High Ammonia Please Help! Sos

[This Old Spouse]

Me either. If it would kill the TSS wouldn't it kill any beneficial bacteria you've established? 

 

[Essjay]

I think there is a bit of confusion on the poster's part. Letting the chlorine in the water "evaporate", yes. Letting the dechlorinator "evaporate", no. I don't even think dechlorinators do evaporate anyway.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

That's kind of what I was thinking...  Misinformation is a big issue though.  Someone could read that, and think its true.  Dechlorinator works IMMEDIATELY, so there is no need to wait.  I'd do the water change and give it a few minutes to settle in... then if you are going to add the Safe Start, do it then.  The dechlorinator has immediate effect on the chlorine in the tap water, and should have no effect on the Safe Start bacteria.

 

[gwd]

No i ment what i said. I might have worded it wrong- sorry

 
Taken from the company:
 
In regards to ammonia products, yes, they kill TSS. Any type, whether a
chloramines remover or detoxifier, etc, anything that says it locks up
ammonia or removes ammonia. Do not add TSS for 24 hours after using
such a product, and do not add such a product for at least 7 days after
using TSS. The bacteria is housed in a special stabilized solution of
ammonia, so if you remove/lock up the ammonia, you remove all of the
food the bacteria require to live.

If you already have fish, and are having an ammonia issue, it is best to
get the ammonia levels down to below 4.0. 4.0 and higher is just as
toxic to TSS as it is to fish. While 2.0 -3.5 PPM ammonia may harm some
of the TSS bacteria, it should still have some effect. You may want to
do a second dose several days after adding the first one, if you are not
seeing the results you want. Keep in mind, these are bacteria, not a
chemical, so results are slow to see. Give the product at least 5-7
days.
 
 
Here is the link for the whole Q&A for the product.
http/www.fishlore.com/fishforum/aquarium-nitrogen-cycle/58116-q-tetra-tetra-safestart.html

 

[Essjay]

It was the phrase 'let the dechlorinator evap' that had me confused as I don't think the chemicals in the dechlorinator do evaporate, but letting the water stand is one way of removing chlorine (not chloramine) as that does evaporate.
 
So what they are objecting to is the ammonia remover/detoxifier part not the part that removes chlorine or heavy metals. In that case, when doing a fishless cycle with safe start the obvious thing to do is choose a dechlorinator that doesn't detoxify ammonia. There are some around, I use one as I have chlorine in my tapwater rather than chloramine. (I do check a bucket of dechlorinated water every so often to see if the water company has changed over to chloramine, and never seen a trace of ammonia.)
And it's an even bigger arguement for not doing a fish-in cycle with safe start.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Thanks gwd for sharing this information.  That is news to me.  I hadn't heard that before.  Its a shame that their product can't work with some of the most popular dechlorinators in the hobby.  I honestly wonder how many people who use this product actually know which dechlorinator to use, or how to handle using the wrong one.  I bought Safe Start a few years ago, and I have to tell you, the directions on the bottle never said anything about  dechlorinator being a problem.

 

[gwd]

That is why I wanted to mention the conditioner- It was worded bad, didnt know what other word to use maybe stabilize? I know that not all conditioners have these detoxifiers/ amm remover in them, but I rather be safe than sorry and say all- leting water sit for 24 hrs is not going to hurt.
 
I know alot of the negitive reviews about TSS is due to this and their poor package directions. I believe this stuff does work if used properly and proper directions are followed. (obviously not the ones on the package

 )
 
I also agree essjay fishless cycle is the way to go, but if that is an option. Since they already have the fish I was giving an option for the situation.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Well, SafeStart is starting to gain some credibility with me, after watching what happened to daizeUK's tank when she used Dr. Tim's One and Only.  These products do seem to work, but only with very low concentrations of ammonia, and certainly not over night as they claim.  But, they do seem to be effective as speeding up the process. 

 

[FurFinFeathers]

YAY YAY YAY AMMONIA AT 0!!!!!

  My friend gave me some already cycled water and i've kept up with the 90% changes!!! Hopefully it's like this tomorrow!!! Thanks for all your help guys!!!

 

[FurFinFeathers]

Guys I did it it has finally been at 0 for a long time!!!

  Thanks for all your advice guys here's an internet hug!!!!

 

[attibones]

What are your nitrite readings?