Tank Cycling - Tap Water Has 1Ppm Ammonia

[jdubs]

Hi Everyone!

My tap water has a 1ppm ammonia reading. Should I do the water changes in my 10 and 16 gallon (currently cycling at 5 weeks) tanks with the tap water or use distilled? I did emergency water changes in both tanks (16 gallon ammonia was as high as 4-8ppm) with distilled and added Stress Coat so the levels are OK but the PH levels are wacky. Or maybe use spring water instead of distilled thinking that maybe it has minerals in it?

Not sure what I should do.

Tank parameters:

16 gallon
1 betta
2 glowlight tetras
several live plants (Amazon sword, good sized Tiger Lotus, 1 smallish Lutea)
ammonia .25 ppm
nitrite 0 ppm
nitrate 0 ppm
ph 8.2

10 gallon
1 betta
several live plants (Amazon sword, tiny Tiger Lotus, 3 smallish Lutea)
ammonia 1 ppm
nitrite 0 ppm
nitrate 0 ppm
ph 6 or lower

Any input would be appreciated!!!

Thanks!

 

[CrustyOnEastCoast]

distilled is not good for the fish. The fish need minerals. You could use distilled, but then you would have to add a precise amount of minerals to it each time. You could use spring water, but no guarantee it is safe (could have bacteria and other stuff in it), and no guarantee that the water parameters stay consistent from spring water bottle to spring water bottle. Using tap water allows you to maintain consistent water parameters. If you use a good dechlorinator (like Stress Coat or Seachem Prime), it will detoxify the ammonia in your tap water for about 1 or 2 days (though it will still show up in your tests) ... which normally is enough time for your healthy bacteria in your filter to consume it (part of nitrogen cycle).

But (and this is a big but ...) this latter point only applies if your filter is fully "cycled". I don't think you are fully cycled based on the comment that you got ammonia readings between 4 - 8 ppm. If this is the case then, you'll need to do frequent, large water changes, along with the dechlorinator each time.

Anyway, more could be said, but perhaps you should study the beginner's resource center (see the link in my sig).

By the way, my tap water has anywhere from 1 to 2 ppm of ammonia in it! So, don't despair, it is possible to keep healthy fish even in this case ... but it is somewhat harder .. your filter must be cycled. I did a fishless cycle (of sorts) before adding any fish .. it was a GREAT help ... I have not had an ammonia spike .. and it has been about 4 months now.

 

[OldMan47]

Do not use distilled or even "spring" water for water changes. They are too low in mineral content for almost all fish. I also have 1 ppm ammonia in my tap water and find that even that is better than letting the ammonia in a tank rise. Even with my high ammonia from the tap, my fish always respond well to a water change.

 

[Prime Ordeal]

Do not use distilled or even "spring" water for water changes. They are too low in mineral content for almost all fish. I also have 1 ppm ammonia in my tap water and find that even that is better than letting the ammonia in a tank rise. Even with my high ammonia from the tap, my fish always respond well to a water change.

For newbies who might read this that's quite misleading and dangerous advice. 1ppm ammonia is never acceptable in a tank containing fish and unless it is dechlorinated and/or the tank has a low pH some action would always be necessary to reduce the ammonia level substantially.

It's worse in this case because the OP's filter isn't cycled yet.

 

[jdubs]

Hi!

Thanks for the replies!

I do use Stress Coat when doing water changes. My tanks are currently cycling . . . in hind-site I would have done this without fish, but this is my current situation.

So if the ammonia in the tank gets to 1ppm and the tap water is 1ppm . . . do I just do nothing except wait and maybe add Ammo-Lock? And maybe only do a water change if the ammonia gets past 1ppm. I know that if the PH is low ammonia can be tolerated to some degree. The 10 gallon has a PH of 6. The 16 gallon however has a PH of 8.2. So this is more worrisome to me then the situation with the 10 gallon tank.

I know that there probably is no perfect answer. I just want to do right by the fishies that I have now.

Thanks!

 

[Dieses Madchen]

You definitely should use ammo lock or prime to lock up the ammonia, although it will only lock it for short periods (24-48) unless you continuously replenish it. Ammo-lock works longer than prime. Do you have someone that could donate mature media to you to help with the ammonia?

Do not use distilled or even "spring" water for water changes. They are too low in mineral content for almost all fish. I also have 1 ppm ammonia in my tap water and find that even that is better than letting the ammonia in a tank rise. Even with my high ammonia from the tap, my fish always respond well to a water change.

For newbies who might read this that's quite misleading and dangerous advice. 1ppm ammonia is never acceptable in a tank containing fish and unless it is dechlorinated and/or the tank has a low pH some action would always be necessary to reduce the ammonia level substantially.

It's worse in this case because the OP's filter isn't cycled yet.

And I have to agree here. My tap water also has ammonia in it, and its harsh on an uncycled tank. Went through a lot of issue trying to cycle an oscar tank and water changes only made the spikes higher. Did water changes using water from my cycled fish tanks. Once you get your tank established the ammonia in the tap water will no longer be a problem as the filter will deal with the ammonia rather quickly.

 

[Prime Ordeal]

As you say the 10gallon with a pH of 6 is not really a worry but the 16 gallon with a ph of 8.2 definitely is. In your situation, where you are always putting 1ppm ammonia into an uncycled tank, I would be thinking about trying to obtain some cycled media, perhaps from your fish shop, and/or throwing a good few handfuls of fast growing plants in there. Of course always use the Ammo-lock on each water change and dose for say 2 or 3ppm ammonia to allow for any the increase before the plants can reduce it.