I have no idea what happened....

JohnnyD44

I've been having problems with my tank for a few weeks now. Brown algae started to appear.....I upped the light-on length to 8 eight hours from 6....

nitrate was on the rise....it was hanging out @ about 60ppm.....

Then there was some ammonia in my tank....a little....don't know where it came from.....my fish eat everything I feed them, no fish loss.....I tested the water a few nights ago and the ammonia was around .5-1.0....too high, I know....so I did a 50% pwc.....this afternoon when I came home from work, and the light was on....the water was extrememly cloudy....never, ever this cloudy......so tested I the water again....I almost passed out when I read the water readings.....

Nitrite - 0
ph 76..
nitrate....about 80ppm!!!
ammonia....you ready for this.....8.0... 8!!!! I didn't believe it, I did the test 3 more times...the vile of ammonia test water is darker than any other color on the scale.....

nothing happened to my knowledge is this tank over night...i fed them before I went to bed, like I always do.....came home and this is what happened....I'm about to do a like, 80% water change....

any suggestions? I've never seen anything like this before....ever.....8? come on! thats gotta be a joke....

i use prime everytime i do a pwc....isn't that supoose to supress/convert ammonia levels???

Please help me.

tap water is free of ammonia
tap water tests around 10ppm


The fish all look healthy though, it's the weirdest thing, they all should be belly up!!!!

Be Back with an update later, until then, help me out!!!

thanks in advance

Johnny.....

Fishin Pole

i would try and get your water tested by a reputable fish store in your area, just to make sure your readings are correct...Not trying to insult you, but maybe something has gone awry with your test kit or another thought is maybe someone (a small child) added something to your tank.....Did you add any kind of decor or new rocks or driftwood recently to trigger this happening?...just a few scenerios that i could think of possibly happening....please keep us posted on your progress, all this happening is rather puzzling

JohnnyD44

puzzling is right....haha

no, nothing new has entered the tank in weeks. There are no small children at my house, and everyone knows that I'm the only one who is allowed to feed them,

I will go to the LFS tomorrow....something cannot be right. i refuse to believe i have an ammonia reading of 8.0 out of nowhere....thanks for the help fishin!

Fishin Pole

thats why i think something is wrong with your test kit.........i would check it again, just to be sure........with ammonia that high, i find it hard to believe ALL your fish arent belly up......Good Luck

Twistersmom

I would also take some tap water to be tested. Hope everything checks out ok for you.

MoneyMitch

i agree with fp, get a new test kit and take somet ank water AND tap water to get tested at a lfs. if they use strips go somewhere else to get it tested . Money

willow

hope you get it sorted.

kitten_penang

oh yeah i remembered something i hope it helps.do you have gravel in your tank?????? you might want to vacum it.too much poop and decaying matter that settles at the bottom of the tank can can cause a bulid up of nutrients that can cause an algea boom in the tank.