Oh Dear

[MrG09]

my juwel internal filter on my rio 240 has packed (as in the power head is toast) up and im skint for next two or three weeks my u4 is still running however i have had a spike with my ammonia i am monitoring it and its between 0 and 0.25 using api master test kit and has been for the last 48 hours, im checking twice daily, im havent done any water changes yet but if it gets any higher i will be doing daily 30percent to keep it under that, how long would you say this spike is likely to last or is my filter just not up to the job or is it just while the bacteria already present takes up the slack
i dont mind if i can make do for the next few weeks till i get my new filter (fx5 or ex1200)



any suggestions???

 

[Colin_T]

the filter will need a few days (maybe up to a week) to develop more bacteria to break down all the ammonia. Just reduce the feeding for a week and keep checking the ammonia levels. I wouldn't worry tho because filter bacteria grows pretty quickly and you know about water quality.

 

[MrG09]

well that was faster than i was expectin and im happy, i got 0, 0, 25, 7.8 on ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph well chffed panic averted