Ammonia/test Kit Question

[Sumo2000]

Hi all, I'm dealing with the common newbie issue of getting fish only a week after setting up my tank. 29 gallon tank and I have had 8 small Tiger Barbs in it for a couple weeks now.

The fish are all active and seem fine but my ammonia keeps reading high, like 1.0 minimum. I'm using an API master freshwater test kit, doing daily 30-40% water changes in an effort to bring it down but I can't get it below 1.0. I took some water to Petsmart and they tested it with strips and the ammonia has read about .2-.3 a few times there. I had also put some API Ammo-Lock in the tank but that was about 6-7 water changes ago.

I thought that maybe the kit was expired so I took it back and exchanged it but still get the same readings:

Ammonia 1.0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 0
PH 7.2

I can't think of what else to do. I'd like to get maybe a Kribensis or similar milder cichlid (any advice here is welcome) but not until I get the tank stable.

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to the forum Sumo. The API kit has a set of numbers on each bottle. The last 4 digits of the number are the month and year of manufacture. All of the test chemicals have a life of at least 3 years so that will tell you if your kit is out of date. The best answer that I can give you about the ammonia is in multiple parts. First check your tap water for ammonia after you have added the dechlorinator. Some tap water, including mine, will test positive for having ammonia in it. If it tests at say 0.5 ppm, that is the best you will ever get the water using partial water changes. Your target is to get the ammonia under 0.25 ppm and keep it there. Do not hesitate to use very large water changes if they are needed to get the ammonia down. Keep in mind what your limit is, such as having ammonia in the tap water. There is no point in changing more water after the tank and tap values are the same. I would start going to 50% or higher water changes if the tap is lower than your tank and see if that helps. As long as you have a rough temperature match and use a dechlorinator for the new water, you could do a 75% water change without harming the fish.
Something you should definitely keep in mind is to get no new fish until the cycle has finished.

 

[fatheadminnow]

Welcome to TFF!
Do what OldMan47 said, testing your tap water for ammonia. Doing a fish-in cycle is a hard process when it comes to maintaining low levels of ammonia; and also nitrite when you start getting it. Also, I would not add any more chemicals to the tank, like ammo-lock. If you totally remove all the ammonia, there will be none left for your beneficial bacteria to grow, and in conclusion will hinder your cycle. Just keep up on the water changes, and try to get the ammonia below .25 ppm. It took me 7 weeks until my ammonia went to zero, and then started getting nitrite readings. I was a little over stocked which would explain why it took a little longer than usual. You should start seeing nitrites in no more than a couple weeks for sure!

My API test kit is 3 years old and works just fine.

Hope this helps and welcome again to TFF!

-FHM