Ammonia weirdness - what's going on?

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laurabb

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Jan 7, 2007
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I'm having a disastrous time trying to cycle a 2.5 gallon tank - can anybody help figure out what's going on?

I started cycling in mid-January, and after a few weeks my ammonia levels were beginning to drop (ammonia was down to 2.0, but no nitrites showing yet). I added a little more ammonia to the tank, but accidentally added too much. I did a partial water change, added more ammonia to bring it up to 4.0 ppm, then left the tank alone. I tested every 3-4 days, and after 7-10 days, my ammonia levels had somehow crept up to nearly 8.0. I have no idea how this happened - I didn't add more ammonia, there is no ammonia in our tap water, and there's nothing in the tank to create more ammonia - no fish, no fish food, etc. I waited for another week, and the ammonia level did not drop.

I did a 99.9% water change, and refilled the tank with conditioned water. I waited for a few hours, then tested the water, which showed a .50 ammonia. I was surprised that the ammonia tested that high, but figured it was from the leftover water in the tank (although it was a very small amount). I very slowly dosed the tank with more ammonia anyway, testing every 3-5 hrs before adding another drop. I got the ammonia to 4.0, then quit adding ammonia. The ammonia registered at 4.0 for the next 5 days. Today I tested the water (3 days after my last test), and the ammonia reading is definitely over 4.0. I'm using the API master test kit, which I do find a bit hard to read, but the reading is somewhere in between 4-8.0. How is this possible? This are the tank specs:

2.5 gallon tank
silk plant
plastic rock cave
flat marbles
Red Sea Nano filter
mini heater
thermometer

I'm using the API master test kit, which I bought a few months ago. I wouldn't think it was expired, but I also don't see any kind of expiration date on it. Where do they list that information?

I should say that I started a cycle with fish food in early January, because I couldn't find the proper ammonia. After a week, I found liquid ammonia and started over from scratch (no ammonia levels were even registering in the tank yet). I cleaned out the tank, cleaned the filter under tap water to get the decayed food out (I know you shouldn't do that once a tank is cycled), washed the marbles, plants, etc. I washed everything thoroughly. Then I started cycling with the liquid ammonia as described in the beginning of my post.

I am SO frustrated. Any idea what is happening, and what I should do? I'm so tired of staring at an empty tank, and not seeing any progress whatsoever in the cycle.
 

Rbishop

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Dec 30, 2005
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What are planning on having in there? A betta? As much as I dislike fishy cycles, you could clean everything to ground zero, and conditioned water and do a fishy cycle with a betta.
 

laurabb

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Jan 7, 2007
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Yes, a betta. I'd really prefer not to do a fishy cycle, though - we lost our first betta in less than a week (didn't know a thing about tanks then), and it was traumatic for my 3 small kids.
 

zazz

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Mar 29, 2005
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I can't explain these test results. Could it have something to do with chloramine in the water? You might look into that. I don't fully understand the chemistry but I vaguely recall issues with how different water conditioners handle chloramine. At least its somewhere to look.
I mostly wanted to say that I am impressed with how thorough and careful you are being. It's refreshing. especially for "just a Beta". Well, also out of concern for your kids which is also nice to see!.
I can imagine how frustrating this must be. When it all sorts out you will have one lucky Beta.
If you don't come up with a beter answer, You might try adding a lot of live plants and see how that effects your ammonia. They might take the place of the bacteria well enough to add the fish. eventually the tank will cycle as it needs to. At least they are something to look at.
 

hacknet

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Feb 11, 2007
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i too am having alittle problems with my API ammonia test kit. its really hard to read and i seem to get a reading of ~ 0.5 for ammonia in my conditioned water. i was told to shake the bottle well, but even after shaking, it doesnt seem to help.
 

gocfella

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Jan 9, 2007
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Drogheda, Ireland
I had a very similar problem recently. I overdosed after 1 week and then performed a 50% water change to rebalance. Readings went back to about 4ppm. After 3 days the readings appeared to have risen to about 8+ppm. I can only guess that the ammonia absorbed into the porous rocks in my tank and then leached out again when the concentration went down? Mine has now righted itself after another 50% water change. Be patient it will be worth it!
 

5xevy

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Jan 3, 2007
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Upstate, NY
Have you tested your tap water at all to see what the readings are from that?
 

laurabb

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Jan 7, 2007
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My tap water is fine - no ammonia in it.

I think I discovered the problem. I had only 1 eyedropper, and had been using the same eyedropper to fill the API kit test tubes with tank water that I'd been using to dose the tank with ammonia. Even though I washed the eyedropper out really well, I think there may have been some ammonia residue in it, hence throwing off my ammonia readings. I found some new eyedroppers at CVS (hate them, though - they're big and fat!), and my ammonia now looks to be ~ 3.0 and 4.0. So, huge relief.
 
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