Ammonia spike

Gaines69 · Jul 19, 2017

So this morning I noticed my clown fish acting funny. Swimming only at the top and hanging out in the corners. My test tube on my ammonia test broke last time I tested so I borrowed a test strip from a friend and it's showing that my ammonia is a little high. I hate test strips because I feel they aren't real accurate. I have a FOWLR 30 gal cube tank and it has been cycled for about 7-8 months and everything g is doing great so far. I did a 1 gallon water change and added a dose of prime and waited a hour or so and tested ammonia again and it still showed high ammonia but lower than before. Should I do a bigger water change. I plan on taking a water sample to my lfs and let them test and see if they have an extra tube that I can buy off of them. After the water change and prime clown started acting normal so I hope I caught the problem in time. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Also some of my live rock were covered in purple coralline algae when I purchased it. What do I need to do to keep it thriving. I would love for it to spread to all of my live rock because it's so beautiful.

HeulittSalmi · Jul 19, 2017

From my experience you should wait more than an hour to get an accurate test. Also coraline will grow with proper husbandry and water params once introduced to a tank.

Gaines69 · Jul 19, 2017

HeulittSalmi said:
From my experience you should wait more than an hour to get an accurate test. Also coraline will grow with proper husbandry and water params once introduced to a tank.

I will wait until tomorrow to test again and see how everything looks. Also going to have lfs to run a test too and see what they get. Thanks for the reply.

Gaines69 · Jul 20, 2017

Was unable to make it to the lfs today but test strips still show high nitrite and nitrate's.
Salinity 1.023
Alkalinity 120
PH 7.8
Nitrite .25
Nitrate 160
I did a small (1 gal )water change yesterday and these are the reading I got about 15 minutes ago. I am in the process of a 4 gal water change right now. I did a dose of prime yesterday and didn't make much of a difference. I read that sometimes the salt you use can cause issues. I use Instant Ocean. I see no algae etc on the sand bed and as far as I can tell no one had died ( unless it a small hermit). All my fish and shrimp are alive and acting normal. Could this all be because test strips aren't reliable? I have never had a problem before. I broke the test tube for the liquid ammonia test I had so I thought strips would be easier plus I could test for other things. Is this what I get for trying to go the easy route ?

saltyfilmfolks · Jul 20, 2017

What is your water source ? Rodi bottled or tap?

Gaines69 · Jul 20, 2017

saltyfilmfolks said:
What is your water source ? Rodi bottled or tap?

Filtered tap with prime and liquid seed bacteria by aquavitro. I don't have access to todo water. Going to pick up bottled water today and se if that helps at all. Should I do distilled or spring water?

saltyfilmfolks · Jul 20, 2017

Green bottled distilled at Walmart If you can.
The possible problem is cloramines in the tap.
Look for a fish tank declorinator

Gaines69 · Jul 20, 2017

saltyfilmfolks said:
Green bottled distilled at Walmart If you can.
The possible problem is cloramines in the tap.
Look for a fish tank declorinator

Prime is a declorainator. I have used it for years with all my freshwater tanks. Always has works when I have had an ammonia issue. I will definitely pick up distilled water here is a little bit. Guess I'll keep plenty on hand. With a aquarium with no top I add a little water every few days because of evaporation.

HeulittSalmi · Jul 21, 2017

Go with Distilled. Also if you have the money and space check out RODI Systems. I've seen them in the marketplace tab for as little as $50 shipped.

Gaines69 · Jul 21, 2017

HeulittSalmi said:
Go with Distilled. Also if you have the money and space check out RODI Systems. I've seen them in the marketplace tab for as little as $50 shipped.

I live in an apartment with a really small kitchen so I'm not sure if I could fit one. I decided to check the water from the filter pitcher I use and it tested just about the same as the distilled water. No chlorine, nitrites or nitrates. Not sure what happened but levels are back to what they should be after the 4 gal water change. Water is crystal clear and everyone is happy.

HeulittSalmi · Jul 21, 2017

Gaines69 said:
I live in an apartment with a really small kitchen so I'm not sure if I could fit one. I decided to check the water from the filter pitcher I use and it tested just about the same as the distilled water. No chlorine, nitrites or nitrates. Not sure what happened but levels are back to what they should be after the 4 gal water change. Water is crystal clear and everyone is happy.

I totally understand, I am in a similar situation as well. And Congrats!

Gaines69 · Jul 27, 2017

I'm so frustrated. Ammonia is back up to 0.25. I did a 4 gal water change last week and it went to 0 but tested it this morning and it's back up to 0.25. Everyone is eating and acting normal. Everyone is accounted for. I can't figure out what is making the ammonia go up.
Other water parameters are as follows according to test strips. (0.25 was according to ammonia test solution test)
Nitrate: 20-40
Nitrite: 0.5
Total alk: 180-390
PH: 7.4-7.8
Do I need to do another water change or should I test again tomorrow and see what the readings are because I added a dose of prime? Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Gaines69 · Jul 27, 2017

Gaines69 said:
I'm so frustrated. Ammonia is back up to 0.25. I did a 4 gal water change last week and it went to 0 but tested it this morning and it's back up to 0.25. Everyone is eating and acting normal. Everyone is accounted for. I can't figure out what is making the ammonia go up.
Other water parameters are as follows according to test strips. (0.25 was according to ammonia test solution test)
Nitrate: 20-40
Nitrite: 0.5
Total alk: 180-390
PH: 7.4-7.8
Do I need to do another water change or should I test again tomorrow and see what the readings are because I added a dose of prime? Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Ammonia is now reading 0 but the water is super cloudy. I added a small internal filter to see if it will help clear it up. Could this all be caused by me adding a little of the phytoplankton last week for my feather duster? If so what can I do to clear up the water? Should I cut back to feeding just once a day until this clears up? I started feeding twice a day because my clown is so tiny and she begs for food every time I go near the tank? I am so frustrated and worried right now. Here in a little bit I'm going to go pick up 5 gal of to water so if I need to do another water change tomorrow I can. Guess I'm going to have to find an affordable hob skimmer.