Ammonia at 5 in QT. Please help.

[Tbg299]

I am just lost at this point. I did a 50% water change, threw in API Ammo Lock, bought yet another Master Test Kit and my results still look off the charts. Should I just start from scratch, empty the whole QT and put in new salt water? My high PH result was appx. 7.8, Ammonia appx..0.75, nitrate around 60 and nitrite around 1-2, difficult to match colors exactly.

Don't make any radical changes.

 

[Jamon]

No. Do not empty it. Your fish will die from shock. Do a 10% water change everyday until it is populated with enough nitrifying bacteria.

Thank you, will try it.

 

[Spare time]

I am just lost at this point. I did a 50% water change, threw in API Ammo Lock, bought yet another Master Test Kit and my results still look off the charts. Should I just start from scratch, empty the whole QT and put in new salt water? My high PH result was appx. 7.8, Ammonia appx..0.75, nitrate around 60 and nitrite around 1-2, difficult to match colors exactly.

Keep in mind that test kits, especially cheap ones, are not 100% accurate. If you constantly have the same ammonia or nitrite reading, and it is not moving yet the amount of ammonia going into the tank is the same, then it is likely just test kit error. I am not saying 5ppm is an error, but .75 might be depending on the test.

If you are worried, I would just get some turbo start, dr tims, or microbacter xlm (api quick start for marine is also fine but these are the most concentrated ones I know of) and keep dosing ammo lock in the mean time. Nitrate can read inaccurately if nitrite is present in some tests. I would also just go ahead and add the sponges from your main tank into the qt if you add more bacteria. I think the lack of surface area for bacteria is an issue.