Help Ammonia Problem Again

[bubba]

ad my tank set up for at least 5 months?
anyway i had ammonia when i first cycled it for a month

then it was ok

Now its light green about 0.25 id say
I did half water change and added stress coat I wont feed them tomorrow (that will nearly kill me) and keep changing the water till its better

What i want to know is why if the test kitt says its light green all my fish are happy and the plants are doing well?

I tested my other tanks they all came out with a yellow reading
I lost my chart you check on but its light green i used small one on side of box

I have 55 litre tank
12 platy
12 guppies
ten neons and 5 cat fish

I have 2 small aqua one filters going, good substrate etc
Clean once a week

Could it be from washing out the filters in the tank water once a week?

I have really cut down feeding to 2 small feeds a day
just a few pinches and bottom pellets for cat fish

Any imput glady received

Merry christmas

 

[doresy]

ad my tank set up for at least 5 months?
anyway i had ammonia when i first cycled it for a month

then it was ok

Now its light green about 0.25 id say
I did half water change and added stress coat I wont feed them tomorrow (that will nearly kill me) and keep changing the water till its better

What i want to know is why if the test kitt says its light green all my fish are happy and the plants are doing well?

I tested my other tanks they all came out with a yellow reading
I lost my chart you check on but its light green i used small one on side of box

I have 55 litre tank
12 platy
12 guppies
ten neons and 5 cat fish

I have 2 small aqua one filters going, good substrate etc
Clean once a week

Could it be from washing out the filters in the tank water once a week?

I have really cut down feeding to 2 small feeds a day
just a few pinches and bottom pellets for cat fish

Any imput glady received

Merry christmas

That's quite a stocking level. As you have 2 filters then try just cleaning the media in one of them at water change time, then do the other one next time then so on. You are correct in using old tank water but be gentle with the cleaning, remember you are only preventing them from clogging not making them sterile!

 

[bubba]

thanks i will do one a week till i get a better filter


its light green or yellow now so not so bad
i wont feed today wa

 

[kim03333]

i don't know about the colours, but as you've had that tank for several months, the ammonia should be zero - the fact that it's not probably indicates your current filter cannot cope with your stocking. if this is the case water changes can only help for a certain time, after which the ammonia levels will creep back up again. i would defo get a better filter. what is the nitrite level? i think you will probably have some detectable level of nitrite as well.

don't bother with stress coat, it's generally considered as a waste of money and doesn't really affect anything. you don't have to feed as much as twice a day, you could cut back more than that if you needed to. good idea suggested to alternate the cleaning of the filters. however, it is worrying that your cleaning the filters as often as once a week. i may be wrong, but i do water changes once a week but only need to clean the filter about once a month (it has clogging indicator to tell me). if your filters are needing to be cleaned once a week it's probably another sign that they are insufficient to cope with the load.

 

[bubba]

Kim hi i think i do need a good filter my two are only the smallest aqua ones you can get

What do you suggest thats reasonable thanks

I have an elithim in my turtle tank that does a great job but they are rather big the tank is curved glass i want something slim line

 

[electric yellow]

I dont know about the stocking to space ratio...55Ltr tank is a bit small for that amount of stock in my opinion. What sort of catfish do you have? You really should go for either an efficient internal filter or an external one. I do a weekly 30% water change in all my tanks. I never clean the filter the same time i do a water change. This would kill all bacteria. I clean my filter one every few months unless it is really dirty. Do you do a gravel vac when you change your water? Feeding should really only be done once every two days. Or if you need to feed them every day feed them once a day but not as much. How often do you change your water? I would say your fitration isnt coping with the stock. I have had both guppys and platys and have only kept them in a 3ft.

Can you possibly post a photo of your tank?