ammonia way too high

luluespy

hi everyone.
Got some VERY used filter cartridges from my local tropical fish shop, put them yesterday, did not change water per their instructions. I tested the levels a few minutes ago(about 27 hrs after used filters added):

ammonia 2.0 (yeah it is going down!!!)
nitrites 0
nitrates 0

Do you think I should change the water tonight or wait until tomorrow?
Thanks

stevef10

A few weeks ago when I cleaned my filter for the first time I did the same thing with the tap water and had to re-cycle. I did a 35-40% water change every day I could until the ammonia levels went back to 0. But expect the nitrites to rise soon. I just kept up the water changes every day and waited it out until the nitrites fell to 0 a few days later. I used Prime and Stability (both made by SeaChem) per the instructions on the bottle and it seemed to speed things up a bit. The Prime is supposed to dechlorinate and remove ammonia and detoxify the nitrites. Your water might test high in nitrites still but my fish definitely seemed less stressed after using Prime during my water changes so I think it really does work to detoxify the nitrites. The Stability introduces beneficial bacteria to speed up the building of your beneficial bacteria colonies.
This is just my experience but hope it helps! We didn't lose any fish through the whole process so hopefully all your fish will make it too!

Cody

Good point. Since your cycling, you will see a spike in Nitrites, and then Nitrates, which are still toxic. Nitrates can be safe when around 20ppmm and occasionally almost 40ppm. Continue testing your water and doing water changes.