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Kairi

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ok, this tank has been cycled WELL over a year... and i've been having serious issues w/ my mollies overstocking me (quickly, i might add) and have been trying to thin their population out to 1... (not working just yet).

anyways, i tested the water last night, and here's what i found:
ammonia: 2ppm
nitrAtes: 80ppm
nitrItes: 0.25ppm
pH (of tank): 6.0
pH (of tap): it either said 7.0 or 8.5- i couldn't tell.... (weird i know, but it registered on BOTH tests right in the middle)

So- i went and got some ammonia chips for the filter (ammonia chips + carbon) and amquel... can i do both at once? they are getting a water change today- hence me asking before i do all this.
 
I have no experience with ammonia chips, but I would say the best thing to do with an ammonia spike is regular water changes (i.e daily @ about 25%) until its back down. Then again when you see the NitrIte spike. Carbon won't help with the ammonia.

Good Luck with 'culling' the mollies. We had the same problem with Guppies - it was a nightmare!
 
i'm not culling them- though the thought had crossed my mind- i'm giving to an LFS in town. he's very nice about taking 80 every other week :) i am hoping the next i take some in i will be left w/ only juvi's and fry. it will make me very happy.

as for the spikes in ammonia and nitrites- it's a fully cycled tank- or USED to be. why's it doing this again?
 
Don't go adding useless chemicals to your setup - no point - as the guy above says, nowt better than simple water changes, agree 100%

So why the spike?

Have you:
Changed the filter media lately?
Turned the filter off for any length of time?
Ammonia appeared in the tap water (test it)?
Forgot to add dechlor during a water change?
Changed the stocking levels?
Temperature or pH crash?

Andy
 
the pH of the tank is drastically lower than the tap water (although i am not sure why- or how)..... and the stocking has stayed pretty much the same- although i have given about 80 mollies away. but that wouldn't cause an ammonia spike.
 
High ammonia reading can alter ph.
I agree water changes only, and reduce stocking of the tank.
Be careful not to do a large water change if the ph is different from the tap at the moment.
 
Adding chemicals only treats the current problem, it doesnt fix the cause.
 
well once i can am able to offload the rest of my mollies- there won't be a cause anymore.

so the pH might be a result of the ammonia- by why did i have such a huge spike all of the sudden? it's not like i added the zillion mollies in there- they have gradually just shown up (and i haven't been getting rid of them til this week)
 
How many gallons is the tank.
How many fish are in the tank.
 
75 gallon
way too many fish. (3 rasboras, 5 neon tetras, 4 pristella tetras, 4 buenas aires tetras, 1 pleco- 10 inches, and waaaaaaaaay too many mollies)
 
Possible scenario:

Your stocking levels have grown past the ability of your filter, this has caused too much ammonia, this in turn causes pH crash and then this causes a filter crash and your tank starts to cycle again....

Wonder what others think? Bio-chemistry of filters & related readings is way beyond me.

Andy
 

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