Ammonia levels NEVER go down

Iceman_78_98 said:
Oh I'm pretty sure there's chloramine in the tap water. I've tested the tap water using my test kit and there's a 0.25 ppm/L reading. But this doesn't explain why I have a ammonia reading of 8 ppm/L. I do treat the water with Ammo-Lock before adding it to the tank. And I use Aquarium Pharmactical chemicals to do the testing.

I just can't understand why the beneficial bacteria isn't breaking down the ammonia. Maybe there's something in my tank that is inhibiting the growth of this type of bacteria.
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Welcome to Ammo-lock hell. Yes, it works, just like it says it works, locks up the ammonia, good and tight. Every time, every water change, every week, I'll bet the ammonia just keeps climbing with each water change.

You've lost the cycle, man. That tank is gonna have to come down from that Ammo-lock addiction and get down and dirty with some bacteria.

Personally, I'd do a massive water change and then start using Prime, it will allow the biofilter to get started. Save the Ammo-lock fo one shot deals, transporting fish or major power outages when you know you've lost the biofilter anyhow.
 
anonapersona said:
Welcome to Ammo-lock hell. Yes, it works, just like it says it works, locks up the ammonia, good and tight. Every time, every water change, every week, I'll bet the ammonia just keeps climbing with each water change.

You've lost the cycle, man. That tank is gonna have to come down from that Ammo-lock addiction and get down and dirty with some bacteria.

Personally, I'd do a massive water change and then start using Prime, it will allow the biofilter to get started. Save the Ammo-lock fo one shot deals, transporting fish or major power outages when you know you've lost the biofilter anyhow.
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Are you serious? What's the difference between Prime and Ammo-Lock? What about Amquel+. Does that interfere with the cycle?
 
I have no experience with AmmoLock, but the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals web site claims that AmmoLock will not interfere with the ammonia being taken up by the biofilter.

Both Amquel and Prime detoxify ammonia while still making it available to the biofilter. I don't know for sure if AmmoLock does, but it is certainly possible.

anona, what do you know about AmmoLock that makes you sure it prevents the bacteria from using the detoxed ammonia?

Jim
 
Sorry just a quick thought, but when you say your tank was cleaned by a member of your family , is it just the tank that was cleaned or was the filter cleaned in anyway as well. Just wondered in case any bleach/cleaning products were used inside the filter and been absorbed by the filter sponges themslves? What sort of filter do you have?
 
Do you guys think that using something like Hagen's Cycle product will help put my tank in the nitrogen cycling process faster?
 
Do a search for 'cycle' and you'll see that most people think that Cycle is a waste of money. I got a free bottle with my tank, and I added all 30mL to my 25g, nothing happened.
 
Went to one of the respected LFS around my area. (Tropical Isle)
The guy over there said 2 things about my ammoia problem.
1. AmmoLock can affect Nitrogen Cycle if used incorrectly. In other words, if you overdose you might killing some of the beneficial bacteria that converts nitrites to nitrates. I was definitely overdosing. Never really thought about the consequences. I was always wondering where the Nitrite spikes were coming from.
2. Aquarium Pharmacetical ammonia test kits give incorrect ammonia readings when AmmoLock is used. He recommended Mardel Ammonia Test Strips. The strips are extremely expensive compared to the Aquarium Pharms liquid solutions. $15 for 25 strips. ouch.

So I took his advice and tried out the strips. It looks like he was right. My ammonia reading according to Aquarium Pharm was 8ppm/L. Using Mardel, it gave a 1ppm/L. My fish doesn't look stress at all. So I think Mardel is giving the correct reading.
 
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