# Ammonia spike****help****



## BubBleBee (May 7, 2010)

Got home with baby endler's acclimatizing them in the tank....decided to test the water before i released them in.....My ten has been up for sometime now....The ammonia level is really dark green... The nitrite is at 0....The nitrate is around 5-10 I added Prime to remove the ammonia and it didn't do much....The baby endlers need to be released but I'm afraid to put them in the 30 as they may get eaten and the same for the 15. What can I do to bring down the ammonia level????
Off to do a water change and see if the level has gone down any.....repost back if there's any change...


----------



## Smiladon (Apr 23, 2010)

do a water change as thats the fastest way.

You might want to add a sponge filter too


----------



## BubBleBee (May 7, 2010)

How much should I take out???? This tank has been up for at least a month or so.....Everything else is fine except the ammonia....should i take out five or so gallons or less???


----------



## Death's Sting (Apr 21, 2010)

If your getting extremely high ammonia readings that means 1 of 2 things or perhaps both.

1. The tank is not cycled correctly
2. There is a build up of decaying matter somewhere hidden in the tank.

Solutions:
- water changes
- Seachem stability.
- add established media from another filter.
- search the tank long and hard for decaying matter. 
- add more filtration.

Questions:
How was the tank cycled specifically?
What is the filtration?
What is the pH?


----------



## BubBleBee (May 7, 2010)

The tank has been empty and running for like that for a few weeks....before then I had Rams in the tank...everything was fine....I did a water change the ammonia reading went down, but not enuff where i feel comfy putting babies in...will add stability after entering this post..I bought the ten gallon Aqueon set up at King Eds....i beileve it's a AquaClear whatever came in the box....just using it as a hospital tank...nothing fancy....There is nothing dead or decaying in it....but I'll check behind the HOB filter just to be hundred percent sure. I know it needs better filtration...Fish food was the method used to cycle....haven't done pH will do in am....well later.....Personally I think my son got a hold of one of the food containers and added a whole crap load of food with no fish in their to eat it....I'll be having a one on one with him in a few.....:s....for now I set up plastic lil tank till i get the ammonia prob figured out....which should hopefully be by noon today....Thank you ALL....for helping me with my crisis in the wee hours of the morn.....nite nite

Pics aren't the best but this is their temp. home.


----------



## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

Hi Bubblebee,

Endlers will probably be fine in unfiltered water in your spare tank or bucket for a day.They are easy going fish, although I find that they like a bit of Equilibrium or Replenish in their water. 

If your tank was cycled with food, then some of it might have drifted into a clump at the edge of a rock or the base of plants. I'd suggest vacuuming your gravel while you do the water change. If you have no other fish in the tank before you add your endlers, you can even do a 100% water change. You're lucky that you have other tanks; you can add some filter media from them, too.

Enjoy your endlers! You will soon have MANY!


----------



## Prelude2Life (Jun 22, 2010)

I see a few things wrong here and i looked up your old post where someone linked you a "how to do a fishless cycle on a planted tank." Ive never done a fishless cycle so i cant help ya there. One thing i wanna point out is I know "how to cycle" guides are available and all you have to do is google them but im surprised there isnt a inhouse cycle procedure or a sticky on "how to cycle" links.


----------



## BubBleBee (May 7, 2010)

m
My ten gallon is not a planted or anything tank....for now it is bare but I started the cycle process as a hospital tank....figured i might as well do a cycle in the case i decide I want to keep the tank set up. I will check the filter out for any excess food....spoke with my defiant son and he is the reason causing the Spike....He was putting food into the tank without my knowledge.....humbug


----------



## MadgicBug (Apr 22, 2010)

I would do a 50% WC. The stability will help cycle the tank and help "eat" away some of the decaying food.

Assuming that it wasn't a big dose of food....
If you are getting nitrate, it means that you have the baterias in place to convert. The high ammonia and 0 nitrite would suggest that there may not be enough nitrifying bateria to convert the ammonia to nitrite.


----------



## flannel (Apr 21, 2010)

And while you're at it, give a good squeeze of 'munge' from your filter in your fish-filled tank into the filter of the tank with the ammonia problem. That'll help re-seed the good bacteria in there and it'll be safe in no time. Endlers will be fine just about anywhere in the meantime, they're really hardy little critters. I had some I ordered take over two weeks in the mail, cool weather, just about everything against them and they all arrived alive and well.


----------



## Death's Sting (Apr 21, 2010)

In the future use pure ammonia to cycle the tank. It's faster, cheaper, and most importantly safer.


----------



## Smiladon (Apr 23, 2010)

I agree with Magicbug. 50% water change will reduce the ammonia level by half. To completely remove it and to prevent it by happening, you need to do 2 things:
1. Dilution
2. Proper Filtration

(you need to have a continuous source of ammonia for beneficial bacteria to build up...aka fish in tank or pure ammonia dosage)
Dilution:
After the 50% water change, do 20% every other day for 1 week

Filtration:
Your current filter might be ok, but I would still suggest a sponge filter as they are the best for biological filtration AND they are harmless to baby fish.

Both of the above together can solve your problems. my guess is that your tank is not properly cycled. 

