Ammonia ? Need Immediate HELP!

New Readings and More Questions

Things have not improved. It's been a week or more since I've written and things keep going down hill. I really am baffled as how to fix this problem. I've added over the course of two weeks eight ounces of Bio-Spira, no real change. My Ammonia did go down near zero (until yesterday's water change)but my Nitrites continue to hold steady at 5.0ppm or higher despite water changes, adding Prime and Salt.
My tests yesterday (12-28):
High Range pH - 7.8
Ammonia - 0 to 0.25ppm
Nitrite - 5.0ppm or higher
Nitrate - 20 to 40ppm (this is up from 10ppm for the last four weeks)
I did a 50% water change, adding Prime and Salt and changed out the filters on one of my Emperor 400 filters. I put in two new Black Diamond Carbon Filters and two Nitra Zorb pouches. I guess I was just trying to help.
Readings after the water change:
H.R. pH - 8.0
Ammonia - 0.25 to 0.50ppm (increased from 0, due to water from tap I guess)
Nitrite - 2.0 to 5.0ppm (went down slightly)
Nitrate - 10 to 20ppm

My only guess is that my water is really bad. Because when I tested the water today my readings are:
H.R. pH - 7.8
Ammonia - 0.25ppm
Nitrite - 5.0ppm
Nitrate - 10 to 20ppm

I know I'm only four weeks and two days into this cycling but when is it going to get better?
What am I supposed to do about my tap water. I tested it again today and here are the readings straight from the tap:
H.R. pH - 8.8 (probably much higher it is a vivid shade of purple)
Ammonia - 1.0ppm
Nitrite - 0ppm
Nitrate - 0ppm
KH - 71.6ppm, dKH - 4
GH - 232.7ppm, dGH - 12
I don't know much about this water stuff so I don't know how bad or good these readings are. Is my tap water safe to use or not? RO water costs so much and it takes out a lot of the nutrients from what I understand. What are my options?
Will my water situation line itself out at some point or will this be a neverending battle? I mean every time I do a water change is this going to happen or once my tank is cycled will it pretty much take care of it? Will my tank ever get cycled with me putting my tap water in it? I have more questions than answers so if anyone out there has anwers I would really appreciate the help.
I do have 4oz of Bio-Spira left that I can use but it hasn't helped much up till this point.
Thanks for reading my long post, I really appreciate your time and help.
Thanks, Bridget
 
Bridget,

I'm going to let the water chem gurus help you with this as it is out of my league. All I can say is that I had similar problems with my bowfront :(

How are the fish doing, though?

Roan
 
My male and female Oscars are doing great. They look and act happy and healthy. They are really great fish. A lot of fun to watch and play with. Thanks for asking.
Bridget
 
I said some time ago I thought your water was the problem. Now you haev so many augmentations and experiments going on that it is just making it more difficult to know what is and is not working- or if your tank is making headway to cycling.

The only thing I can say for sure looking at the numbers it that you DO have nitrosomonas and nitrobacter. But with all of the radical swings and things you and your water are adding, I am going to suggest you are just feeding a rollercoaster.

Buy an Aquarium Pharmaceuticals (sp)? "Tap Water Purifier". Do it online. Do it now. Use that water and stop adding all of that other crap.

You should be able to find one for about $25 or less. Don't buy them from a store. They will rip you off, as it is a somewhat "specialty" item.

Bet you my right arm that things will then smooth out.
 
If I use the Tap Water Purifier then I won't be able to use my Python right?
Just trying to figure it all out.
 
rockbellab said:
If I use the Tap Water Purifier then I won't be able to use my Python right?
Just trying to figure it all out.
Click to expand...

Correct- in order to treat water before it goes in the tank, a python is excluded.

It will take you about 15-25 minutes or so to get each 5 gallons of water. The DI (deionization) process requires slow flow through the unit. You will likely need a couple of new 5 gallon buckets dedicated to this process- i.e., don't use them for anything else.

This unit will have the effect of softening the water, and lowering pH. There are bottles included to adjust this back up, as well as a bottle to add electrolytes back into the water. But I would not worry about it (the pH) too much unless you start dropping below 7.5 with those fish.

Do not replace all your water. Just do your water changes with the DI water.
 
To quote RTR:
A TWP is grasping at straws and I agree it is not needed. Her tap water is pH buffered way past it's carbonate content, but that would be transient if she were stable. She has gotten good to awful advice and can't tell the difference between them because she is listening to too many people. She needs to hold her feeding to absolute minimum (every 2nd or 3rd day), not use any nitrate sequestering products, and not again change any filter media, rinse only in removed tank water. (The tank is way too small for a breding pair of Oscars and I'd bet she is way overfeeding. I had a hassle in a 180 with a pair that was not yet fully mature.) She does need to monitor KH, but at the rate she is or should be changing, this is for now self-correcting, even w/low KH water. Using a TWP or RO is going to magnify her instability unless she really loads bicab into the water. For me that would be a huge waste of time and money. I would push for Prime (obvious chloramines), lots of Python-based changes, and possible KH boost as the tank finally cycles, while restraining feeding until the cycle is done. The situation does not to me look that complex, just frightening to her due her lack of confidence from unfamiliarity with tank chemistry.

HTH
 
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