Sick Of Doing 12 Hourly Water Changes!

[maisy12345]

Hi ,everyone,
I`m doing a fish in cycle[given wrong advice at lfs],but after 2 months i`m still doing 60 percent 12 hourly water changes ,it`s so diheartening, as my ammonia keeps coming out between 0.25-0.50,any ideas?

 

[This Old Spouse]

Are you using Stress Coat or Prime as your dechlorinator? These also remove ammonia. Have you checked the stats on your tap water to see if there's ammonia in it? There are trace amounts in my tap water, so I use Stress Coat and the problem is solved.

Also, which testing kit are you using, and what is the expiration date on it?

 

[mattlee]

prime converts ammonia into ammonium. the tank will still cycle using this, i cycled one of my filters from scratch using prime as a dechlor

 

[This Old Spouse]

Right, but the problem is that the tank doesn't appear to be cycling. I'm wondering if the problem is ammonia in the tap water, in which case the Prime or Stress Coat will help.

 

[BigbruiserAl]

The op does not state in detail about cycling only that ammonia is present, there is thread at the mo about using the API kit showing 0.25 ammonia even in tanks that have cycled for monoths like mine in fact all 3 of my tanks!

 

[This Old Spouse]

Your readings for ammonia and nitrite should be at 0. Even small amounts over long periods are detrimental to fish.

 

[maisy12345]

Thanks everyone ,for your replies,
my tap water is 0.25 ,have just tested it,but after doing a 60 percent water change my tank water still reads 0.25,although normally it does go down to o.I`m using API freshwater master kit,can`t find an expiry date on it,
where would i buy prime or stress coat, as at the moment i`m using API tap water conditioner?
All the others, are tested daily ,nitrites ,nitrates,ph,and are very rarely above 0,or high in ph .Bigbruiseral ,what thread are you talking about,concerning the API kit?

 

[Duz]

Personally, I would leave for a little bit to see if it gets better, if you keep doing water changes every 12hours although the filter won't be getting worse it won't be getting better either. Bacteria on the filter media need time to divide, for 1 bacteria to divide it may take up to 24hours so consently changing the water will slow this down as you are taking some of the ammounia out each time you do a water change. But thats just what I would do, sometimes leaving it is the best thing to do.

So long as you are dechlorinating the water with some kind of solution (I use prime) then it should be ok, otherwise just leave it. Your filter should be able to handle ammonia so long as it has time to develop and get use to the water in the tank.

 

[coldcazzie]

Maisy, if your tap water is 0.25 then you should expect an ammonia reading after a water change.

Are you saying that after a few hours your ammonia drops to 0, and then after a few more hours rises to 0.25-0.5 ish?

 

[This Old Spouse]

The API tap water conditioner doesn't address ammonia, just chlorine. You can get either Stress Coat or Prime online, or at your LFS.

You say just above that your readings go down to 0, but your original post says it's between .25 and .50. Which is it? If you do a 60% w/c and your ammonia still reads .25, that's because you have .25 in your tap water, as you said. But if it starts to climb then there's a problem.

 

[maisy12345]

Hi ,Coldcazzie ,no,most of the time after my water changes the tank water reads 0,in ammonia,and then after a few hours it turns 0.25,unless i`ve fed them then it goes to 0.50,so can`t understand why it`s 0.25 now

 

[maisy12345]

Also my tap water conditioner says that that it breaks the chloramine bond,does this mean it gets rid of ammonia?

 

[This Old Spouse]

No, it doesn't deal with ammonia, just chlorine.

 

[cheeky chappie]

i am preparing to be well & truly shot down in cyber flames when i say what i'm going to say as i know there are 100's of folk on here with much more experience in fishing keeping than me ... however ... i think folk sometimes get 'too deep' if you'll pardon the pun with the science behind the hobby.

as someone else has said, chill a little bit, 60% water changes twice per 24 hour period, surely you're not giving anything a chance to 'settle', that would be my take anyway. i'd cut back to a 50% water change every other day and see how you go, but that's just me. also i'd cut back on all the chems, not saying i'd stop with them altogether but your major water change / chem use plan evidently isn't working.

okay ... i'm ready for the laughs, taunts, flames to being

 

[This Old Spouse]

I tend to agree, actually. It's also probably stressing out the fish to be changing out the water that often. If your readings were higher I'd be more concerned, but maybe just let it be for 24 hours and then test to see what you have.