# Random Huge Ammonia Spike! :(



## Frayzm (Aug 11, 2013)

Woke up this morning to a very unpleasant surprise. One of my favourite Johanni's was lying dead in his little cave.  So I did a water test and found out that since the last time I tested my water (couple days ago), my ammonia went from 0 to around 3.0-6.0, basically somewhere in the danger zone. I have no idea what happened. I keep my tank clean, do daily water changes, don't overfeed or anything. I also put dechlorinate solution in my water so I really have no idea what caused this spike. My nitrite was also a bit high this morning (its usually 0), but I have a feeling that if I fix the ammonia problem, my nitrite will go down as well.

At the moment, my other fish seem to be okay, but not as active as usual. Two of my Africans are lying on the sand. They'll occasionally get up and swim around but most of the time they're just lying at the bottom (not normal behaviour). I don't want any more of my fish to die! 

I just did a 50% water change and plan on doing another one in the afternoon, as I heard this would help. Is there anything else I can do? Or should I just continue doing 50% water changes for the next couple of days and keep testing my water?

Thanks guys


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## charles (Apr 21, 2010)

just continue your water changes till the tank cycle again. Seems like you have a mini-cycle. Did you just add some fish in there recently? Do you wash your bio-media when you do filter cleaning?


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## kacairns (Apr 10, 2012)

The decaying body of the fish is enough to cause the ammonia to spike.

You can try adding Seachem Prime to the water if not already using which will help detoxify the ammonia.


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## Frayzm (Aug 11, 2013)

The tank was purchased 3 weeks ago and I added fish in about 2 weeks ago. I just finished washing the bio-media, but it's only 2 weeks old so I don't think it should be that much of a problem? Either way, I cleaned it out just to be safe. 

I took out the body this morning. At most it was in my tank for maybe 5 hours? At most. Could that have caused such a huge spike in ammonia?


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## Hollyhawk (Mar 28, 2011)

So sorry about you loosing one of your faves.

I'm not sure but shouldn't bio media be left to get all ucky and gooey. That is the bacteria that will eat the amonia right? I was told to leave the sponges and bio media alone. Is that right?


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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

You can gently rinse it with tank water so it doesn't cause flow issues, but generally should be left alone. If you use tap water, there could very well be enough chlorine to kill the bacteria.

As mentioned, keep doing big water changes and add Prime to detoxify the nitrogen cycle. You'll want to do daily tests. When the ammonia lowers, the nitrites will rise again, and then when those are both zero you can breath a sigh of relief as you'll notice your nitrates rising.


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## Frayzm (Aug 11, 2013)

Oh no. I really messed up then. I washed my bio-media thinking that it would help out. Hopefully it won't be that big of a deal, I'll just keep it dirty from now on. I'll try out all the suggestions you guys mentioned. Thanks a lot.


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

You made a big mistake by washing all your media and adding fish to early. Sorry for the bad news but this is a classic begginer mistake. You have some reading to do my friend. You missed the first step on setting up a fish tank and until you fix it, the tank will continue to have issues.

How to Cycle a Fish Tank
The Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle

IMO You need to go and buy some Seachem stability. Start adding it. Its good bacteria in a bottle. The same bacteria you just washed down your sink. Or find someone that can spare/ lend you some established bio media to help regrow yours. You've basically restarted your tank but this time you are starting with fish right away. Which is a mistake. I did this a few times when I was younger. I couldn't wait to put fish in so I rushed them in. The amonia spikes. You're seeing what happens. Its the most common problem I've helped newbie fish keepers with. Cycling the tank properly is key to a healthy tank from the beggining.

