Uh oh...higher ammonia?

FlashGuppy

I tested my numbers last night on my 20 G Marineland tank and found the ammonia up from .25 to .50. I did a 25% water change and this morning when I tested again it had gone back down to .25. It has not changed from that number since I've started monitoring it. Should I strive for a perfect 0...or let it go at .25? The fish seem content and happy. Everyone is eating and swimming with open fins.

Also am wondering. The hardness of my water comes in at 75 (ppm?), according to the strip test which is the only one I have that tests hardness. I was thinking it was hard but on the chart it is considered soft. A couple of weeks ago I bought the API master test kit which I am using on PH, nitrate, nitrite etc....but it doesn't have a hardness test in it. I guess my question is since my alkaline came in at 300 on the strip test and hardness at 75, does this mean I should look for another variety of fish? Can I go with Angelfish in this type of water? My livebearers and tetras are doing fine.

roundar

I don't think the water hardness is going to have much impact on your fish choice.(IME) Also, maybe test your tapwater to see what the ammonia coming out of the tap is.(Hopefully 0)
What is your PH and Temp? The toxicity of ammonia is dependent on those. .25 is toxic at 8.2 PH, but not at 7.0. I would strive for 0ppm when I'm not cycling though anyway.

Here's a helpful set of charts

BarbH

First question how long has this tank been running? If it is a new tank it will still be going through the cycle process and you can expect to see a spike in your ammonia levels, followed by a spike in your nitrites. When your tank has fully cycled you will get readings of 0 for ammonia and nitrites, and your nitrates will be reading around 10-20. Also have you tested your tap water to see if there is ammonia present there? If so than you will want to use a water conditioner that not only treats for chlorine and chloramides, but also for ammonia. A product like seachem Prime, or Amquel plus from kordon will work. Keep an eye on the ammonia levels and the nitrite levels, and do water changes as needed to keep them in check.

JohnnyD44

+1 to BarbH.

Your tank is trying to complete it's natural cycle in order to make the tank safe for your fish. Ammonia can come from fish waste as well as excess food. As long as there is fish present you'll be getting ammonia coming from both. The purpose of the cycle is to build up a strong enough defense to detoxify the ammonia into a less harmful version, ammonium.

If ammonia is present in your tap water, I would recommend Prime in order to take it out, as well as other harmful substances.

I would continue water changes, which may need to be daily (bummer I know) until you get a reading of 0ppm. Ammonia can be toxic at any level, so it's important to keep it at bay until the cycle completes and the tank can take care of it on its own.

~ Johnny

roundar

'Can be' -- It's probably better to educate on when it's toxic and when it isn't IMO. Keeping .25ppm will help complete the cycle.

FlashGuppy

This tank has been running for about a month. My Ph is at 7.6 and my water temp is 75 degrees. Tap ammonia reading is at 0, thankfully.

I use Safe Start to start the cycle when I first set it up and then last night when I did the water change I used Aqua Safe. Altho Safe Start says that I can also use it for water changes....a bit confusing tho because I thought it was only to jump start a biological filter.

I'll continue the daily water changes until the ammonia gets to 0.

Thank you for your input. And roundar...thank you for that chart link. It's very informative.

BarbH

I used tetra safe start when I set up my 50 gallon. From research that I did on the product I did find that you will get readings of ammonia, from what they explained the ammonia gives the bacteria a form of food to feed off of as it establishes itself in your aquarium. From what the company claims it can take up to two weeks for the product to fully work. During that time they recommend not to do water changes. With my experience I had steady ammonia readings for two weeks, and at two weeks I started getting nitrite readings of 1.4, along with readings on my nitrates. I immediatly starting doing water changes for the next couple of days, being able to lower both my ammonia and nitrite levels, until I was getting a reading of 0. I found the information about the tetra safe start on another forum, if you are interested in reading the information let me know and I will see if I can find it again. From what I understand people have had different results with using this product, some have been successful and others not. Definitly keep an eye on the levels of your nitrites and nitrates also. Have you tested those, what are the numbers that you are getting for those levels? Nitrite is actually even more harmful to fish than ammonia, so you will want to keep tabs on all of those levels while you are cycling your tank. With my experience of tetra safe start even though it did seem to work in helping my tank cycle, I probably would not use it again, but would opt for going for a fishless cycle. But when I started everything, I kind of jumped in feet first , starting with a tank that was too small for my angels which fortunately was able to find a good deal on a suitable tank quickly after. The rest of my tanks that I am setting up now I am doing as fishless cycle with seeding my filters from the main tank. Less stress on the fish and healthier for them also.

FlashGuppy

Barb, I would be interested in reading more on that forum to do with Aqua Safe, if you can find it again.

My Nitrate is down from 80 last night to 20 just now when I tested it. I will keep an eye on them and monitor the numbers.

How are your angels doing? What kind of water parameters do you have them in? I would love to have some Angels but will need a bigger tank and probably my water parameters would need to be worked on.

Byron

On the issue of angels and water hardness, you are quite good. Assuming your numbers are reasonably accurate, a GH of 70ppm is very soft, ideal angelfish water. The pH is high by comparison, but for tank raised angels this is not an issue. The KH being high has no impact on fish but it does buffer the pH so your pH will remain stable where it is unless something is done to reduce the KH naturally (not with concoctions that usually carry more trouble). You can read a bit more in my article on hardness and pH:
Water Hardness and pH in the Freshwater Aquarium

Byron.

FlashGuppy

Awesome! Thanks for your input Byron. I'm off to read the link you provided too.