ammonia spike and netrite spike

bandit1994 · Dec 20, 2015

can adding a ph buffer like seachem reef buffer cuse a spike in the ammonia and netrite

NanaReefer · Dec 21, 2015

No. Do you mean nitrite or nitrate?

bandit1994 · Dec 21, 2015

nitrite it was good for a week then boom it went trough roof I started adding the ph buffer because I had a ph of 7.6

Lenny_S · Dec 21, 2015

It is more likely that the tank is too new, you added too much livestock too quickly, inadequate filtration, or some combination.

Justiful · Dec 21, 2015

I keep some seachem prime handy and have 2-3 extra bags of purigen on hand if I ever see a spike. In addition to enough water for a 25% change.
Those would be my go to methods if I spiked. Then I would track down the culprit, most likely a dead fish or something in the tank rotting away. That or like lenny said you added too much livestock too quickly, possibly before it finished cycling.

I doubt it has anything to do with reef buffer, but I never had a need for that seachem product so not sure.

bandit1994 · Dec 21, 2015

I had prime on hand and the only new thing I added was a pistol shrimp

brandon429 · Dec 21, 2015

pictures of your live rock would tell us more than api test kit info at this point can you post a full tank shot

bandit1994 · Dec 21, 2015

I am tring to itr says the pic is to big

brandon429 · Dec 21, 2015

I have to use a phone app to resize it sometimes, try any pic editor even the built in ones typically can

it wasn't a huge deal to see pics, just narrows the scope. if pics show purple live rock vs bare white rocks, reactions differ. since nitrite isn't dangerous that can be disregarded, it was the ammonia that made me keen to see pics. google this

api gives false .25 ammonia reading

and count the pages of returns, its hundreds of returns. if it was a brief spike and your tank is new and the substrate and rocks are mostly white then indeed it could have been a little spike but this is ultra rare in established tanks, so curious to know how established if any.

bandit1994 · Dec 21, 2015

I have fully cured Fiji live rock with live sand and it wasn't 0.25 ppm of ammonia it was a soild 1.0ppm

brandon429 · Dec 21, 2015

if that's the case then the ammonia and associated readings are likely zero or the test reading was so brief it was a non event, here's why

a .25 event sustained, if true, means something caused so much ammonia that it went above what known cycled tanks can pull down in 24 hours to zero, upwards of 3-5 ppm

aside from death of a fish and allowing it to rot weeks, I cant forsee how your additions would present an ammonia loading above 5 ppm such that the living bacteria in the tank could only metabolize most but not all of it, leaving .25 unoxidized. None of this means anything other than test parameter feedback, and these .25 readings are why the search returns are so profound with it

sometimes disturbing old sand beds can get a small spike.

when api reads 8ppm there could be a prob...but very low level events we pretty much disregard given all things doing fine in the tank. the nitrite reading from an established tank was never a concern anyway here's a nitrite article:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-06/rhf/index.php

brandon429 · Dec 21, 2015

the reason this is fun to discuss and see pics if possible is to learn the true nature of ammonia in our tanks

it is fun to constantly test the nature of free ammonia in a tank full of true live rocks that could very well be hundreds of years old underwater, the nature of ammonia to me means its not necessary to test for it, ever, if one can keep track of all fish and if one does not have a rotting sandbed full of waste. Given those two controls, I don't test for it ever.

of course its ok to test for it as needed, or if someone is medicating a tank... but typically its fun to pinpoint what causes ammonia issues in matured tanks and simply plan around those few events and not let a low level reading cause doubt.

bandit1994 · Dec 21, 2015

I am on facebook Brandon429 if u want to see the live rock and tank set up my handle on fb is chadsterken

brandon429 · Dec 21, 2015

I am the only fogee left on the planet w no FB ha!!

did myspace for a stint in the 00's, and all that got me was an unfortunate reconnect with an old high school flame so Im social media burnt out heh. im never burnt out on wordy postings about ammonia, and completely debatable opinions about it, however.

I think you can link those pics though, here. go to pic and right click on it, properties, copy that location id. then go to edit here, select the pic icon and enter that url in the little popup, good chance thatll post them here with no size restriction.