Ammonia in qt

patrick · Jan 23, 2017

I have a 10 gallon qt that has been set up for a few months. It cycled and had low nitrates. I waited 2 weeks before adding 1 fish a juvenile rhomboid. Over the past few days nitrates started to creep up. I was feeding 3 mysis shrimp once a day.
Yesterday I did a 2 gallon water change. I checked parameters today because I was worried about ammonia. It is currently reading .25 mg/l
I'm not so worried about ick or flukes because I have observed him over the past week and he shows no sign however I would like to praziquantel for worms.
If I take my filter sock out of my display and put it in the 10 gallon will it take care of the ammonia? Any suggestions here would be greatly appreciated

patrick · Jan 23, 2017

My display is parasite free and 150gallons

Maritimer · Jan 23, 2017

A used filter sock won't lower ammonia - if there's organic detritus in the sock, it may well raise it.

You can use "Prime" by Seachem to lower ammonia quickly, and add some "bottled bacteria" to your filter to help as well. What kind of filtration are you using on the QT? What are you using to test ammonia?

~Bruce

alyee5 · Jan 23, 2017

I am not sure how much beneficial bacteria would be in a filter sock assuming it's only been in your tank for a week or less. Also if it were dirty it would cause nitrate. Yield up potentially.

When I had ammonia problems in my QT (which wasn't cycled) I just did good old fashion water changes on the order of 50% every 2-3 days. You can do doses of prazipro after the water changes.

I don't have experience with ammonia neutralizing additives or their interactions with medications.

You could also try bacteria in a bottle to get the tank cycled too.

patrick · Jan 23, 2017

I'm using API to test.
I was trying to avoid having to do water changes to keep the ammonia down. Thats what I've done in the past.
That's why I cycled the tank first.
However do to the circumstances it looks like that's the only solution for now.
After this I will add more live rock and Establish it for more than a few months

patrick · Jan 23, 2017

Just did 5 gallons

Maritimer · Jan 23, 2017

Alyee5 brings up a very important point .... Prime and copper are a _really_ bad combination, IIRC.

A new cycle can be a bit fragile, and may adapt slowly when a fish goes in, especially in a smaller volume of water. Do you have something in the filter for bacteria to grow on?

I've heard tales of API test kits being difficult in lower ranges of ammonia, and sometimes looking a little green, even when there's no ammonia present. A lot of folks - especially those using copper or other medicines in the QT - recommend the ammonia badges that stick on to the side of the tank. They work well, even when there's medicine in the water - a condition which renders most liquid test kits unreliable.

Liverock may not be the best choice for growing bacteria in a QT; should you have to use copper down the line, the liverock can absorb quite a bit of it, making it difficult to maintain stable levels throughout treatment.

For my QT, I use an oversized HOB (Aqua-Clear/Fluval 110 on a 40-B) with a sponge and "ceramic noodle" bio-media in it. That rig can handle a surprising number of fish, with virtually no ammonia.

~Bruce