I just did a water test and my ammonia is on 0.5, everything else is zero though. I just changed my filter pads but not all at the same time as i h ave two fluval plus 2 filters so i wouldnt think it was a lack of bacteria. I have a 100 litre (about 25 gallons) tank and i stock 5 bumblee gobies, 5 dwarf puffers, 5 red eye puffers (irrubescos), 2 otos, 1 siamese algae eater, and 2 khuli loaches. So do you guys think that the ammonia is due to my overstocking and if who should i be getting rid of? I do a 50% water change everyweek btw. all help wil be appreciated, thank you
Need Some Help With Ammonia
- Thread starter sharz
- Start date
Curiosity101
Is now at University! :D
How recently did you change your pads? If it was literally a day ago and you haven't had ammonia problems before then I wouldn't worry about it too much.
However your tank does look a bit overstocked at first glance, but not just that, it doesn't look very compatible...
I'm not sure though, I don't have enough time to properly check.
However your tank does look a bit overstocked at first glance, but not just that, it doesn't look very compatible...
I'm not sure though, I don't have enough time to properly check.
I changed all the pads in one of the filters two weeks ago, and the other one last week. However i did clean them both last night and do a 50% water change.. so do you think it could be down to that? Im hoping its not because im overstocked or feed them to much.. i feed them half a cube of blood worms everyday. If it is then im gonna have to think about gettin rid of a few fish 
Why do you change the pads? You can keep them for years, until they are literally falling apart. If you changed all the pads in one filter, that filter was then like new, all your good bacteria in the bin on the old pads 
2 weeks wouldn't have been long enough for the bacteria to recolonise.
Keep doing the water changes required to keep ammonia below 0.25 and don't change the pads again. (filter floss needs changing regularly if you use it, but it doesn't hold many bacteria
)
2 weeks wouldn't have been long enough for the bacteria to recolonise.Keep doing the water changes required to keep ammonia below 0.25 and don't change the pads again. (filter floss needs changing regularly if you use it, but it doesn't hold many bacteria
)
spectrum
Fish Crazy
I don't change anything at all in my filter, just rinse the sponges/pads in tank water and the filter floss under the cold tap. The only thing that will need changing is activated carbon, which only lasts about a week, but you don't need that anyway.
Are you guys serious? Ever since i started keeping fish i was told that the pads needs changin every 2 months, so i have always been doin this.. Maybe this is the problem. Whats filter floss pads? Is it the pads that you can add in as an extra to pick up very fine particles (polish the water)? Thank you very much for the replies btw!
Hi sharz
They are absolutely right. There is no need to ever change your filter media unless it is falling apart. Only clean them when they are dirty enough that you are concerned that the flow of water through them is, or is going to be, impaired. Then, simply rinse them out in tank water that you have removed during a regular water change.
It sounds like you have a cycling problem going on here. While nitrites should be zero, some nitrates should be showing up on the test. I'll move your thread over to the "Your New Freshwater Tank" section where the members who post there can help you sort this out.
They are absolutely right. There is no need to ever change your filter media unless it is falling apart. Only clean them when they are dirty enough that you are concerned that the flow of water through them is, or is going to be, impaired. Then, simply rinse them out in tank water that you have removed during a regular water change.
It sounds like you have a cycling problem going on here. While nitrites should be zero, some nitrates should be showing up on the test. I'll move your thread over to the "Your New Freshwater Tank" section where the members who post there can help you sort this out.
Ye my nitrates are showing up a little bit but i dont want to get rid of that as i have plants, its probably the second colour down on the colour chart. I went to the shop and bought some api stress zhyme which is bacteria so hopefully that will help out, and i wont be changing my filter media for a while now! Do you guys think thats enough to help? And am i really that overstocked?
Just for grins I plugged in your stock into http
/www.aqadvisor.com/AqAdvisor.php and it showed something like 288% stocking and 37% filtration. You have several very aggressive fish (puffers) that could sooner or later turn out real bad. How long have you had the tank stocked like this?
/www.aqadvisor.com/AqAdvisor.php and it showed something like 288% stocking and 37% filtration. You have several very aggressive fish (puffers) that could sooner or later turn out real bad. How long have you had the tank stocked like this?You might want to do some reading on the species you have. As some of those fish mature and get bigger the ammonia problem will become much worse and also they may become more aggressive and could possibly kill everything in the tank. Good luck.
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