# Help! D= I got my water tested and the ammonia was sky high



## lostperspective (Aug 24, 2010)

nitrites & nitrates 0.

The tank is at least 6 weeks old.

I'm not over feeding.

I use tap water conditioner & I don't wash the filter in tap water.

I went to the shop to get it tested & they said it looks like I've managed to kill off all the bacteria somehow. (presumably that means I get the joys of cycling the tank twice? =/) & they've sold me a bacteria boost (safe start by tetra) & ammolock by api to detoxify ammonia. 

Any ideas of the cause?
They suggested maybe the bucket or aerosols but I don't think I've used anything like that in several weeks and to put it bluntly, surely the fish would be dead by now if it were the bucket?

I'm doing a 50% water change soon & I've dosed the tank with ammolock. =/


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## redchigh (Jan 20, 2010)

Yep, you have to cycle again. Actually, since you have 0 nitrites and nitrates, I'm going to go out on a limb and say you never cycled. (There would probably be traces of nitrates left over if it was a sudden ammo spike.)

As for the reason- Have you added anything to the tank?
Have you trimmed or gotten rid of any plants?
Have you stirred the gravel, or was there a power outage?
Are you sure there's not a dead fish somewhere in the tank?


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## kaythenewbie (Aug 23, 2010)

Redchigh is right.

Also, you should know that some people have reported that using API's Ammolock has killed their bacteria in their tank. Not something you want to use while trying to get the bacteria started. If I were you, I'd exchange it for a different brand or just return it altogether and do frequent water changes.

On the plus side, Tetra Safe Start works great! Good luck with cycling.


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## lostperspective (Aug 24, 2010)

There were some nitrites & nitrates two weeks ago.
I added some plants then & gained a few snails in the process.
There were definitely 5 fish last time I checked! (yesterday evening)
They've been lurking in the plants more and more this last week though.
I have trimmed dead/dying leaves off some plants & I moved everything round the tank a lot last week.
& added some root tabs.
& the other day the filter wasn't running properly because it was only half plugged in. But I don't think that was for long.

>.< So many possibilities.


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## Romad (Jun 28, 2009)

Well since you have fish that you'd like to keep alive, your water changes will have to be pretty frequent to keep the ammonia at a level that won't kill them.

I recently discovered *Seachem Stability* and it's worked wonders in my smaller tanks to get them cycled. You add it for 7 days and can be added any time you have a spike.

Also, *Seachem Prime* water conditioner is hands down the best (i think lots of others on this forum will agree). It stabilizes the ammonia and nitrites for short periods of time (forget how long) so it's not harmful to your fish.

Good luck. And no, I don't work for Seachem :0


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## redchigh (Jan 20, 2010)

I agree, do lots of water changes, and if you really want to use the ammolock, do so as little as possible.

It's best to cycle naturally.


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## lostperspective (Aug 24, 2010)

Wish I'd not spent £6.50 on the ammolock now. D=
I've already started using it so I can't take it back now. I want to do what is best for my fish and plants. D= 
I am going to buy some prime but the only bottles they had of it in the shop were huge.
I'll look up seachem stability but I'm wary of putting too much stuff into the tank. =/
& of course I'll do regular water changes. I was looking forward to only doing them once a week but nvm. =')


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## Romad (Jun 28, 2009)

lostperspective said:


> Wish I'd not spent £6.50 on the ammolock now. D=
> I've already started using it so I can't take it back now. I want to do what is best for my fish and plants. D=
> I am going to buy some prime but the only bottles they had of it in the shop were huge.
> I'll look up seachem stability but I'm wary of putting too much stuff into the tank. =/
> & of course I'll do regular water changes. I was looking forward to only doing them once a week but nvm. =')


I'm def. not a fan of adding chemicals of any sort to the tank but from what I've read and researched, Stability is safe. The most important thing you need at this point is your water changes. Keep testing daily to see where you stand until cycled. 

Then breathe a sigh of relief


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## lostperspective (Aug 24, 2010)

I don't have a water test kit yet (although I think this incident has convinced me I might really rather need one..)
So I'm intending on changing 10 litres of water a day until I next get the water tested. =/
What I don't understand is don't plants use the ammonia/ammonium?
In which case maybe I'm over fertilizing them or just not letting them use up the natural nutrients in the water?

Last night I did a huge rearrange of the tank which was probably a little traumatic for the fish, but I managed to take out quite a lot of dead plant matter in the process. On the bright side my vallisneria was doing well! Three of the plants had sent runners and created new ones. x3


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## lostperspective (Aug 24, 2010)

I've done two big water changes, dosed the tank with ammolock & added some safe start but the fish are still very much lurking in the shadows and look like they're gasping for air. D=
Their mouths are opening and closing very quickly.
Idk what to do.
I've got more water warming up to put in the tank.


