Why won't my ammonia level go down?

[TF Keeper UK]

Carried out a 25% water change on friday. Today tests show nitrates, nitrites at 0, pH at 7.2 but ammonia at 1.0ppm.

I have had trouble with my ammonia level before, that was due to a mini cycle after i changed the substrate.

I only feed them once a day, flakes and pellets (blood worms once a week).

No media has been changed in the filter (Fluval 3plus), though they've been rinsed in tank water.

Is there an obvious solution i'm missing?

Del

 

[Clairel]

If its been set up a while, and is established, and you havnt added anymore fish, then i dont know why you have ammonia spikes I would do a few regular water changes over the next few days, and keep checking..

C x

 

[fraservet]

count your fish.

often a spike like that will be due to a dead fish that you haven't removed.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Have you added any new fish to the tank recently? What do you feed your fish and how much and how often do you clean your substrate- how long have you been having ammonia problems?

 

[TF Keeper UK]

FraserVet - No dead fish, all present and alive this morning.

Tokis-Phoenix - Fish are fed a large pinch of Tetra Pro Colour flakes and JMC catfish pellets once a day. Substrate cleaned weekly. Haven't added any new fish since August. Been having ammonia problms since i changed substrate from gravel to sand.

Del

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

You have quite a few fish in your tank which is why the beneficial bacteria is probably struggling- i would advise you add another filter to your tank, it will help with the bioload and sort out your ammonia problems .

 

[ADelphi]

This may also help Waterlife Bacterlife

Or Hagen Cycle

As for the internal fluvals they're ok but i would also recommend an external aswell, maybe an eheim classic ----> http/www.fishfurfeather.com/eheim-2213-e...ter-p-2299.html

Aquatics online will price match ----> http/www.aquatics-online.co.uk/Z025044.asp

 

[dwarfgourami]

Do those bacterlife and cycle products really work?

The obvious solution is to do something about the overstocking. I make that 51 inches of fish in a 23 gallon tank- so it would take pretty hefty filtration. Or better, another tank...

 

[Terrorbyte]

Do those bacterlife and cycle products really work?

The obvious solution is to do something about the overstocking. I make that 51 inches of fish in a 23 gallon tank- so it would take pretty hefty filtration. Or better, another tank...

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From past experience, Cycle does work -- I've set up aquariums with and without Cycle, the ones using Cycle definitely did strike their balance (0 ammonia and 0 nitrite) several weeks ahead of those systems that were not dosed with Cycle. Additionally, when fish were finally added to those aquariums using Cycle, there were little or no fluctuations in ammonia levels, whereas the aquariums not using Cycle had more issues with ammonia spikes and required frequent 20-30% water changes to resolve the water chemistry issues.

As for overstocking, as long as water changes are done regularly on a weekly basis, ammonia should not be much of an issue. I've seen plenty of overstocked tanks fare just fine, even moreso if the overstocked aquariums have a decent amount of live plants to absorb waste products from the fish.

If ammonia levels are out of control, try adding zeolite to the filter (don't forget the 30% water change). Zeolite does aid in removing ammonia from an aquarium, but having the proper amount of nitrifying bacteria to handle the ammonia load is definitely the most important factor. Adding Cycle may help in the long run, but it is not a short-term solution for immediatley zero'ing out ammonia levels. Keep in mind that even trace amounts of ammonia (over 0.1ppm) can be lethal to some of the more delicate species of fish, so the ultimate goal is always 0ppm ammonia. Frequent water changes (combined with the addition of zeolite to the filter) are the best short-term solution for reducing and/or eliminating ammonia.

 

[kat and james]

we used bacterlife, and as far as i am concerned it really did work. our fist tropical tank was a birthday present for me from james, for my 21st. when we were away his mum came in and set up the tank over a weekend, we were new to the hobby, and also due to the rush, didn't realise that the tank needed to be cycled prior to adding the fish. anyway as expected our water params were bad, and we ended up going back to the lfs, as one of our guppys was looking very sorry for himself, the lfs man gave us some bacterlife, and after a day or so all was fine, we didn't lose any of those fish!

 

[fraservet]

I really can't see how cycle would help in this situation.

If your filtration is at its maximum capacity, there is no room for bacterial growth on the media, so adding more bacteria to the tank is pointless.

The only solution if this is the case is to add more biological filtration media - the easiest way being to add an additional filter.

Adding cycle as well as adding another filter would also be pointless. As there are already plenty of bacteria in the system waiting to be able to multiply and colonise the new media.

The main use of cycle is to provide a boost to a new system, in a similar way that adding some media from an existing setup does.

As for the overstocking issue. While it is possible to overstock well beyond the suggested levels for the water volume of the tank (although not necessarily wise), you can't stock beyond the capacity of the filter.

 

[SkiFletch]

Yeah, changing the substrate to sand probably didnt help in the long run on an overstocked tank. In addition to your filter, beneficial bacteria can and do live in the gravel, ESPECIALLY in overstocked tanks. From what I understand though they dont do as well in sand as they do in gravel... If you like the look of the sand, I agree with the others here, get a second filter. If possible, get one of the same model and interchange filter parts (bio bags/carbon filters) with one part from the old and one from the new in each filter. That'll help speed up the growth on the newer parts.

 

[dwarfgourami]

As for overstocking, as long as water changes are done regularly on a weekly basis, ammonia should not be much of an issue. I've seen plenty of overstocked tanks fare just fine, even more so if the overstocked aquariums have a decent amount of live plants to absorb waste products from the fish.

On this forum we regularly encounter overstocked tanks which are not faring just fine. There is only so much plant life you can fit into a tank this size. And, as several posters have pointed out, only so many bacteria that the filter can support. IMo not that much point in saying ammonia should not be much of an issue, when ammonia clearly is an issue in this tank.

 

[Terrorbyte]

On this forum we regularly encounter overstocked tanks which are not faring just fine. There is only so much plant life you can fit into a tank this size. And, as several posters have pointed out, only so many bacteria that the filter can support. IMo not that much point in saying ammonia should not be much of an issue, when ammonia clearly is an issue in this tank.

Of course what you say is true; I'm not advocating overstocking, just that much more care will be needed in a situation where someone is pushing the "fish" limit in their particular aquarium -- this is just common sense. Overstocked tanks can and often do perfectly fine in situations where there is adequate filtration, frequent water changes, and a healthy amount of live plants.

Rather than adding another filter, it might be a better idea to just go with a larger one -- even smaller tanks can support a few of the canister filters (fluval, eheim, etc.) since you really only need enough space to run a couple of tubes in and out of the aquarium. Canister filters, however, can become nitrate farms if you won't clean it out regularly; but they are excellent for biological filtration.