ammonia levels not going down

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kelley

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Jan 26, 2004
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I'm at wits end...I cannot get the ammonia level in our tank down now matter what I do! All of the other chemicals in there are fine--I've had them checked by three fish stores to compare, plus finally bought a test kit of my own. I have two hardy fish in there and have been changing 25% of the water daily, plus adding the appropriate stuff to fix the tap water. I'm also adding ammo-lock (recommended to me) and Stess-zyme. I also have been doing a 50% water change every four days....

Help!

Kelley
 
Little history? What are the readings? Specific chemicals that you are adding? Chlorine or chloramines?
 
I don't have specific readings except for the ammonia--this is registering 6.0 to 7.0 according to the chart that came with my kit. It only tests ammonia. When I take a sample to the store, they test "for everything"--whatever that means...and they have told me that everything else is fine, but the ammonia.

The two fish in there are "starter fish"- can't find a picture of them anywhere and I don't know what they're called. They are slim, about an inch long and silver and black with a funky large fin in back and a tiny one on top. Yes, that really helps doesn't it?:rolleyes:

Every time I change the water I add tetrasafe (10g tank--whisper filter, UGF, just vacuumed the gravel, fake plants, 82 degrees), ammo-lock, and stress-zyme (twice a week for this one).

is this enough info? Thanks!
 
Ammonia levels that high are lethal pretty quickly. Not saying the tank is cycled, but I suspect some of that ammonia is ionized as ammonium--non toxic, but bio-available. Ammo-lock binds the ammonia from breaking the chloramine bond into ammonium. Check your test kit and see if it detects ammonia, or both ammonia and ammonium.

You probably don't need to use both the ammo-lock and the Tetra-safe--they both treat the same things. The stress-zyme also is not needed--it has not been proven to contain the bacteria that are present in healthy tanks. Adding it is likely contributing more ammonia than anything beneficial.
 
You might want to check on the chemical you use to neutralize the chlorine and the test kit compatibility.
Some of them will give you a false positive for ammonia if the test kit uses the nessler system. (Nessler is probably the most common) I know Marineland’s product is one of them I don’t know about Tetra.
 
Okay this kit says it tests only ammonia (NH3/NH4). It says that it will still test positive even if ammo-lock is used. It recommends usuing ammo-carb or ammo-chips to remove ammonia and 'improve water quality". The company who makes this is Aquarium Pharmaceuticals.

I don't know how I would know to test otherwise?? Oh, the stuff I use to condition the water is actually caled AquaSafe by TetraAqua. I've seen this stuff everywhere and it's the product all of the folks recommend.

What should I do? The fish seem fine, they eat well and we're really watching to make sure that they eat everything and no overfeeding is happening. I haven't seen any sign of trauma with them.

Thanks again! Kelley
 
Another thing to think about is something I've read often. That the ammonia-lock medication locks away ammonia so it doesn't hurt the fish but doesn't get rid of the ammonia.

So while it stops the harmful effects of the ammonia you will still have the same readings of ammonia.
 
I understand what ammo-lock does, and I've been using it in hopes that if my ammonia level is that high that this will help the fish. But, I NOW also understand that it can mess up my test kit. In reading the thread gnahc79 listed, I saw that these--Zeolite, Nitrifying bacteria, and DI Resins are supposed to get rid of ammonia. Now, what the heck are those three things, and how do I get my hands on them?? But first....how can I find out what the ammonia level REALLY is?? The store use everything from the strips of paper tests to the drops of stuff that need to sit for a couple of minutes. Mine turns shades of yellow- darker yellow being BAD:(. it does it instantly it says.

I'm not sure what to do here!

Kelley
 
Originally posted by kelley
But first....how can I find out what the ammonia level REALLY is??
Kelley
Click to expand...

According to their website, Seachem's ammonia test works with Amquel, ammolock, etc. $10 from drsfostersmith.com.

This kit measures total (NH3 and NH4+) and free ammonia (NH3 only) down to 0.05 mg/L and is virtually interference free in marine and fresh water. Free ammonia is the toxic form of ammonia (vs. ionized Ammonia NH4+ which is non-toxic) and thus it is much more important to keep an eye on the level of free ammonia in your system. This kit is based on the same gas exchange technology that is used in the Ammonia Alert™ and thus is the only kit on the market that can read levels of free ammonia while using ammonia removal products such as Prime™, Safe™, AmGuard™ and any similar competing products. The other kits (salicylate or Nessler based) determine the total ammonia by raising the pH of the test solution to 12 or greater. At this high pH all ammonia removal products will breakdown and rerelease the ammonia, thus giving you a false ammonia reading.
Click to expand...
 
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