Steves comment below is how you should maintain your filters IMO and his, which I think is a good one


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## Steve (Mar 27, 2013)

I think you added fish too soon. Your tank probably wasn't cycled and as Charles mentioned is going through a mini cycle which could take a few weeks. I would probably be prepared to do a 50% waterchange everyday for the time being (make sure to test your water everyday). As for biomedia, I never rinse my actual media but I keep a prefilter sponge over all of my HOB filters which I rinse quite frequently (since I don't need the bacteria in those because I have enough in my actual filters). If you have a hang-on-back filter that could be effective for you. I've had my african cichlid tank for 4-5 months and haven't washed the bio-media once and have a lot of very happy (and breeding) fish


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## Frayzm (Aug 11, 2013)

Thanks for all the replies. So let me get this straight. I'm suppose to buy some new bacteria and add it back in to my tank. Then continue doing 50% water changes a couple times a day until all the nitrates, nitrites and ammonia are back to normal?

By doing this will I be able to save my fish? So far, 3 of my fish have died. The rest of them don't look like they're about to die yet but they're definitely a lot less active than normal. 

Oh yea, yes my filter is a HOB filter.


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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

You'll need to do the 50% water changes to try to save your fish. You're really just slowing down the cycle in the process, so it's suggested to use Prime which detoxifies the poisons, and a bottle of Stability or Cycle (beneficial bacteria) to aid in speeding up the nitrogen cycle.

As mentioned above, if you can get some seeded media, put it right into your HOB. That would be the best thing to do to jump start the bacteria to convert the poisons to nitrate.


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## Frayzm (Aug 11, 2013)

Did what you said. Hopefully it'll help. 

Btw one more thing, since I'm using a HOB Filter, am I not suppose to wash the filter cartridge then? Because that was the thing I washed. If that's the case, why do they have filter cartridge replacements then? For Canister Filters, what I'm taking in from you guys is that I'm not suppose to wash the media but I am suppose to clean out the pre-filter sponges right?


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## Frayzm (Aug 11, 2013)

I'm still really confused. I have an aqueon filter and the only thing inside that type of filter is the filter cartridge. So am I never suppose to wash that? If so, why do they make the replacement cartridges?


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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

It's not a particularly effective design. It's just a floss pad with carbon in between it I believe. My biocube tank had a similar cartridge design which I got rid of immediately. I only used carbon once any how as I medicated my tank for ich.

Essentially when you replace the cartridge, the majority of biomedia is lost. I've got an in tank filter right now (not aesthetically pleasing) but I wasn't forced to use throw away medias, I just loaded it with ceramic rings and some crushed coral.

There should be other HOB's that are more effective in design that are rated for the right flow and bioload for your tank. I know a lot of people use the Aqua Clear units.


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## Frayzm (Aug 11, 2013)

Thanks Effox. And thanks to everyone else who helped out. Spent the whole day trying to resolve the problem. Hopefully things will be better tomorrow.


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## Hollyhawk (Mar 28, 2011)

So sorry that three are gone. I did the same thing with my first tank, I understand...  I really wish I new about this forum when I started. Good on you looking for information and help. This is a great place to come. 

I love the stability product. I use it with every water change big or small. The great thing is that Seachem Stability will not harm the fish if you put too much in, like other products can. J & L has huge bottles at affordable prices for what you need to do right now. I think they said 50% of your water changed out once a day would be good.


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## Steve (Mar 27, 2013)

Frayzm said:


> Did what you said. Hopefully it'll help.
> 
> Btw one more thing, since I'm using a HOB Filter, am I not suppose to wash the filter cartridge then? Because that was the thing I washed. If that's the case, why do they have filter cartridge replacements then? For Canister Filters, what I'm taking in from you guys is that I'm not suppose to wash the media but I am suppose to clean out the pre-filter sponges right?


Hey Frayzm,

I have both aqua clear HOB filters and Penguin Biowheel HOB filters. The aqua clear are superior in my eyes since they can use customized filter media. The penguin style uses a cartridge pad which sounds like what you use. They make replacements in my opinion basically as a money grab. They carbon inside them stops to work after about 2 weeks so they suggest you replace the cartridge every 2 weeks. However, carbon is not super important in filtration and is not necessary. I swap out my penguin biowheel filter pads maybe every couple of months if the pads start to essentially disintegrate. The best way of changing these pads without losing the beneficial bacteria is to "seed" them. If you filter has enough slots to allow for multiple pads in at the same time, leave both an old pad and new pad in for a week or two before taking the old one out. Also, you can rub them together to help transfer bacteria. If you take out all the cartridges and replace them you're essentially going to have to restart your cycling process. I probably lost $200 in livestock from doing what you did when I first started out. Your fish probably have some ammonia or nitrite burn and will not fare well for the next month or so most likely and you'll really have to work hard to keep them happy! Best of luck


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

I agree with everything people are saying. There is some good info on this thread. 

