Ammonia in new tank (no fish added)

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ClimbAZ527

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Sep 26, 2003
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I can't figure out why I have strace amounts of ammonia in my 20G tank. The tank was used by another buddy of mine before I bought it off of him, but I cleaned it out. There are no fish in it yet and it has not be cycled yet either. Any suggestions as to what is going on?

Many Thanks,
Heath
 
If there is any decomposing matter left over from previous use you may see a trace of ammonia.

Also, depending on the ammonia test type, after using certain de-chlorinators or de-chloriminators in your water you will often get a trace reading. I think this is the likely cause of your trace ammonia reading. If for example you filled your 20 gallon up with tap water and added Amquel as directed and tested within the same day or the next day, I would expect to see a .25 ppm reading of ammonia.

good luck
:)
 
Tested today, added tap water conditioner last week.

You're probably right, I guess I didn't clean it as well as I thought. I put the conditioner in last week so I feel pretty confident from your reply that it must be something left over from the last setup. Should I just not worry about it and go ahead with adding the fish to cycle the tank?

Many Thanks again,
Heath
 
Yes, go on with your cycle.

But PLEASE, don't use fish. Pure household ammonia can be added to the tank to aggressively cycle it without harming any fish. Plus, when you're done you can add all your fish at once. Do an AC search on 'fishless cycling'.

good luck
:)
 
Conditioner that doesn't affect ammonia levels

I found a couple of articles on fishless cycling. One of the articles mentioned that I shouldn't use a dechlorinator that also affects ammonia when I make the 70% water change during the cycle period. Any suggestions on water conditioner brands that don't affect ammonia levels? Here's the article I came across for your reference: http://www.tropicalfishcentre.co.uk/Fishlesscycle.htm
 
Another common source of ammonia in such a situation is water that contains chloramines (rather than simple chlorine). Water with chloramies will test positive for ammonia, often up to (and sometimes exceeding) 1 ppm.

If you do have chloramines, now is a better time to find out than after you have fish. When tap water contains chloramines, you have to be a bit more choosy in selecting a dechlorinating product. If that is indeed the case for you (a call to the water utility would yield the answer), we can offer you suggestions for appropriate products (e.g., Amquel).

HTH,
Jim
 
i use kordon NovAqua conditioner. im not really sure if it does sequester ammonia but i used it at the end of my fishless cycle and noticed no spikes upon introduction of fish. theres also the biospira insta cycle stuff. its the only one that ive seen has had good results.
heres another link to a method of planted tank cycle
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_newtank.htm
 
Sounds powerful, I think most pure ammonia concentrations are in the 2-5% range. I think you can use it, just make sure you spike according to directions, and test to determine amount needed. A heavy duty spike past recommended levels can stall or set back your cycling efforts.
good luck
:)
 
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