HTH


----------



## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

Prelude2Life said:


> I see a few things wrong here and i looked up your old post where someone linked you a "how to do a fishless cycle on a planted tank." Ive never done a fishless cycle so i cant help ya there. One thing i wanna point out is I know "how to cycle" guides are available and all you have to do is google them but im surprised there isnt a inhouse cycle procedure or a sticky on "how to cycle" links.


There used to be such a sticky before the site crashed last spring. I guess it never made it back. But really there's plenty of good info on the web about the various methods of cycling, including the fishless pure ammonia method.



Death's Sting said:


> In the future use pure ammonia to cycle the tank. It's faster, cheaper, and most importantly safer.


Couldn't agree more. Especially when you start out, I think it's the way to go if you want peace of mind.


----------



## BubBleBee (May 7, 2010)

Where can I get pure Ammonia???


----------



## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

I use the Safeway brand myself. The most basic stuff. Pure ammonia, nothing added. $2 or $3 a bottle, or whatever it is.

The FISHLESS CYCLE - AlbertaAquatica


----------



## Death's Sting (Apr 21, 2010)

BubBleBee said:


> Where can I get pure Ammonia???


I use Goldex ammonia from Canadian tire. 1 liter for like $4. Its enough ammonia to cycle a lifetime of tanks.

you can use any ammonia really just make sure it has no additives like Bistrex. A good was to check is to shake it up or stir and see if it foams up. Also, read the bottle carefully. Ammonia is a cleaning product. So go to places that sell such products.


----------



## BubBleBee (May 7, 2010)

I was at Canadian Tire and they didn't have that brand....they had cleaners like Windex with ammonia....how long ago did u get ur's from there???


----------



## Death's Sting (Apr 21, 2010)

BubBleBee said:


> I was at Canadian Tire and they didn't have that brand....they had cleaners like Windex with ammonia....how long ago did u get ur's from there???


oh.... ya.. i got mine there years ago. Well, like i said in my last post:

Ammonia is a cleaning product. So go to places that sell such products.


----------



## BubBleBee (May 7, 2010)

*Ammonia*



flannel said:


> And while you're at it, give a good squeeze of 'munge' from your filter in your fish-filled tank into the filter of the tank with the ammonia problem. That'll help re-seed the good bacteria in there and it'll be safe in no time. Endlers will be fine just about anywhere in the meantime, they're really hardy little critters. I had some I ordered take over two weeks in the mail, cool weather, just about everything against them and they all arrived alive and well.


From my 30g take "munge" what is this??? I will be doing a water change sometime in the next few days...because I took out the carbon when I was treating the tank with Quick Cure so it's time for the carbon to go back in...On the 10g I have an AC for a filter really no room for anything....Wow good to know that endlers are hardy....Poor Endlers in the mail system for that long....


----------



## bonsai dave (Apr 21, 2010)

I found this web site very helpful it has a lot of great information Hope it helps.

Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle and cycling. Methods for ammonia, nitrite removal.


----------



## BubBleBee (May 7, 2010)

thanks DD...I will check that out.....I just did 100% water change on the tank....Found nothing in the tank as xtra food or anything....so now I will re-recycle with ammonia....starting tomorrow. I added Stability...and am thinking of getting a better HOB filter can anyone recommend one??? Please and Thank you all for all your help and useful advice.....Happy New Year's Eve All


----------



## Death's Sting (Apr 21, 2010)

BubBleBee said:


> I added Stability...and am thinking of getting a better HOB filter can anyone recommend one??? Please and Thank you all for all your help and useful advice.....Happy New Year's Eve All


Aquaclears are the best HOBs IMO. I have been using them for years. They have never let me down and have always out played other HOBS in all aspects, especially value. Plus, you get to customize your media.


----------



## BubBleBee (May 7, 2010)

I like them tooo....what I meant to say was....I got my filter with the tank so it's probably..AC10 or so.....Should I go bigger for a ten gallon??? I really like the slim AC....pretty sleek lookin.....


----------



## Death's Sting (Apr 21, 2010)

BubBleBee said:


> I like them tooo....what I meant to say was....I got my filter with the tank so it's probably..AC10 or so.....Should I go bigger for a ten gallon??? I really like the slim AC....pretty sleek lookin.....


I got 2 AC 20s on my 15 gallon. Their soo cheap so why not? If you got more of a budget then go with a small Ehiem.


----------



## flannel (Apr 21, 2010)

BubBleBee said:


> From my 30g take "munge" what is this??? I will be doing a water change sometime in the next few days...because I took out the carbon when I was treating the tank with Quick Cure so it's time for the carbon to go back in...On the 10g I have an AC for a filter really no room for anything....Wow good to know that endlers are hardy....Poor Endlers in the mail system for that long....


Lol sorry, didn't mean to be confusing! By munge, I mean just give your dirty filter media, from your 30 a squeeze into your 10's filter. Doesn't matter how dirty it is (won't necessarily look good), but lots of the good bacteria will go in there with the munge from the dirty filter and help seed your new filter right away. Lots of people do this to help get a new tank up and running in a hurry.


----------

