Ammonia Rising , Ph ,Nitrite And Nitrate All Ok

[smithyif]

anybody help please ? my tank readings this morning are ph :7.8 nitrite:0 nitrate :0 and ammonia 2.4 , thats the reading on my nutrafin test kit , just wondering why oh why the ammonia always seems to creep up and the others stay the same any help gratefully recieved Ian

 

[GrubbyGirl]

anybody help please ? my tank readings this morning are ph :7.8 nitrite:0 nitrate :0 and ammonia 2.4 , thats the reading on my nutrafin test kit , just wondering why oh why the ammonia always seems to creep up and the others stay the same any help gratefully recieved Ian

How big is your tank? How long has it been cycled? What's your stock? What filter are you using? How often do you do water changes and how much?

You say why is it always ammonia" so has this happened a lot before?

 

[smithyif]

anybody help please ? my tank readings this morning are ph :7.8 nitrite:0 nitrate :0 and ammonia 2.4 , thats the reading on my nutrafin test kit , just wondering why oh why the ammonia always seems to creep up and the others stay the same any help gratefully recieved Ian

How big is your tank? How long has it been cycled? What's your stock? What filter are you using? How often do you do water changes and how much?

You say why is it always ammonia" so has this happened a lot before?

hello , tank size 97 litres or 20 gallons approx ,it has been cycled for approx 12 weeks , stocked with about 30 small fish size upto 1 " max , filter is an elite jetflo 100 , i do a water change every couple of days of approx 75% , hope this answers your question

 

[GrubbyGirl]

From the filter you are using and the size of tank I would guess you have an Elite Style 95 set up, yes? I have one for my baby bristlenose plecs.

Although the label on the tank says 95 or 97 litres by the time you add gravel and the filter and the heater and decoration and the fact you don't actually fill completely to the top, you're down to 80 litres or less. With 30 fish I would suggest you are considerably overstocked, especially in an immature tank. What kind of fish are they? Fish like platys and mollies are poop machines so that will also be adding a lot to your bio load. You also need to consider fully grown size, they may only be 1 inch now but most fish grow, for example some of my cardinals are twice the size of others (a year younger)

Also the elite filter is not much good you need to add another especially if you want to stock at that level. I have a fluval 4 plus in mine. You mustn't remove the elite filter until you've cycled a new filter so you should run them side by side. Perosnally I would keep the elite filter and add a fluval u3 and keep 2 filters going permanently, then if one fails you don't have a disaster.

Are you always conditioning the water before you put it in the tank? One mistake at the level of water changes you are doing could completely kill off your good bacteria. I would suggest your tank isn't cycled that's why you're only seeing ammonia, your nitrite spike will come later.

You may not be able to do this but I would suggest you get someone to take your fish and you should recycle your tank, if you can't do that you should seriously consider reducing your stock and keep up with the testing and daily water changes. No level of ammonia is safe so even every other day is not enough.

Are you using liquid tests or sticks? Sticks are very innaccurate.

 

[smithyif]

From the filter you are using and the size of tank I would guess you have an Elite Style 95 set up, yes? I have one for my baby bristlenose plecs.

Although the label on the tank says 95 or 97 litres by the time you add gravel and the filter and the heater and decoration and the fact you don't actually fill completely to the top, you're down to 80 litres or less. With 30 fish I would suggest you are considerably overstocked, especially in an immature tank. What kind of fish are they? Fish like platys and mollies are poop machines so that will also be adding a lot to your bio load. You also need to consider fully grown size, they may only be 1 inch now but most fish grow, for example some of my cardinals are twice the size of others (a year younger)

Also the elite filter is not much good you need to add another especially if you want to stock at that level. I have a fluval 4 plus in mine. You mustn't remove the elite filter until you've cycled a new filter so you should run them side by side. Perosnally I would keep the elite filter and add a fluval u3 and keep 2 filters going permanently, then if one fails you don't have a disaster.

Are you always conditioning the water before you put it in the tank? One mistake at the level of water changes you are doing could completely kill off your good bacteria. I would suggest your tank isn't cycled that's why you're only seeing ammonia, your nitrite spike will come later.

You may not be able to do this but I would suggest you get someone to take your fish and you should recycle your tank, if you can't do that you should seriously consider reducing your stock and keep up with the testing and daily water changes. No level of ammonia is safe so even every other day is not enough.

Are you using liquid tests or sticks? Sticks are very innaccurate.

hello grubbygirl it is an elite 95 set up , the fish i have are tetras , a couple of guppies 3 clown loach and 3 cories , the water i add is always conditioned , i do that everytime i had fresh tap water , im using liquid test kit , i went to the LFS earlier and they said to replce filter/pump with a larger 1(thought they was just trying to sell more items )but as you have advised i will invest in a new filter thankyou

 

[GrubbyGirl]

hello grubbygirl it is an elite 95 set up , the fish i have are tetras , a couple of guppies 3 clown loach and 3 cories , the water i add is always conditioned , i do that everytime i had fresh tap water , im using liquid test kit , i went to the LFS earlier and they said to replce filter/pump with a larger 1(thought they was just trying to sell more items )but as you have advised i will invest in a new filter thankyou

The clown loaches are really not at all suitable for that size tank. They really need 300-400 litres as they can reach over 1 ft long. Rehome the loaches and you should be fine but I think whats happened is you've stocked too much, too quickly. The loaches will get stressed very quickly because even if they are small they are very active and need lots of space. Anyway your loaches are going to really suffer from the ammonia, you may start losing them so better rehome now before they die. Some tetras can be very sensitive also, but the loaches will get ick very quickly and are a nightmare to treat because of their sensitivity to meds.