Sadly the aqueon filters arnt that good. If you can't afford to replace it than do as mentioned. Try to get another filter pad in there or if you can fit a small bag of media in there even better. Aqua clear sells small bags of media. Africans are messy. If you can get another filter I'd recomend using both. Run the aqueon as a mechanical filter. Run the new filter as a mechanical/biological filter. The more bio media you have the better. For now don't wash the filter pad under tap water. When its dirty clean it in a small bucket of your tank water. It doesn't need to be spotless. Just keep shaking it underwater until its somewhat clean. That filter pad is your mechanical and bio logical filtration in your paticular filter. 

Does your filter have a blue tray? I've seen aqueon filter with a blue tray. That is supposed to be for the bacteria to grow on if you have that filter.


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## jhj0112 (Jul 30, 2013)

I don't mean to hijack this thread but I have aqueon quiet flow filter in my 15g tank that JUST finished cycling.. what kind of bio media can i put in? right now i have 2 filter ( 1 from small 3G that were cycled and small piece from my 90g canister filter) in there. this is really good info for me. 

@frayzm I'm sorry that you are going through this. based on my short experience, prime and stability are really good. I still have 2 fishes that survive from cycling.


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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

I have no first hand experience with any aqueons, I just read reviews and saw 2 videos as research before seeing that wasn't something I'd want, based on it being so similar to what I already had in one of my tanks.

I think one of the videos was of the quiet flow, I believe that one had the plastic "meshed" tray before outflow.


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## Frayzm (Aug 11, 2013)

Great tips guys, thanks a lot. Unfortunately, my Aqueon filter is new so I can't really afford to purchase another one just yet. I guess I'll try out Aquaclear next time then. I'll be sure to add in a bag of media when I get the chance. Either that or I'll try out what Steve suggested and put in two pads for a week or so during my next cartridge change. 

And yes, my Aqueon does have a blue tray. There doesn't seem to be much bacteria growing on it just by looking though. 

Thanks jhj0112, I will grab some new products during next trip to the pet shop. 

UPDATE: I have added some beneficial bacteria back in to my tank, hopefully it'll help the situation out a little bit. Its a product by Proquatics called Bacteria starter. On the bottle it says that it'll help eliminate toxic ammonia and nitrite so that's a bonus. Any thoughts on this product? 
I have also done four 50% water changes today. No more fish fatalities atm but the fish still seem to be a bit woozy. Should I do one 50% water change daily from now on until the mini cycle stops or would it not hurt to do a couple more?


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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

I don't know about Bacteria Start by Proquatics, since it says "eliminate" instead of "neutralizes" or "detoxifies" I'd like to think it's more geared towards backing the beneficial bacteria, instead of converting nitrogen based ammonia or nitrites.

Don't do anymore multiple times a day water changes. 50% can be stressful sometimes enough for some fish.

Later on, once the cycle is completed and your fishies are back and at it, we can go on with testing for PH and water buffering, since you'll need less frequent partial water changes and testing of parameters in between. I sometimes do a big water change to gravel vacuum everything, and it the water volume goes below 70%...

For now, let us know what the ammonia and nitrite is. Don't worry about the nitrates since you're on top of the water changes, just match the water temperature the best you can, and test for ammonia & nitrites before and after a water change, and let us know approximately how much you removed.

We can give some advice when it'd be good to less % of a change, and\or less frequent change based on those numbers you'll be recording.

I'll jump back in to this thread, keep us posted for updates! 

Cheers,
Chris


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