Ammonia spike in clownfish tank

[megansreeftank]

So it’s freshly cycled and it’s 10 gallons so I guess when I put in a clownfish it couldn’t handle the bio load so now theres like 1.0 ammonia!!! please help ive been putting in 5x prime every other day and the fish and trocheus snail seem fine I’m scared I’m gonna loose them especially the fish. Any tips? By the way to do water changes I have to drive 20-30 minutes to get 5 gallons of water at a time.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I'm sorry you're having this problem. Unfortunately, I don't think you will like the answers you receive...
1. Always have enough salt/water on hand to perform emergency water changes.
2. Dose beneficial bacteria if you're increasing bioload and don't know if the current bacterial population can handle it.
3. *Related to #2, check to make sure the bacteria you add can be used with Prime
4. *Related to #3, unless absolutely necessary, don't use Prime except to remove chlorine... Its affect on ammonia is debatable.

 

[megansreeftank]

I'm sorry you're having this problem. Unfortunately, I don't think you will like the answers you receive...
1. Always have enough salt/water on hand to perform emergency water changes.
2. Dose beneficial bacteria if you're increasing bioload and don't know if the current bacterial population can handle it.
3. *Related to #2, check to make sure the bacteria you add can be used with Prime
4. *Related to #3, unless absolutely necessary, don't use Prime except to remove chlorine... Its affect on ammonia is debatable.

Ok thank you and should I do water changes If it’s still possibly cycling? or wait

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Ok thank you and should I do water changes If it’s still possibly cycling? or wait

If you have fish or inverts in the tank and think you have ammonia, you absolutely need to do a water change to reduce the amount of ammonia!
Was the tank fully cycled before you added fish?

 

[megansreeftank]

If you have fish or inverts in the tank and think you have ammonia, you absolutely need to do a water change to reduce the amount of ammonia!
Was the tank fully cycled before you added fish?

To be honest now I’m second guessing if it was cycled but for sure I’ll do a wc right now I have enough salt water to do a 25-50% water change thank you so much

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I will also add that some ammonia test kits (API is the main one) may show a slight amount of ammonia even though the tank is cycled. In this situation, after the ammonia has gone down and nitrates are up, the API test may never read 0 (yellow); in this case, if the color is slightly green, but not past the .25 color, you can assume ammonia is 0.

*But you said your ammonia shot up to 1.0, so it would seem that this is not currently the case.

Just FYI.

 

[vetteguy53081]

So it’s freshly cycled and it’s 10 gallons so I guess when I put in a clownfish it couldn’t handle the bio load so now theres like 1.0 ammonia!!! please help ive been putting in 5x prime every other day and the fish and trocheus snail seem fine I’m scared I’m gonna loose them especially the fish. Any tips? By the way to do water changes I have to drive 20-30 minutes to get 5 gallons of water at a time.

Assure you are not getting false readings before reacting with water change, etc.
If youre using API kit, you may have lower number than shown
Best way to confirm is to take a water sample to a trusted LFS that does NOT use Api kits and see what readings they come up with for comparison with your results

 

[megansreeftank]

I will also add that some ammonia test kits (API is the main one) may show a slight amount of ammonia even though the tank is cycled. In this situation, after the ammonia has gone down and nitrates are up, the API test may never read 0 (yellow); in this case, if the color is slightly green, but not past the .25 color, you can assume ammonia is 0.

*But you said your ammonia shot up to 1.0, so it would seem that this is not currently the case.

Just FYI.

Ok thank you I’m doing a water change now

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

To be honest now I’m second guessing if it was cycled but for sure I’ll do a wc right now I have enough salt water to do a 25-50% water change thank you so much

If you aren't able to filter your own RODI water at home and mix your own saltwater, consider buying a few extra 5 gallon jugs do you can stock up on SW from the fish store.
Small tanks are harder to keep stable, and depending on how much rock you have for the bacteria to colonize, it might be a good idea to buy a bottle of Stability, Fritz, etc to have on hand, and add a capful when adding a new fish.
Good luck!

 

[megansreeftank]

If you aren't able to filter your own RODI water at home and mix your own saltwater, consider buying a few extra 5 gallon jugs do you can stock up on SW from the fish store.
Small tanks are harder to keep stable, and depending on how much rock you have for the bacteria to colonize, it might be a good idea to buy a bottle of Stability, Fritz, etc to have on hand, and add a capful when adding a new fish.
Good luck!

thank you so much for all your help!!!