Can't get Ammonia lowered
- Thread starter joshob
- Start date
a coupel questions come to mind.
first, are you on city water, and if so does your water utility use chloramines?
second, what are you using for a water conditioner? some conditioners will release ammonium when they break chloramines, which will show up on an ammonia test.
third, have you tested your tap water? you may posssibly be changing out ammonia-rich water with ammonia-rich water (I had a similar problem a few months ago with nitrates)
fourth, do you have any fish in there? if so you need to do more frequent water changes to get the level down around or below 0.25ppm, as more than that is toxic to your fish. it may not kill thme right away, but it will definitely make them more susceptible to illness and weaker overall in the future. I would do daily 50% changes until that number goes down to 0.25 if you have fish in the tank.
first, are you on city water, and if so does your water utility use chloramines?
second, what are you using for a water conditioner? some conditioners will release ammonium when they break chloramines, which will show up on an ammonia test.
third, have you tested your tap water? you may posssibly be changing out ammonia-rich water with ammonia-rich water (I had a similar problem a few months ago with nitrates)
fourth, do you have any fish in there? if so you need to do more frequent water changes to get the level down around or below 0.25ppm, as more than that is toxic to your fish. it may not kill thme right away, but it will definitely make them more susceptible to illness and weaker overall in the future. I would do daily 50% changes until that number goes down to 0.25 if you have fish in the tank.
ok. the daily changes shouldnt' stress the fish, and should actually improve their quality of life as the water gets cleaner 
I wouldn't go wholesale and change out all the water, as you need to ease it down and not shock the fish, but 50% daily should do the trick. once you hit 0.25 ppm, you just need to monitor it closely (test every day or at least every other day) and do changes as needed to keep that ammonia reading as low as possible.
the other question this brings up is how old is the tank? I'm assuming it's a new uncycled tank since you're seeing ammonia. if the tank is new, I would strongly suggest reading this article, as it'll explain a lot about cycling your water, where ammonia, nitrite and nitrate come from and what you can do to keep your fish healthy while the biological filter gets established. If you read that and still have questions, ask away
I'm not familiar with the conditioner you're using, but I imagine someone else around here probalby is and can tell you more about it and whether or not that has anything to do with your problem.
I wouldn't go wholesale and change out all the water, as you need to ease it down and not shock the fish, but 50% daily should do the trick. once you hit 0.25 ppm, you just need to monitor it closely (test every day or at least every other day) and do changes as needed to keep that ammonia reading as low as possible.the other question this brings up is how old is the tank? I'm assuming it's a new uncycled tank since you're seeing ammonia. if the tank is new, I would strongly suggest reading this article, as it'll explain a lot about cycling your water, where ammonia, nitrite and nitrate come from and what you can do to keep your fish healthy while the biological filter gets established. If you read that and still have questions, ask away
I'm not familiar with the conditioner you're using, but I imagine someone else around here probalby is and can tell you more about it and whether or not that has anything to do with your problem.
Is your tank cycled? How long have you had the tank? Did you add any more fish in the tank? Is the tank overstocked? Are you overfeeding? A cycled tank should show no ammonia..
if by 'change' you mean throwing out the old media and replacing it with new media, this in effect means you've thrown out your biofilter and stopped the cycle, only to have it begin again from scratch. this would certainly account for high ammonia levels.
It's just a few months old. I change the filter media "Aqua-Tech EZ Replacement Cartridges". It's only a 5 gallon tank so no cycling if I'm understanding what "cycling" is correctly. I try not to over feed but in case I do, I have the shrimp.
So should I keep the filter in, even though it may look nasty?
So should I keep the filter in, even though it may look nasty?
you should rinse the filter cartridge in tank water every couple months (or if your flow through the filter slows down enough to notice) during a water change (the rinsing is every couple months or as needed to keep flow up, the changes should be every week ). there is a good chance replacing the cartridge is a big part of your prroblem as it forces your biological filter to restart the nitrogen cycle.
every tank should be cycled (even 5 gallon tanks). you should read the article I posted earlier on cycling. I think you'll be surprised.
). there is a good chance replacing the cartridge is a big part of your prroblem as it forces your biological filter to restart the nitrogen cycle. every tank should be cycled (even 5 gallon tanks). you should read the article I posted earlier on cycling. I think you'll be surprised.
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