What am I doing wrong??

[ohgollie_molly]

Help!!! For the past 2 weeks I have been struggling with the Ammonia in my 10 gal.

My readings have pretty much been like this:
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 12.5
pH - 6.0
Ammonia - 4.0

What am I doing wrong?? I do daily 20% (at least, if not more) water changes. My only thought is I have been using stress coat during each of my daily water changes, to de-chlorinate; and tonite I was reading somewhere that I shouldn't? Is this right? Can I add untreated tap water to my tank?

I've also been cycling my 15 gal what seems like forever already.
readings are:

Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 12.5
pH - 7.0
Ammonia - .25

I want to get some of my fish moved from my 10 to my newly cycled(?) 15 tank... But is it ready???

 

[Cutlass]

You have to treat the tap water before add it it to the tank. Either use a de-chlorination solution or let the water sit in a bucket with an airstone in it overnight. Don't bother adding stress coat every time you change the water, especially since you're doing it every day. Maybe once every week or two instead.

To get rid of the ammonia, try using ammonia-reducing filter material. It seems like you don't have enough bacteria in the tank to complete the Nitrogen cycle. In an established tank, the nitrates should be higher than 12.5, but on the other hand that number may be low because you're changing the water every day.

What kind of filter are you using?

 

[ohgollie_molly]

You have to treat the tap water before add it it to the tank. Either use a de-chlorination solution or let the water sit in a bucket with an airstone in it overnight. Don't bother adding stress coat every time you change the water

But I thought stress coat was a de-chlorinater? It says it is on the bottle. I wasn't using it to reduce the ammonia, just to de-chlorinate the water. What other kind of solution is out there to remove chlorine aside from the air stone method?

What kind of filter are you using?

Bio-Wheel.

 

[FroggyFox]

Stress coat CAN be used as a dechlorinator. If thats the kind you've been using and you want to spend the money to do so...there's nothing wrong with that. The only beef that some people see with it is that its much more expensive than a water conditioner that only dechlorinates. Personally I use bigal's 'generic' version of stress coat to treat my water and my fish dont seem any worse for the wear.

I would disagree that you should use any kind of artificial ammonia reducer. Your tanks will establish themselves and the ammonia will be gone. It can take several months for a tank with fish in it to fully cycle. The shortest cycles happen on tanks that are well seeded with media from an established tank and have live plants.

Low nitrates are not a problem...the only thing you're looking for there is that your nitrates aren't REALLY HIGH like over 40 ppm (as your test kit reads, there is some discussion about the accuracy of nitrate test kits) so 12.5 is fine.

How long has each tank been set up? What is "forever" on the tank that is cycling and are you doing a fishless cycle on it? If so then I'm wondering where your nitrites are and if they've already fallen or haven't started rising yet. I'd guess that they've already peaked and come back down since you have a nitrate reading? You're not doing water changes on the tank thats cycling are you? Have you continued adding ammonia to the tank if you're doing a fishless cycle?

 

[revfred]

Have you checked your tap water for a baseline reading? I agree with Froggy .. the nitrates don't seem to be the problem. You also might want to take some water to the LFS and get a reading from them to compare with your readings from your test kit. Maybe they will give you some "squeezings" from there filters to seed the 10G. Actually 2wks is not very long.

IMO, I don't see any major problems in your 15 gal, and I would go ahead and put in a couple of hardy fish.

 

[ohgollie_molly]

Thanks for the input.
Froggy I wasn't aware that there was something other than Stress-Coat to de-chlorinate... i will go to my LFS and see what else is out there.

The 15 gal has been cycling for at least 3 weeks now, and I am using media from an established tank. I actually bought the tank from a friend who sold her fish off because she didn't have the time for them anymore.. So I am using the previous filter, and bio-wheel, previous tank decor, and plants, including an onion plant. I also added 2 mystery snails form my 10 gal. (which has been set up for roughly 2-3 months now)and they seem to be doing fine.

revfred i have checked my tap, and all readings are fine. I honestly think the 15 gal is fine to start adding fish, i was just concerned by the .25 ammonia reading.
As for my 10 gal. I will find a different de-chlorinater to use and see what happens.. All my fish are great and showing no signs of stress. Even my one little fry is thriving. This is why I am raising the question on whether or not the stress-coat could be raising the ammonia?

 

[discus4everGrl]

too many water changes early on can cause a problem too.

 

[ohgollie_molly]

so then, what is the cure??? Am I to just wait until all my fish start to die?

 

[FroggyFox]

There is no way stress coat could be raising the level of ammonia. If you're happy with it then use it If you're really happy with it then I'd check out www.bigalsonline.com and get a gallon of theirs for MUCH cheaper than you can get it in the store. Some folks use prime as a dechlor...but I know there are a kazillion of them out there.

If the 15G is cycling...you do mean you're adding ammonia to it?? Or that you just have two snails in there and you're just letting it run?

How long has the 10 been up and running?? the .25 ammonia reading isn't too bad really...could mean that the tank is overcrowded...or that your tank is still cycling...or that something recently happened to your bacteria (rinsed it in water that wasn't treated, changed out the filter cartridge etc)

 

[ohgollie_molly]

well good to know it's not the stress coat..I have actually already ordered stuff from Big Al's... great deals!!! I recommend for everyone to go there.
I never got out today to look for a different dechlorinator, but will try tomorrow or just see if Al's has something.
In the 15 I just have the 2 snails, plus the media from the previous established tank.. I have not added any chemical ammonia to it.

The 10 has been up and running for almost 3 months at least... thats the tank with the 4.0 reading. The 15 is the .25 reading.
On the 10 I haven't changed the filter but have rinsed it with the water from the tank. Every time I do a water change I use the vacuum to clean the debris from the bottom and use that water to scrub the scum off the filter... This is what i should be doing, right?

I think my 10 is definately at an over crowding phase, and have been waiting for the 15 to cycle so i can transfer my Danio's and swordtails into it and use my 10 for my guppies and fry. I suppose the 15 is ready... maybe once I move the fish the ammonia level will go down in the 10?

 

[FroggyFox]

It sounds like your 10 is having trouble cycling. The difference between the 10 and the 15 is pretty small...and since you've only got two snails attempting to cycle the 15, you'll only be transferring the problem to your 15 if you move all of your fish there now. It sounds like you need to go re-read about cycling a tank and what that means. You're looking for an ammonia spike in the 15 (which is only up to .25 and needs to go up over 4 or so) and then that'll go down and you'll get a nitrite spike...and then that will go down and your tank will be cycled and ready for fish. Fishless cycling is when you simulate the ammonia that the animals would be creating by adding ammonia from a bottle to the tank.

I think my suggestion at this point would be to stop messing with the filter in your 10G completely. (everytime you scrub 'gunk' off of that filter cartridge you're getting rid of beneficial bacteria. In an established tank you can scrub filter cartridges...but not on a cycling tank) Continue doing water changes every day or every other day to keep the levels down to a somewhat liveable condition for your fish. I'd move your snails into the 10 with the other fish and do a fishless cycle on the 15 to get it finished.

Once the 15 is cycled I would move all of your fish to the 15 and finish cycling the 10...and then move forward with both tanks, whatever you were planning to do. (I dont remember what fish you have in the 10...but if its overstocked I hope you were planning on splitting them up and not just moving them to the 15)