanks that can deal with the ammonia. I never change more than 20% at a time because then I would be adding water that was toxic to my fish. Because it only takes a few hours to remove my ammonia from the tap, I can do 20% changes several times in the same day if I need to for other reasons.
If you don't have any fish yet, finish cycling before you get any. That way your fish will never need to see high ammonia levels. By keeping your PWCs small, the ammonia in your tap water will never be a problem.

 

[Colin_T]

if you want to remove ammonia from tap water you can filter it out with Ammogon. This is a white granulated susbtance that absorbs ammonia from fresh water. Once the ammonia has been absorbed the water can be used in the fish tank, and the Ammogon can be recharged in salt water.

You can use it in fish tanks as a temporary measure but it does interfer with the development of the beneficial filter bacteria if used for any length of time.

 

[Essjay]

dazza, are you sure about your tapwater? I live less than 5 miles away (Yarm) and I have zero ammonia out of the tap. I just tested it after reading your post, using an API liquid test kit. The mains must be from the source being so close.

Is there anything that could cause a localised increase in ammonia? Something that wouldn't affect somewhere else so close?

 

[dazza2123]

dazza, are you sure about your tapwater? I live less than 5 miles away (Yarm) and I have zero ammonia out of the tap. I just tested it after reading your post, using an API liquid test kit. The mains must be from the source being so close.

Is there anything that could cause a localised increase in ammonia? Something that wouldn't affect somewhere else so close?

I got the tap water tested & the tank!

The LFS sold me some bacterlife and said if i put a capfull a day in then it should be ok??

Got the water retested & the tap water is ok just slightly low PH

Think my G/F got it wrong when getting the water tested. The water she got was the tank water Whent eh fish were dying & on the bottom. The other was when they were fine..

Sry for the mistake

ESSJAY

Your from yarm where do u get your fish and stuff from.

Thanks

You know anywhere thats open after 6 lol cos i work in Hartlepool & takes me till about then to home??

 

[Essjay]

The only place I know of that is open after 6 is Pets at Home in Teeside Park, but I wouldn't get fish from there. There's not much choice there anyway. Non-live stuff is OK.
Any chance of you getting to a shop in Hartlepool, there are a few in Yellow pages? If you could browse at lunch time for example, then you could decide what you want back at work so you could be straight in and out to buy if you could make it back before closing time.