Couple More questions - Re: Amonia levels - Re: Tank cleaner

[sdivell]

ok guys need some more advice.

#1 - Tested my water on sunday (2nd day with fish in it - 4th day up and running) and my ammonia levels were @ the toxic level..cant remember what the numbers were and dont have the info infront of me but the instruction sheet with the test kit said that the level was toxic. I did a 50% water change with treated water...tested the amonia again a couple hours later and it had only dropped 1 shade of green and is very close to the toxic region still...
any chance my tap water has ammonia in it? can i buy something to put into my tank water to lower the levels?


#2 - when my tank is cycled and running smoothly i'd like to get a tank cleaner/bottom feeder to help keep my tank clean - any recommendations? its a 21 gal tank w/ 6 platies in it (for now).
the tank is planted with about 4 plants.

thanks guys

 

[seastaar88]

it would be helpful to know what the level of ammonia was/is.

it does take a few h20-changes to bring down a high level. you should expect an ammonia spike if you are cycling your tank. refresh yourself on the cycle process by reading the cycle sticky i wouldn't be too worried if you're cycling.

i test my tap water eveyr now and again just to have a baseline reading for all the parameters. just for my own reasons hehe.

by "keeping yoru tank clean," what exactly to you mean? do you want a bottom feeder to eat uneaten fish food? then maybe look at corys. if you want an algae eater, maybe an otto or other algea eater. or you can look into snails.

 

[James From Cali]

1- I suggest you test your tap. I know my water source has ammonia in it but it only has about .25 ppm of ammonia. I would do another water change in a couple days. Its normal for it to spike like this when you do fish in cycles. Keep on your water changes and watch your parameters closely.

2-Corydoras do a great job with eating left over foods. Otos Love Diatoms(Brown Algae), Amano shrimp, although they can be hard to find, will eat left over foods and they love hair algae IME. Depending on the fish you plan on putting in your tank these are all great choices.

 

[MissFishy]

It does take quite a few water changes to lower ammonia levels, but if they are at toxic levels, it must be done. Otherwise you'll just be torturing your fish. Do as many water changes as it takes to lower the ammonia levels below 1ppm. Wait about 20 mins between each water change to test the levels.

As far as fish go, no fish is really going to "clean" your tank for you. All fish create waste and need food. If you're looking for a scavenger to pick up excess food, you could try ghost shrimp or a more expensive variety. They do a fantastic job cleaning and will even eat some algae.

 

[sdivell]

I believe my ammonia was 1.2ppm and after the water change was between ..6pmm and 1.2ppm because it wasnt quit as dark as the 1.2 level and not quit as light as the .6 colour...I'll confirm tonight when i get home from work (thats right im posting at work).

my plants are as follows:
2 groupings of hygrophia corymbosa
2 groupings of egeria densa - anarchis

i'm looking for a fresh water fish that'll eat up the left over flakes.

 

[sdivell]

Ammonia Levels = 1.2
Nitrite = 0.2
Nitrate = 5

 

[lauraj]

I've been very happy with my choice of Julii cories and ottos. They are very entertaining and always busy working on finding leftovers and brown algae. Weekly syphoning and partial water changes are still needed even with these fish though (once you're cycled that is....you'll be doing more frequent water changes till then). I would, as you mentioned, recommend waiting till after the cycle is complete before adding these fish though. They need more stable conditions then a cycling tank can provide.

Looks like you may also have some nitrates in your tap water 'cause I wouldn't expect to see so much this soon in the cycling. Not a problem though....it'll be a while before you have to worry about partial water changes for the purpose of keeping the nitrates in control. I basically checked my tank params every day, and did partial water changes to keep the ammonia and nitrites below 1 ppm while waiting for the cycle to be completed. First time I did a fish-in-cycle, took about 6 weeks. The second time, I used Bio Spira, and it took only 3 weeks.

 

[sdivell]

OK! the questions keep on rolling in! haha I should have to pay a fee to get all this advice...

Talking with my LFS which happens to be Big Al's and other than the big boys like petsmart and superpet these are the only guys within a reasonable drive...they only carry a liquid Bio-Support and not the Bio-Spira you guys keep mentioning. I need to do something as I tested my tap water last night and the ammonia levels in it are .6ppm so partial water changes are doing very little to reduce the ammonia levels in my tank

Will this bio-support stuff work at all? is it worth the 11.99 for 8oz?
(PS.. im drinking bottled water from now on)

 

[MissFishy]

Hmm, I'm not sure what you can do about the .6 level in your tap water, that's pretty high, but I'm sure someone else can chime in. Perhaps an ammonia neutralizer? You may also want to get a second opinion from your test kit, take a water sample of both tap water and your tank water into your fish store and have them test it for you.

I do know that in order for Bio-Spira or the like to work, it must be refridgerated at the store in order to be kept alive. If it's just sitting on the counter, it's no good. You also need no ammonia in the water as when you add it, it will quickly die without doing anything if there is ammonia present. Usually this stuff should be added before adding any fish.

 

[seastaar88]

i agree, i'd get a second opinion at the LFS. seems high for tap water. you could use zeolite in your filter which will remove ammonia. but wait to see what your LFR reads as your tap water's ammonia level. another (but mroe costly) suggestion is to invest in an RO/DI unit which will remove everything out of your water.

 

[FroggyFox]

I think with platies and your cycle moving along nicely that your current level of ammonia is fine. Eventually what should happen is that those plants and your tank being cycled should take care of that .6ppm. I think with the addition of fish and plants in the tank, the nitrate is probably real and I'm thinking your cycle has a great jump start. I would *NOT* waste your money on any type of product to cycle the tank unless you were to find Biospira and then if you found that I think you'd probably be fine with less than 1ppm of ammonia in the tank when you add it. Although everyone is right that seems relatively high for tap water...but test kits really aren't *that* accurate either.

 

[sdivell]

I spoke with a guy at my LFS on the phone today and he informed me that ottawa does have some ammonia in the water and getting a reading of .6 might be a little high but getting a reading doesnt suprise him... so I'm going to just keep on plugging away with pwc and hope that my poor like batman planties dont kick the bucket.. i'm already finding that they have a great personality...always coming up to the glass when i come close.. hate to see them floating at the top... so wish my luck guys.

should the tank be cycled completly before introducing a couple ghost shrimp?

 

[FroggyFox]

should the tank be cycled completly before introducing a couple ghost shrimp?

Yes, Yes, triple yes

 

[sdivell]

did a 50% water change then a few hours later tested my levels:
Ammonia Levels = 1
Nitrite = 0.1
Nitrate = 0

 

[lauraj]

I'm certainly not pushing you to use Bio-Spira....just wanted to answer your questions about it. I'm sure your fish will be just fine without the use of the stuff as long as you keep up with the PWC's to keep the params in check.

I bought the Bio stuff (I believe it was 3 oz. for $7.99) from a reputable lfs where it was kept refrigerated. And yes, it's in a liquid form. I did not add it to my platy/neon tank until day 11 of my cycling tank when my ammonia level was .25. The tank was finished cycling 10 days later. There's nothing in the instructions to say it should be added before fish.