Ammonia 0.6

[Tener ds]

Hi, just done a water test 2 hours after a 50% water change and filter spunge clean (in old tank water) and the ammonia was at 0.6 in my 75L. Is this normal after a large water change?
I only test once every 4 weeks, this is the first time is been this high.
The fish seam ok and are all there, plants growing well, very very little algae.

 

[Jimmy]

It's possible that the large water change and cleaning the filter media has caused the tank to go into a mini cycle, but the real experts will be able to tell you if this is the case or not.

 

[zeebo]

also not sure if the 50%wc caused this ,but since u just cleaned a filter sponge ,might be a good idea to wait a week before cleaning anything else,that includes vacuuming.

A few yrs ago, i did my weekly gravel vac, then had a prob the next day with a filter, so had to take it apart and clean it(of course with tank water) but musta lost too much bio media and had a mini cycle, the water turned white ! I had different plecs in the tank then, and they all made it but it wasn't fun when you cant see the back of your tank or any fish! I knew to stagger my cleanings , but the filter prob came up and no choice. so just try to let things settle ,use prime, and wait a while before doing any more cleaning of anything and you should be ok.
good luck
Georgie

 

[Tener ds]

Hi Georgie, thankfully the water hasn't gone white. I'm thinking it might be my tank OCD cleaning that is causeing this.I always use prime with new water to. I won't vac for a day or two and retest.

 

[jacobraven]

I would dose Seachem Prime and Stability to be on the safer side. (seems we posted at the same time
They wont harm the fish either way. Prime makes ammonia non toxic to the fish and Stability will help bio come back

 

[zeebo]

hey Ten,
should be ok, but just to let ya know, when the water turned white, it didnt happen immediately, a few days after the double cleaning, i noticed the water started to look slightly cloudy, only slight, thought my eyes were playing tricks , but a few more days on, it became obvious the water was clouding up , and from there, day after day more, until it became like milk. then the process of it clearing up seemed a little faster . I knew to stagger 1 week between cleaning anything, so i was bummed it happened but not surprised. No losses thankfully.
Doubt you will have such a dramatic situation if you can resist cleaning anything else for a few more days , the longer you can hold off ,the better, give the filters a chance to catch up with your fish load and settle. no worries.
Georgie

 

[Tener ds]

Hi Georgie, hey ten lol
Well I just got up, looked at tank, all ok. So I retested..... Ammonia 0
Tested again just I case ,ammonia 0.
I'm glad, but what caused it?
Would it be when I put new water in it moved the muck around the tank, or cos i cleaned all 3 spundges out from the filter?
I'll be doing less next time and I'll keep a eye on the water.

 

[zeebo]

well i'm no expert, others could prob give ya a surer answer as to why u had an amonia spike ,but considering u test every 4 weeks and had no dead fish in the tank , my money would be on that you cleaned all 3 sponges at the same time. Depends on how much u squeezed them out prob too. Again, i am only going on past personal experience , see if others have different ideas.

I soon need to change a sponge filter on my cartridge hob, it is very stretched out and has become too large for the cartridge,and i am dreading it , but also taking measures to lessen the chances of a mini cycle by feeding lesser amounts the past few days,so a few more and should be ready and wont need to vacuum for 5 or 6 days after the filter sponge change as i really hate going past a week to vacuum. I know the sponge holds some good bio media, but gotta switch it and pray the preparations i am taking will avoid any nasties. This is the 54g with my 2 L128's...never gonna buy another HOT MAGNUM filter due to this.

see what others say about yur spike .there could be other reasons which i am unfamiliar with.
hth
Georgie

 

[Hypanheaven]

Even if you accidentally put 1 extra drop of the ammonia test solution it can give you a bung reading, this may have happened the first time you read 0.6. After cleaning your tank and filter it would take at least 24hours for an ammonia reading to become apparent IME

 

[bigbird]

maybe also test your tap water that you use for the water change ? I have 2 filters per tank, I always only clean 1 every 2 weeks, thus keeping the system a lot more stable. Maybe as you cleaned all 3 sponges at once, did you get a mini cycle so to speak or the water was just adjusting etc for 24hours. cheers jk :thumbup:

 

[Tener ds]

Well I now test after every 50% water change,every Monday,and again the day after.
Also I only clean 2 sponges at a time, not all 3.ill clean the 3rd, the biggest one,only when the flow drops and do it 3 days before/after the other 2 get cleaned.The tests are now coming back 0

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
Dave it is probably the test kit. It is quite difficult to get much ammonia in a planted tank, because most plants preferentially take up ammonia. It is one of the reasons why plants help so much with water quality.

It might possibly be a combination of the water conditioner (if you use PRIME) and possibly chloramine in the water supply. In this case the conditioner would bind with ammonia (from the break-down of the chloramine), and the compounds formed would read as ammonia on the kit, although they are harmless.

cheers Darrel

 

[Hypanheaven]

i thought plants could only absorb a very small amount of ammonia and in higher levels it will kill plants quiet quickly, i know plants take up nitrates as part of there cycle

 

[Tener ds]

well in 2 or 3 weeks,when my redmoor wood is ready and ive tied some baby plants to it,ill be removing some slate and some sand so i can place the wood.this will make a smallish mess and maybe a small
ammonia spike.i have started to remove some of this,so i don,t have to do it all at the same time.after the wood is in and ive finished should i do a large water change just in case?

 

[Hypanheaven]

How will adding wood cause an ammonia spike?

 

[Tener ds]

How will adding wood cause an ammonia spike?

cos i have to remove some slate and move around some sand which will chuck up loads of crap.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

i thought plants could only absorb a very small amount of ammonia and in higher levels it will kill plants quiet quickly

Ammonia is toxic to all living things in high amounts, plants receive damage at more than about 2.5 ppm NH3. If you ever get to this level, you will have already killed your fish.

NH4+ is less damaging (in solution at lower pH values), but still stunts plant growth at 3 -4 ppm. Plants from nutrient rich aquatic habitats are more tolerant of NH3/NH4+. Rice is one, but there are probably others that are used in tanks.

cheers Darrel