What's the bioload from common "pest" snails?

[LeahK]

I'm pretty sure that I killed off my good bacteria by using expired water conditioner (you can see my original thread on this here: http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=225097 )

As a result, I'm dealing with re-cycling both of my tanks--a 55 and a 20. Both of these tanks contain a single betta each.

Here's my question (and the reason I'm posting on the invertebrate forum): What's the bioload of common "pest" snails like Malaysian trumpet snails and ramshorns? Because my ammonia levels seem pretty extreme, especially for the 55. I mean, there's only one little betta in there! My ammonia rose to 4 ppm overnight last night. I did a 90% water change this afternoon, and withing 8 hours, I was back up to 2 ppm. Like I said on the other thread, I wonder if a gecko or something didn't fall in the tank and die. The only other inhabitants are the mts and ramshorns, so I'm wondering if they can be responsible for these ammonia levels.

For background, the 55 has been running and cycled for 3 years. I used to have more fish, but I rehomed them all. The betta has lived solo in the tank since October 2009. I do a 50% water change every Sunday.
The only thing I did different before the cycle went wonky was that I ran out of Prime a couple of weeks ago. Week before last, I used an ancient sample of Chlor-Out when I did my water change. Last week, I used some Ammolock.

If you have any ideas on what might be going on, please help! Thanks!

 

[platytudes]

I don't think it's the bioload of the creatures you're keeping that are producing the ammonia. I think it's the dead organisms on all of the surfaces in your tank and the dead filter bacteria that are causing your spike. All of the "living" things in your tank, if they've been poisoned and killed, will themselves produce a ton of waste as they "decompose" so to speak - only it's not visible to the eye like fish poop is. That's why when aquariums crash, even after the fish have all died, you'll still have ammonia registering for a while.

If you could take all of your snails out of your tank and your betta and put it in a 55 gallon tank with nothing else, just water, you would probably never see such readings. But when you keep an aquarium that isn't bare bottomed, all of your gravel, decor, even the walls of your tank get coated with biofilm...

So when you're seeing cloudy water, it's not because one or two fish and some snails are pooping and peeing. It's because all that was "alive" in your tank isn't now Make sense?

Do you have any way of getting some established media? A friend with a fish tank, a helpful LFS? (If getting used media, the "guckier" the better.) If not, get some Tetra SafeStart. None of the "dry goods" bacterial starters are very good - even this one is not as good as a refrigerated product - but it's the best out of the bunch, IMO.

 

[cellodaisy]

The only other inhabitants are the mts and ramshorns, so I'm wondering if they can be responsible for these ammonia levels.

Ultimately, the bio-load in your tank is determined by how much you feed and how much decaying organic matter is in the tank (like driftwood). As long as you aren't specifically feeding the snails, they're a lot like plants---binding up excess nutrients and keeping them out of the water column. At least, that is my understanding.

 

[LeahK]

I think it's the dead organisms on all of the surfaces in your tank and the dead filter bacteria that are causing your spike

That makes total sense, although someone on my other thread cast doubt on the expired water conditioner theory. So now I'm beginning to think that the problem isn't that I killed off my good bacteria. Maybe something else in the tank is producing ammonia. I do indeed see fewer mts than usual--maybe for some reason they've died off. However, I don't see any blatantly dead ones on the gravel.

The other confusing thing is that I'm having the same ammonia problem in the 20, which, like the 55, was a well-established tank.

This is all so weird! I'm debating whether to put my bettas in some buckets of fresh water, rather than leave them in their tanks, at least until I can figure out what's going on.

 

[cellodaisy]

Have you tested your tap? Perhaps your local water supply is having an ammonia spike?

 

[LeahK]

Have you tested your tap? Perhaps your local water supply is having an ammonia spike?

Thanks--I just tested it, but no ammonia. I tested my 20g, and it's around 1 ppm. I'm sure the 55 is the same. I'm about to do another water change.

It's like both of my tanks just magically uncycled themselves

 

[cellodaisy]

Hmmm... Maybe there was a chlorine spike? If you're on town water (as opposed to a well), there can be occasional chlorine/chloramine spikes to clean out the system. Maybe there was a particularly high one, so that all the chlorine didn't get removed by your water conditioner and enough got in the tanks to kill off your bacteria? Sorry---I'm really grasping at straws here.

 

[LeahK]

Sorry---I'm really grasping at straws here.

No--thanks for trying! It really is a weird situation. I just noticed that there is a white coating on everything in the 55--on the plants, on the driftwood, even on the snails' shells. It looks like it's snowed in there. I tried to get a pic, but the camera batteries need charging.

 

[platytudes]

Have you checked the water chemistry levels? Make sure your pH didn't crash, it can happen with poorly buffered water.

I do think you contaminated the tank somehow...perhaps with expired dechlorinator, or perhaps with water that had high levels of chlorine/chloramine In any case, it would really be better I think, to keep the bettas in a separate container until things stabilize...especially since they are air breathing fish that can do without a filter for a while and don't need much room.

 

[toddnbecka]

Have you tested your tap water for ammonia AFTER using the dechlorinator? Water treatment facilities sometimes use chloramine, which leaves ammonia after the chlorine is elimanated.