Ammonia Problem New Filter

[jwhighdown]

Hi

I have had my 125L tank now for 7 weeks and had fish in it for 4 weeks with currenty 5 plattys, 11 baby platys (ranging from 4 weeks to one day old) 1 golden apple snail and 3 corys which i added a few days ago.

The tank came with a fluval internal filter. I use sand, live plants and a peice of Mopani wood.

A week ago i got a tetratec EX1200 and am running both in my tank to allow it to become established but have had a rise in ammonia to 0.50 or could be 0.25 (hard to tell) i have done a 25% water change 2 days ago and ammonia is still 0.50 and plan to do a 50% water change today is this the right thing to do?

All my other levels are fine ph 7.6 nitrate 5.0 nitrite 0 i use a API freshwater master kit.

Cheers John

 

[rabbut]

OK, yes waterchanges are the best course of action. You need to do waterchanges that are large enough to keep ammonia and nitrite below 0.25ppm at all times (assuming they are both zero from the tap?)

Keeping levels low is one thing, but you also need to know why the levels are up in the first place. Is the Fluval an established filter? When and how did you last clean it? How did you transfer the filter to the tank from the one it was established in? Also, how was the tank cycled, by cloning alone or a seed with a mature filter with a fishless cycle? If the Fluval is also fairly new, how long has it been running?

All the best
Rabbut

 

[jwhighdown]

OK, yes waterchanges are the best course of action. You need to do waterchanges that are large enough to keep ammonia and nitrite below 0.25ppm at all times (assuming they are both zero from the tap?)

Keeping levels low is one thing, but you also need to know why the levels are up in the first place. Is the Fluval an established filter? When and how did you last clean it? How did you transfer the filter to the tank from the one it was established in? Also, how was the tank cycled, by cloning alone or a seed with a mature filter with a fishless cycle? If the Fluval is also fairly new, how long has it been running?

All the best
Rabbut

Yes the fluval is an established filter i cleaned it on the 1st, there is no transfer mate this is all in one tank the tetratec filter is bran new running alone side the established fluval filter.
The tank was cycled by way of a fishless cycle with sand, rocks from a already established mates tank and with crap queezed from his filter into my fluval (which i have done to my tetratec now) Fluval filter has been running for 7 weeks.

Cheers
John

 

[rabbut]

Just to be clear, 7 weeks from new or 7 weeks from cycling completion? I assume fish were added after cycling with ammonia? If so, how long did it take to this point?

New bacterial colonies can be very flaky, often only needing a light clean in the first few weeks after a cycle completion to send them into a mini-cycle, and this is what I would assume at this point is going on. For the time being I'd treat it as being a tank that is being fish-in cycled and apply daily waterchnges to keep your ammonia and nitrite levels low. There isn't realy anything else you can do to help it unless you are prepaired to splash out on Bactinnettes (if available to you?) or to ask your friend/other member on here to donate some more mature media to you.

Bactinnettes is widely considered one of the few "bacteria in the bottle" products that acctually work, though with raiable success rates. Though it has a good chance of helping, it is not a method garrenteed to help. Mature filter media is much more likely to work if handled correctly

HTH
Rabbut

 

[jwhighdown]

Just to be clear, 7 weeks from new or 7 weeks from cycling completion? I assume fish were added after cycling with ammonia? If so, how long did it take to this point?

New bacterial colonies can be very flaky, often only needing a light clean in the first few weeks after a cycle completion to send them into a mini-cycle, and this is what I would assume at this point is going on. For the time being I'd treat it as being a tank that is being fish-in cycled and apply daily waterchnges to keep your ammonia and nitrite levels low. There isn't realy anything else you can do to help it unless you are prepaired to splash out on Bactinnettes (if available to you?) or to ask your friend/other member on here to donate some more mature media to you.

Bactinnettes is widely considered one of the few "bacteria in the bottle" products that acctually work, though with raiable success rates. Though it has a good chance of helping, it is not a method garrenteed to help. Mature filter media is much more likely to work if handled correctly

HTH
Rabbut

7 weeks from new, no the tank was not cycled with ammonia, the tank was running for 3 weeks before adding the platys.
The tank was cycled in 2 weeks but i waited a week to be sure it was cycled then did a large water change and has been fine since then with gd test readings.
I am 99% sure its my new filter causing the rise in ammonia level as you said a mini cycle.
How much more are these Bactinnettes and can you get them from my LFS?

Cheers
John

 

[pauly]

Sounds like you didn't cycle your tank properly. It's ok putting 'crap' from your mate's filter in, but the bacteria on it needs Ammonia to stay alive. Therefore if you simply left it for two weeks, it could have died and you may not have cycled at all.

Keep up the water changes, and cut right down on feeding. Bactinettes could help, they cost about £5 a tub, you'll need a couple. They're not widely available and only one store near me stocks them, and even they hardly ever have them in. Get some mature media off your mate. Test your tap water for Nitrate levels.

Pauly.

 

[jwhighdown]

Sounds like you didn't cycle your tank properly. It's ok putting 'crap' from your mate's filter in, but the bacteria on it needs Ammonia to stay alive. Therefore if you simply left it for two weeks, it could have died and you may not have cycled at all.

Keep up the water changes, and cut right down on feeding. Bactinettes could help, they cost about £5 a tub, you'll need a couple. They're not widely available and only one store near me stocks them, and even they hardly ever have them in. Get some mature media off your mate. Test your tap water for Nitrate levels.

Pauly.

But for 4 weeks now ive had 0 ammonia 0 nitrite surely that means it was cycled until i put my new filter in?

 

[rabbut]

The new filter is seporate to the old one, and won't caurse a mini-cycle, so this isn't your problem The new filter will eventually take over from the old, but only after 4 weeks once the new filter has had some bacteria transfered to it When it does eventualy take over, it won't caurse the spike, it will out-compete the other filter by being more efficient, hence it will starve the other filters bacteria by esentially eating all their food I should clarify that the old filter will still contain some bacteria, but it will be very little compaired to the new one

As said, bactinettes costs about £5 and is often hard to find. Call a few LFS's in your area and ask if they stock it. If they do, ask how it is stored and transported to them. If it is left un-refrigerated at any point, don't bother with it. If it stays refregerated at all times, then it's worth trying, though it may not work first time. This product can be temeramental. Even a small rise in temperature can wreck it, so it is crucial that you keep it cool while transporting it home Mature media is more reliable and cheaper, so IMO if that is available, go for that Some members on here donate, so open a new thread stating your general location, asking for mature media. Members need only know the city you live in, and a willing member will contact you privately to arrange to meet somewhere public to give you the media

I suspect that perhapse over zelous cleaning of the Fluval and the fact that the filter's bacteria colonie is still fairly new have combined to caurse the spike. Unless, that is, the filter media has come near none-conditioned tap water at any point? A mature filter can be cleaned as igorusly as you like, but one that is less than say 3 months old will be prone to colonie damage after intensive cleans. Swish a new filter's media only, don't squeze it, at least not too hard

I'll try to check back to this thread tonight again, but I go away tomorrow and hence will be missing probibly untill long after you get this fixed

HTH
Rabbut