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## Chicklet (Feb 9, 2009)

I would have asked at the fish store for some "already cycled media from one of their tanks" Some stores will give it too you.

You can get an instant cycle or at least a big jump start on one that way,


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## lostperspective (Aug 24, 2010)

That would have been a good idea.
Unfortunately I can't go back to the shop for at least two weeks.

Bleh.

On a more cheerful topic, how big a tank would one need to house a betta & some algae eaters of some kind? =) & if you had enough plants is it true you could do without a filter?


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## tanker (Mar 13, 2010)

I'd say 10 gallons. Aunt Kymmie has a betta and some otos in a 6 gallon, I think, but you'd generally need plenty of room so they can keep out of each other's way. And, it would depend on the betta. Some bettas don't want "friends" no matter how big the tank....


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## lostperspective (Aug 24, 2010)

ummm the fish were all literally not leaving the surface for several minutes, their mouths are up ,presumably trying to breathe.

I am about to do a massive water change but I've already done several over the past two days so surely it should be getting better? D=

Idrk know what to do. ='(


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## lostperspective (Aug 24, 2010)

In the process of another 50% water change.
They're not gasping for air anymore thankfully. =/


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## kitten_penang (Mar 26, 2008)

or you could use carbon.


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## lostperspective (Aug 24, 2010)

I think it's possibly the buckets causing the problem.
I noticed a slightly oily layer on top of the water in the bucket I'd left over night.
How I am supposed to change the water without a bucket I do not know.. =/
I have a 2 litre jug but that's it! 

carbon?


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

get a new bucket? I have one dedicated to JUST water changes to avoid crap getting into my tank. They're only a couple of bucks.

As for a betta, i used to keep mine in a 5g with a apple snail that helped eat some algae and leftover food. You can do no filter but change the water often. I think you need a soil substrate set-up to really reduce water changes. I think you need to change the water at some point for all set-ups.


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## kitten_penang (Mar 26, 2008)

active carbon and zeolite help take out ammonia, heavy metals and med residues in the tank


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

tanker said:


> I'd say 10 gallons. Aunt Kymmie has a betta and some otos in a 6 gallon, I think, but you'd generally need plenty of room so they can keep out of each other's way. And, it would depend on the betta. Some bettas don't want "friends" no matter how big the tank....


Wow, good memory! Tanker is right, I had a 6gl with a betta and three otos. Some bettas don't care for tankmates. Always add the betta last, it'll be less likely to be territorial. I went with otos, but my tank was well established and HEAVILY planted. I'm not even sure the betta knew the otos were there. The Betta passed after 2 1/2 years, otos went to the 100g display and I set up the 6g as a RCS farm. The tank is now teeming with shrimp.


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## lostperspective (Aug 24, 2010)

I'll have a look Kitten but I'm reluctant to spend any more money.

Brown spots of some kind of algae type stuff are starting to appear all over the tank.. is this some terrible sign that something is wrong with the tank or perfectly normal/a good sign?

Now I've fallen for dwarf puffer fish. =') They seem to have pretty fussy requirements when it comes to food though.


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## tanker (Mar 13, 2010)

The brown algae could be diatoms. It's quite normal in a new tank and it appears and then goes away later. You can just wipe it away if you don't like it.


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

Im looking to start a dwarf puffer tank myself, they're so interesting... and they swim funny.


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## lostperspective (Aug 24, 2010)

Thank you Tanker. =)


x3 Everything I've read about dwarf puffers has just made them more and more interesting~!
I am already plotting how to persuade my parents not only that I need a new fish tank but that they need to buy it for me for christmas/birthday. xD


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## lostperspective (Aug 24, 2010)

got my water tested again & ammonia is still off the charts.
=/

I am quite (pleasantly) surprised to see my fish are still alive! D=
I'm thinking of buying some kind of quick growing plant to take in some of the ammonia (and because I'll take any excuse to get more plants.. =D) but I've already got vallisneria, swords, dwarf hairgrass (or something similar) & a stem plant I can never remember the name of which surely should be helping already surely? They're definitely growing..
I also have an anubias I think but I took it out since the roots were rotting quite a lot.
It's currently sitting in a bucket of aquarium water.. probably not ideal but my fish are more important so it will have to deal with it.


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## tanker (Mar 13, 2010)

Have you tested the ammonia level of your tap water? Are you still using the Ammolock? How many water changes are you doing and how much water are you changing at a time?

Sorry if it's there, but I just reread the thread and missed it if it is. How big is your tank and what fish have you got in there?


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## lostperspective (Aug 24, 2010)

I haven't tested the tap water since I don't yet have a test kit. I'm going to order one this weekend though so I should know by the end of the week. =/ 
I've been using some ammolock but not the full dose. 
I'm doing a water change every day but since I am worried about the buckets, I've only got two jugs so I can only change three litres at a time. D=
I did do two 50% water changes at the beginning of the week though.

