Too Much Ammonia In New Tank?

[Stratofish]

Hi,
New fish owner and also new froum member so hello to you all!. Ive got a 45l tank with undergravel filter, 2mm gravel and a couple of plants(amazon sword is one not sure other)and have had it running for three weeks with 24C temperature. Have tested the water and it showed a ph of 7.0, ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 0. I thought this was good to go so visited by local fish store and spoke to the assistant there. I took a sample of my water which they tested and suggested i could introduce some hardy fish now to cycle the tank. I chose 6 cherry barbs(4 females, 2 males) and put them in. I have to say i didnt quite realise how interesting watching fish was. This last week my girlfriend and myself have spent hours watching this little posse getting used to their new home discovering their personalities etc. One of the males is crazy, chasing others, attacking plants and a snail that i mustve picked up on a plant. They all 'seem' happy, healthy and to be loving it in there.
I have tested the water every two days and am a little concerned that the readings show that the ph has gone up to 7.6, ammonia is 0.50, nitrites is 0.25 and nitrate is 0.
I have read the sticky thread in the beginner section and also lots of other topics and although i understand the theory of the nitrogen cycle i wanted to ask for advice as a newbie im not quite sure what stage the tank is at and what can be done if things are wrong in the tank. I am guessing that the ammonia should be breaking down but isnt. All advice very welcome

Thanks in advance

 

[KittyKat]

Do water changes to keep ammonia and nitrite well below 0.25 ppm. Both are harmful to the fish, especially at the higher pH that you have.

I recommend you do your first 50% water change right now, use a dechlorinator which will deal with ammonia. It is better to do a number of 90% water changes in one day than to let fish sit in ammonia.

Read about fish-in cycling and if at all possible, do consider doing a fish-less cycle instead, to avoid any harm to the animals.

It will take weeks, (normally 6+) for ammonia and nitrite to break down without need of water changes.

 

[maisy12345]

Hi Kity Kat,
Can you reccommend a dechlorinator that deals with ammonia .,and how does this happen,sorry to butt in your thread ,but i`m in a fish in cycle as well?

 

[librarygirl]

Hi Kity Kat,
Can you reccommend a dechlorinator that deals with ammonia .,and how does this happen,sorry to butt in your thread ,but i`m in a fish in cycle as well?

HI, I use Prime which is highly recommended by most. The directions say to put in 2 drops per gallon of water. So if you are replacing 5 gallons you would use 10 drops. YOu should add it to the water before you put it into the tank.

I'm new too. Made the same error as you (listened to the people at the lfs). I bought a tank, let it run for a week, they said I had good water so got fish. THEN I did research and learned about cycling. After a month of 1-2x daily water changes to keep ammonia at 0.25 or less, 1-2x daily of water testing (I also suggest the API master test kit if you haven't gotten it already), and constant worrying about the fish. My tank still showed no signs of cycling (no nitrates or nitrites). Unfortunately my fish died within 24 hours after a month and I''m now doing a fishless cycle. If you can return the fish, I suggest you do so and go fishless. Much less worrying and work on your part and the fish won't be harmed. Good luk

 

[KittyKat]

Prime, Stress Coat.. it doesn't matter which one, as long as it says "will neutralise ammonia". They convert NH[sub]3[/sub] (harmful ammonia) to NH[sub]4[/sub][sup]+[/sup] (slightly less harmful ammonia). You would still need to do water changes.

Yes, you are in a fish-in cycle situation: uncycled filter + fish = fish-in cycle.

 

[CrazyAirborne]

ammonia is 0.50, nitrites is 0.25 and nitrate is 0.......
I am guessing that the ammonia should be breaking down but isnt. All advice very welcome

Thanks in advance

i would venture to say ur ammonia is breaking down, since ur tests are showing u have nitrite.(its part of the cycle). its not completely being "eaten", but its doing something at least.

yes u need to do large water changes everyday untill ur tests show u have "double zeros" consistently, then ur fish in cycle will be complete.

 

[Stratofish]

Thank you all for your replies & advice. I did a 50% water change as suggested and used the dechlorinator last night. I will continue with the changes now until it hopefully resolves. The fish seemed to go a bit crazy after the change and i kinda thought i might not see the again but looked this morning and they appear chilled out once more

thx again
chris

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to the forum Stratofish.
I am going to recommend an even larger water change. Since you are starting at 0.5 ppm of ammonia, the 50% water change will just barely make your water acceptable. A larger change will make the water OK until tomorrow when you can test again. The idea, during a fish-in cycle, is to never let the concentration of ammonia or nitrite reach 0.25 ppm. It is not to barely reach that number after a water change. I never hesitate to do a 90% water change if I find anything wrong with my water quality. The fish always look better after such a change.

 

[Stratofish]

Welcome to the forum Stratofish.
I am going to recommend an even larger water change. Since you are starting at 0.5 ppm of ammonia, the 50% water change will just barely make your water acceptable. A larger change will make the water OK until tomorrow when you can test again. The idea, during a fish-in cycle, is to never let the concentration of ammonia or nitrite reach 0.25 ppm. It is not to barely reach that number after a water change. I never hesitate to do a 90% water change if I find anything wrong with my water quality. The fish always look better after such a change.

Hi there,
I did a test this morning and it showed 0.25 ammonia so decided to do another water change but only did 25% this time. This was before reading your advice. Can i do another water change today or is this too stressful for the fish and i should wait till 2moro, test again and then change?

Many thanks again

 

[fluttermoth]

No, do another change to day.

Water changes are far less stressful to fish than swimming in bad water. I've often done two 90% changes in one day when I've had a problem. The fish soon get used to it. Just remember to switch your heater and filter off if you're doing larger changes as they can and will burn out if run dry!

 

[OldMan47]

As Fluttermoth said, a large water change requires a bit of care to avoid damage to heaters and filters. I seldom find it necessary to do 2 of those 90% water changes on the same day but there is no problem doing that many if they are needed. When I go to a fish convention and end up keeping my fish in a motel room bucket for a few days, I will water change 90% a few times each day to keep the fish in good condition until the fish auction at the other end of the convention. These are unheated and unfiltered buckets so the only way I have to preserve water quality is with temperature matched water changes. I drain the water in each bucket until there is barely enough water to keep the fish wet and refill right away with temperature matched dechlorinated water. The fish always look great on auction day.