Has Anyone Ever Heard Of This?

[lilmisshertz]

Hi all.

Has anyone heard of TAP Aquamedia - Aquastart. Its an AMMONIA REMOVING RESIN for use in aquariums and ponds. You put the bag of contents in your filter.
Does anyone have any views on this, Also I've heard it makes your water cloudy? Does that go in time? When do you take the bag out after putting it in?
I'm curious as I bought some for dirt cheap and was just wondering if it was any good or not as I have slight ammonia reading after doing a 25% water change - as advised by LFS.
I will do further water changes if thats the way forward but was wondering whether using this Ammonia removing resin would help also.
Please jot down anything that may be of some use
Any answers appreciated
Thanks all!

 

[scorphonic]

No it wont help in the long run. Think about it. If you have ammonia in your tank it means that your filter is not fully cycled. Your filter MUST be fully cycled in order to maintain the fish load you have in the tank. This will keep your set-up healthy. If you introduce this product to reduce ammonia then you are removing the ammonia which the bacteria requires to live off and consequently they will die off quite quickly. Dont bother using it. You only need to have a filter with bacteria to keep a tank healthy...so focus on getting your filter fully cycled and you will have no problems in the future about ammonia readings.

 

[-germ-]

The only product worth dabbling in IMHO (although contrary to alot of other fishkeepers beliefs) is SeaChem prime....
This'll detoxify your ammonia, doesn't end your cycle although IME slows it a little, helping prevent fishy harm.

 

[lilmisshertz]

No it wont help in the long run. Think about it. If you have ammonia in your tank it means that your filter is not fully cycled. Your filter MUST be fully cycled in order to maintain the fish load you have in the tank. This will keep your set-up healthy. If you introduce this product to reduce ammonia then you are removing the ammonia which the bacteria requires to live off and consequently they will die off quite quickly. Dont bother using it. You only need to have a filter with bacteria to keep a tank healthy...so focus on getting your filter fully cycled and you will have no problems in the future about ammonia readings.

What an honest, and understandable reason not to use it. Thanks for the quick information!!!
My tank has been cycling for 3 1/2 weeks now and I have to say, I added fish this week thinking everything was ok, as I tested my water for PH,NO2,No3,Ammonia etc. And it seemed ok. But to my horror the fish started dying 1 by 1(I had a shoal of tetras as my LFS assured me that they would be ok, as they were quite hardy - I now think otherwise!)
I was puzzled and did numerous tests, comparing my results but was confused as it all read within normal range.
But I glanced at the sell by date and it was 11.10.05!!!! I hurried down to my LFS who said they had had similar complaints and gave me an IN date test kit. I went home and was horried to think I'd added those fish to a tank with ammonia readings! Poor things.... Now I'm just going to do water changes to bring down the ammonia.
Do you think thats the best plan of action?
Thanks again!!

 

[scorphonic]

Well its the best plan of action in keeping the ammonia levels low for your fishs sake but...by removing the ammonia you will slow your cycling process. Your better off sending the fish back to the petstore and continue to fishless cycle the tank and when the cycle is finished you can then get the fish back..

How were you cycling the tank without fish?

 

[rdd1952]

I agree totally with scorphonic. You definitely don't want anything that removes ammonia. What are your actual readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate? The test kit you had may still be fine, depending on what test kit you have. API kits, for instance, have a manufacture date stamped on the bottle and they are generally good for about 3 years from that date. Just do water changes, about 25%, as often as 3 or 4 times a day if necessary to keep the ammonia and nitrite below .25 ppm.

When you say your tank had been cycling for 3.5 weeks, what were you doing to cycle it. If you had only had the tank set up and the filter running prior to adding the fish and not adding ammonia or something to produce ammonia, then you weren't cycling the tank. You were simply moving water. There has to be an ammonia source to cycle as the bacteria need food (ammonia) to develop and multiply.

 

[lilmisshertz]

I agree totally with lilmisshertz. You definitely don't want anything that removes ammonia. What are your actual readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate? The test kit you had may still be fine, depending on what test kit you have. API kits, for instance, have a manufacture date stamped on the bottle and they are generally good for about 3 years from that date. Just do water changes, about 25%, as often as 3 or 4 times a day if necessary to keep the ammonia and nitrite below .25 ppm.

When you say your tank had been cycling for 3.5 weeks, what were you doing to cycle it. If you had only had the tank set up and the filter running prior to adding the fish and not adding ammonia or something to produce ammonia, then you weren't cycling the tank. You were simply moving water. There has to be an ammonia source to cycle as the bacteria need food (ammonia) to develop and multiply.

I was using pure ammonia I had purchased from boots, and not letting it get above 5ppm, (and following the steps explained on this site)everything seemed to be working well and I added soll bactinettes for my filter as advised. But obviously it wasn't cycled, as my test kit was out of date, and had a totally different reading to the new test kit I have!
My ammonia reading was 0.5, Nitrite was between 0 and 0.5(closer to 0) Nitrate was between 0 and 0.5

 

[andywg]

It can't "remove" ammonia unless it binds to it and you then take the resin out. It most likely affects the ammonia/ammonium balance.

If you have ammonia straight after a water change it could be evidence of chloramines in the tap water. Most dechlorinators contain sodium thiosulphate to deal with chlorine. This salt binds with the chlorine part of chloramine, but then leaves some free ammonia in the water. This should swiftly be dealt with by the filter media, but testing immediately after the water change may give you a reading.

Try doing the water change, and then testing about 10 minutes later and see how the ammonia level is.