The tank is 30 litres & there are 5 cardinal tetra.


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## lostperspective (Aug 24, 2010)

something I don't think I mentioned earlier is a week or so ago I discovered I had three or four tiny snails in the tank - they're definitely not there anymore.
I've see the tetra try to eat them but I wouldn't have thought they'd have succeeded?
Maybe I got something i the tank which as well as wiping out the bacteria, killed off my snails?

Also, I forgot the say thank you so much for your help. =)


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## tanker (Mar 13, 2010)

The high ammonia could have killed your snails, perhaps. 

There could be ammonia in your tap water. As I understand it, you'll still get an ammonia reading if you are using chemicals to detoxify ammonia - but you won't know if it's a result for ammonia or ammonium. I would just use Prime when you change the water, and do a water change if you've got a reading for ammonia. 

Changing 3 litres at a time isn't going to bring the levels down much. Why are you concerned about your buckets? Did you use them for cleaning or with chemicals before? As recommended, buy yourself a brand-new bucket and use it only for your aquarium. Once you've got a decent bucket, deal with any ammonia readings by water changes. But I'd definitely find out if you've got ammonia in your source water. No amount of water changes will bring your levels down, if the ammonia is in your source water.


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## lostperspective (Aug 24, 2010)

I bought two new buckets specially but noticed last week an oily layer on top of the water in one of them.
So I immediately stopped using them and left one bucket full of water to see what happened - it got more oily & started to smell quite weird.

But! Today my mum bought some 5 litre water bottles from Tescos for me so I can use those now. =D
My fish are already so much happier & more lively - and they're no longer constantly gulping.

Once the tank has finished cycling I'm hoping to start buying the RO water from the fish shop since the tap water is quite hard & yeah, life is good. =)


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## lostperspective (Aug 24, 2010)

My tank has started to smell really quite fishy & my fish haven't been swimming about in the last two days.
D=
I can see three of them hiding under the bridge but idk about the other two. =/


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## tanker (Mar 13, 2010)

They might have died? 

Have you tested the water? Kept up the water changes?


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## lostperspective (Aug 24, 2010)

D=
Umm I still don't have a test kit..
I've been doing a 5 litre water change every other day..
They were looking really healthy & happy two days ago.

If they are dead the other three are going to die if I don't find them and fish them out aren't they. =/
Fish are supposed to float when they die honestly. ='(
>.<


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## lostperspective (Aug 24, 2010)

they're all still alive~
=D
I was really worried for a moment..

So what else could be causing the smell?


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## tanker (Mar 13, 2010)

Excess food? High ammonia? Time to change the filter pad (shouldn't be the case, your tank is new....)? Time for a water change?


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## lostperspective (Aug 24, 2010)

I think my tank's about two months old now.
Maybe slightly more.
In terms of cycling though it's more like two weeks old though. =b
So it could be the filterpad.

I've been really careful feeding them so I doubt it's that.
High ammonia given the fishes' behaviour is quite possible..


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## tanker (Mar 13, 2010)

The filterpad shouldn't be clogged enough to smell after 2 weeks. Check that the filter is actually working. If it has malfunctioned or stopped working, it might start to smell. 

I'd do the usual - water change, gravel vac, test the water parameters.


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## lostperspective (Aug 24, 2010)

my parents don't want me to buy a testkit since it'd make a good birthday present. xD
I am trying to persuade them the fishes welfare is at stake though and they are almost convinced to buy it as an early birthday present.. 0

The tank & filter have been running two months.. it's just the tank hadn't even started to cycle two weeks ago.

I've now changed about ten litres of water. The fish are still all hiding and it still stinks.. 
I'm going to change more water later today.


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## tanker (Mar 13, 2010)

You really need the test kits now. It's when your tank is cycling that you get ammonia and then nitrite and need to test to see what's happening with your cycle. After your tank is cycled and stable, you won't need to test as much. Waiting to get the kits is counter-productive because you'll miss having them when you need them most. You could also take a sample to the local fish shop for testing. 

How often have you been changing the water? Still every second day?


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## lostperspective (Aug 24, 2010)

I've ordered the testkit~
It should be here by the end of the week. /crosses fingers

the fish seem comparatively happy today though I'm not 100% sure if it's just me but they seem to be leaning slightly to one side..?
It might just be the angle I see them, but I've been noticing it for a few days~

I've been changing the water every second day, more last weekend..


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## lostperspective (Aug 24, 2010)

Got the testkit.
Idrk if I'm reading it right but it looks like 
Ammonia is 4.0ppm
Nitrite is 0 ppm 
& Nitrate is about 10ppm.

It's the api test kit but it's really hard to tell which one each test tube is.. 

Anyway I'm going to do a really big water change the bring down the ammonia & nitrate.


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## tanker (Mar 13, 2010)

Yes. Test your water every day and keep doing daily water changes if you get ammonia readings.


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