Very high tank levels

[xjojox86]

Hi people am very new to this so need a lot of help lol I recently bought a 125l juwel tank it's a tropical tank and everything was going fine but now my readings are sky high!

Nitrate 50ppm
Nitrite 1.6ppm
Ammonia 4.9ppm
Ph 7.8

So as you can see by my readings something is going very wrong! The tank has been set up for 5 weeks now with fish which are,

5 x glowlight tetras
2 x neon tetras
2 x sucking loaches
2 x kuhli loaches
2 x cherry shrimp
2 x Ammano shrimp
1 x vampire crab

The past week I have put ammonia lock in every 2 days, the last 3 days I have done a 20% water change using tap conditioner and leaving the new water for 24 hours also I have replace the poly pad in my juwel filter has it was full of crap (literally) and I thought that it may help, but obviously not! Do I need to clean all the sponges in the filter or replace them! Is there anything else I can do don't want to lose any fish! Also my tank decor is gravel based and I currently have fake and about 5 real ones do you think the real ones may be causing a problem? Please help x

 

[Thyra]

I wouldn't be changing any of the filter material or cleaning anything because that is where the beneficial bacterial are growing. I suggest doing about 50% water changes daily until you get that ammonia level down to zero. Maybe some one else can help you with more ideas of what you can do.

 

[xjojox86]

I wouldn't be changing any of the filter material or cleaning anything because that is where the beneficial bacterial are growing. I suggest doing about 50% water changes daily until you get that ammonia level down to zero. Maybe some one else can help you with more ideas of what you can do.

Thank you just so frustrating trying everything and nothing changing x

 

[OrangeCones]

Nitrate 50ppm
Nitrite 1.6ppm
Ammonia 4.9ppm
Ph 7.8

How did you get these test results? What type/brand of test kit is being used?

 

[xjojox86]

Hi I am using a liquid test kit by nutrafin but also have a strip test by api but that does not test ammonia, them readings were taken using the liquid test x

 

[OrangeCones]

Hello xjojox86 - I am not familar with the Nutrafin brand of text kit, but since you are also using an ammonia lock product, the test kit may be registering the ammonia that has been 'locked' temporarily. Check your instructions on the kit and see if it measures 'free ammonia' or 'total ammonia.' If its for 'total ammonia' then your fish may not be at risk for now with an ammonia reading.

I would continue to do water changes of 25-50% daily, making sure to treat the water going in and making sure the temperature is close. Drip the new water in slowly if you don't have a way to heat up the new water before its added in.

Your bio load does not look to be high, other than I'm not sure what fish is 'sucking loach.' Until the parameters are normal again (0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and 20 or less nitrate), I would feed sparingly, every other day.

 

[xjojox86]

Thank you so much ill give it a try and see how everything goes x

 

[exhumed07]

stick to the liquid test kits. next time you need any i would recomend the api liquid test kits. the test strips are known to be unreliable so i would get rid of them. as for y the levels are so high. u are having a cycle which is an important and good thing for the tank. but as orangecones said reduce feeding and also continue with 20-50% water changes every day to every other day.

 

[lauraf]

Also, to reiterate what Thyra said, don't change your filter pads. Instead, rinse them in used tank water - the water you siphon out of the tank. If you clean them in tap water or replace them entirely, you lose the beneficial bacteria that is colonizing on them - this bacteria is crucial to cycling your tank.

 

[skjl47]

Hi people am very new to this so need a lot of help lol I recently bought a 125l juwel tank it's a tropical tank and everything was going fine but now my readings are sky high!

Nitrate 50ppm
Nitrite 1.6ppm
Ammonia 4.9ppm
Ph 7.8

So as you can see by my readings something is going very wrong! The tank has been set up for 5 weeks now with fish which are,

5 x glowlight tetras
2 x neon tetras
2 x sucking loaches
2 x kuhli loaches
2 x cherry shrimp
2 x Ammano shrimp
1 x vampire crab

The past week I have put ammonia lock in every 2 days, the last 3 days I have done a 20% water change using tap conditioner and leaving the new water for 24 hours also I have replace the poly pad in my juwel filter has it was full of crap (literally) and I thought that it may help, but obviously not! Do I need to clean all the sponges in the filter or replace them! Is there anything else I can do don't want to lose any fish! Also my tank decor is gravel based and I currently have fake and about 5 real ones do you think the real ones may be causing a problem? Please help x

Hello; If you are refering to real llive plants, it is unlikely they are causing a problem. Live aqatic plants will take up some of the nitrates as they grow.
Two exceptions come to mind. One is if the plants have dead or dying leaves or other parts. In this case the dead plant material will undergo decay and add to the bioload of the tank. Removing any such parts should help.

The other is that some sem-aquatic plants or non-aquatic are sometimes sold for aquarium use when they do not really do well at all in water. In this case these plants have been known to cause problems as they are essentially dying in the tank.