Wow. So I looked it up, and one website (http://www.bestfish.com/tips/091798.html) says: "Unfortunately, in a couple of common instances, ammonia test kits can give false high readings, causing the hobbyist unnecessary worry, and sometimes resulting in action (such as massive water changes) that cause undue stress on the fish." I have definitely been doing the massive water changes.... I might change some more, though, slowly through the course of the day and use my regular water conditioner, to try and get the Ammo Lock out. This is good info to know for future reference.
The dark side of quarantining
- Thread starter LeahK
- Start date
Water changes won't hurt anything. In nature the water is constantly being changed so fish have evolved to deal with it. What hurts is if the water that's being changed is constantly different from what's in there. You sound like you know enough about what you're doing that you don't have that problem.
You also need to know your products and source water.
Some water conditioners will bind ammonia to a non-toxic form that will be harmless to the fish, but readily be available to the bacteria.
Some test kits can read this ammonia, others can not.
Test your tap water, it may contain ammonia, and no matter how many water changes you do, if you test right after the change, it will registar.
Some water conditioners will bind ammonia to a non-toxic form that will be harmless to the fish, but readily be available to the bacteria.
Some test kits can read this ammonia, others can not.
Test your tap water, it may contain ammonia, and no matter how many water changes you do, if you test right after the change, it will registar.
This is true. I'm also told that in tap water that uses Chloramine there are some conditioners that will remove the chlorine and leave the ammonia. It's usually so slight that it's nothing to worry about in an established tank as the filter will remove in a very short ammount of time.
ill see you on the dark side of the moooon! lmao sorry,thats ALL i could think of when i saw the tile 
Thanks for all the info. I bought Mardel's ammonia monitor, the kind that hangs inside the tank, and which is supposed to measure only the free ammonia, not what the Ammo Lock has bound. And sure enough the Mardel test reads zero ammonia. I am going to keep up daily water changes, but not these 70 - 80% ones. I wish my QT wasn't 20 gallons, so I wouldn't have to change so many gallons of water at once. I may go get a cheap little corner filter that runs on an air pump and lower my water level to 10 gallons or so.... The otos themselves were only a few bucks, but this QT period is turning out to be expensive!
For anyone starting a QT tank
Well, the Mardel monitor did begin to pick up some ammonia. I'm guessing it was detecting what was being produced after the Ammo Lock was added (since Ammo Lock only binds what ammonia is present in the water when you add it, not what accumulates thereafter). I did go out and buy the little corner filter, which has allowed me to lower the water level in my 20 gallon tank to only about 6 or 7 gallons. For any other newbie who might read this thread, here's my advice on QT's based on the mistakes I made:
1. Use the smallest tank possible for the fish you will be quarantining. When the ammonia levels rise, it is much easier to do a 50% change on a 5 gal tank than on a 20.
2. Do not use products like Ammo Lock, unless some sort of emergency is preventing you from doing water changes. Try instead to control the ammonia levels by frequently changing the water. Ammo Lock can, as far as I can tell, give you false high ammonia readings, making it very difficult to tell when another water change is needed.
And, of course, don't let my problems with the QT process stop you from quarantining new fish:headshake2:. (And never ever listen to your friend/spouse/partner when he or she says: "This is too much trouble--let's just throw 'em in the big tank!:idea
Well, the Mardel monitor did begin to pick up some ammonia. I'm guessing it was detecting what was being produced after the Ammo Lock was added (since Ammo Lock only binds what ammonia is present in the water when you add it, not what accumulates thereafter). I did go out and buy the little corner filter, which has allowed me to lower the water level in my 20 gallon tank to only about 6 or 7 gallons. For any other newbie who might read this thread, here's my advice on QT's based on the mistakes I made:
1. Use the smallest tank possible for the fish you will be quarantining. When the ammonia levels rise, it is much easier to do a 50% change on a 5 gal tank than on a 20.
2. Do not use products like Ammo Lock, unless some sort of emergency is preventing you from doing water changes. Try instead to control the ammonia levels by frequently changing the water. Ammo Lock can, as far as I can tell, give you false high ammonia readings, making it very difficult to tell when another water change is needed.
And, of course, don't let my problems with the QT process stop you from quarantining new fish:headshake2:. (And never ever listen to your friend/spouse/partner when he or she says: "This is too much trouble--let's just throw 'em in the big tank!:idea
