View Full Version : Ammonia question
WaterBaby
09-26-2003, 5:58 PM
Can a tank that has no ammonia one day have a significant ammonia reading the next? Or does it build up gradually?
Just curious.:confused:
aquariumfishguy
09-26-2003, 8:54 PM
Are you fishless cycling or something? To answer your question, YES, you can "suddenly" get ammonia buildup...as soon as ammonia is added to your tank!
or mabye if you had a tank with like 2 little fish then you dropped in a pile of new ones the bacteria in the tank might not be prepared for the sudden bioload increase. also mabye overfeeding and not cleaning out decaying foods?
Some test kits will also register ammonium as well as ammonia. Are you using one of those filters with the zeolites or some other product that gets rid of ammonia. Also I think that when the dechlorinator takes care of chlorammines it breaks it in 2, one part is the chlorine and one part ammonia.
WaterBaby
09-27-2003, 7:32 AM
No, No....... I have 2 tanks that are already cycled. I was just asking a question because I was curious about how fast ammonia can build up in a tank.
aquariumfishguy
09-27-2003, 8:49 AM
Well if your tank is already cycled and you keep up on your water changes, ammonia should never be a problem. However, if you stopped doing water changes all together and just topped the tank off, ammonia would start showing up. Thats about the only way to suddenly get ammonia unless you suddenly add a whole bunch of fish...;)