AMONIA SPIKE!

[swedishreefer]

The math is fairly simple - if you have 1.8 PPM and you do a 50% change you'll reduce your ammonia by about 50% [it's not exact, but approximate] so you would go down to 0.9 PPM. 35% would reduce it down to ~1.17 PPM.

Well we are soon going to find out. Btw i forgott to mention i also added a fosfate filter that i never used before could that be bad? It also contains active carbon

 

[Tautog]

Sounds like your tank is cycling
Relax, don’t do anything, let your cycle finish, would be best.
The cloudy water is from the new sand, it will clear in a few days, harmless
Did you use bacteria from old system in present filter?

 

[TinyChocobo]

Sounds like your tank is cycling
Relax, don’t do anything, let your cycle finish, would be best.
The cloudy water is from the new sand, it will clear in a few days, harmless
Did you use bacteria from old system in present filter?

1.2~1.8 PPM Ammonia is not something personally I would relax about with the fish in the tank. That's well above the toxic level...

 

[swedishreefer]

1.2~1.8 PPM Ammonia is not something personally I would relax about with the fish in the tank. That's well above the toxic level...

Well im going to cange water till it drops to lmost 0 no matter the time it takes but wouldnt it just rise again ?? And should i turn of the fosfate filter?

 

[swedishreefer]

Well im going to cange water till it drops to lmost 0 no matter the time it takes but wouldnt it just rise again ?? And should i turn of the fosfate filter?

Okay so i just tested the new water and it reads 1.8ppm amonia how is that possible ???? -_-

 

[swedishreefer]

Okay so i just tested the new water and it reads 1.8ppm amonia how is that possible ???? -_-

Im using tapwater becaous of lak of time to make osmos right now

 

[TinyChocobo]

Im using tapwater becaous of lak of time to make osmos right now

Well your tap water could definitely have ammonia in it...

Sounds like this shortcut was a bad idea.

 

[swedishreefer]

Well your tap water could definitely have ammonia in it...

Sounds like this shortcut was a bad idea.

But 1.8ppm ?? Should i even drink my water then?? And i have never had amonia problems before. I have a whelm. + shouldnt the water smell if it had amonia the tank water smells absolutley nothing just fresh saltwwater

 

[TinyChocobo]

1.8 PPM is parts per million. I doubt you'd be able to taste or smell 1.8 ML ammonia in 999,998.2 ml water.

 

[swedishreefer]

1.8 PPM is parts per million. I doubt you'd be able to taste or smell 1.8 ML ammonia in 999,998.2 ml water.

Hmm true but ive heard that bad water smells ?

 

[swedishreefer]

Hmm true but ive heard that bad water smells ?

So now i tested brand new osmos water without salt in it and it shows 1.1ppm the osmos maker is almost brand new

 

[sponge]

Seeing you have a few different type of Damsels ,I think they might be strong enough to make it threw an ammonia spike . Not sure how the tangs will do . Good luck,and hope all goes well !

I use more live rock than per gallon of the tank . More places for fish to hide,and more places for me to place frags .

 

[swedishreefer]

Seeing you have a few different type of Damsels ,I think they might be strong enough to make it threw an ammonia spike . Not sure how the tangs will do . Good luck,and hope all goes well !

I use more live rock than per gallon of the tank . More places for fish to hide,and more places for me to place frags .

Well i suspect the test kit the fish seems fine after many ours in the tank. But thank you all for great support [emoji4][emoji106]

 

[Lasse]

What’s your pH? I have say it before and I have to say it as long as people do not understand. A ammonia test of this type is useless without knowing the pH. NH4 (ammonia) is not harmful – NH3 (ammoniac, ammonia gas) is harmful. The % NH3 to total NH3/NH4 depends mostly on pH (and temperature) at pH 8 and 25 degree C – NH3 is 5 %. It means in this case – NH3 (the harmful species) is 0,09 ppm if the test Is okay.

IMO most testes of this type is worthless according to NH4/NH3 – they often show wrong values. – and create PANIC.

The way the move is described – The value is not likely IMO.

The water up there this reefer lives can be compared with the water in artic Canada – its not likely that its contain any NH4 at all. It can contain chloramine but not in very high concentrations.

As it described – IMO the test/measurements is wrong

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Joshua Agostoni]

One thing I would like to add is you doubled the size of the tank. The rock and live bacteria you had were based off the smaller tank the ammonia spike could have bin due to the tank njot being cycled correctly. Yes you had good bacteria on the rocks and never noticed a problem because of the size of your tank now the more water there may not have bin enough bacteria.

You may have already solved your problem but i highly suggest getting a bottle of Dr. Tims bacteria to help boost the bacteria.

Most people don't know this but it's a great idea to add a bottle of times every few months to help keep a large amount of bacteria thriving.

Also it doesn't matter if you have established bacteria or media to put on a tank to start everyone experienced on this thread will tell you to wait a few hours atleast to add the fish so this type of thing doesn't happen. Never just add the rock then the fish always have a window of separation between the two.

 

[Lasse]

One thing I would like to add is you doubled the size of the tank. The rock and live bacteria you had were based off the smaller tank the ammonia spike could have bin due to the tank njot being cycled correctly. Yes you had good bacteria on the rocks and never noticed a problem because of the size of your tank now the more water there may not have bin enough bacteria.

Its not the amount of water that is of concern - it´s the bio load. With the same bio load (as in this case) the concentration of NH3/NH4 will be lower - not higher if you dubble the water volume. However - more stressed fishes will probably put out more NH4 to the water column for a short while but I doubt that you can measure this with hobby test kit.

You may have already solved your problem but i highly suggest getting a bottle of Dr. Tims bacteria to help boost the bacteria.

Could be - could not be - but does not do any harm.

Most people don't know this but it's a great idea to add a bottle of times every few months to help keep a large amount of bacteria thriving.

I doubt this - once established (in saltwater) will the amount of nitrifying bacteria be determined by bio load, free space to sit on, oxygen level and competition from heterotroph bacteria. If you ad more fishes - just not rise your feeding regime to fast.

Also it doesn't matter if you have established bacteria or media to put on a tank to start everyone experienced on this thread will tell you to wait a few hours atleast to add the fish so this type of thing doesn't happen. Never just add the rock then the fish always have a window of separation between the two.

I doubt this too. I´m experienced aquarium keeper - never done this, never heard about it and do not believe its true. IMO if there is the right conditions - the bacteria will start to live and eat directly. Even if - a couple of hours is not enough IMO - the dubbling time for this type of bacteria is around 13 hours (pure media) and they will not start to grow if not their limited growth factor will be risen too.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Jesterrace]

Personally as a Precaution I would add some Prime to the tank. That way you have a bit of a safety net if you truly do have ammonia. I would also replace the tap with RODI in multiple water changes over the next few weeks. Tap will only cause you problems in the long run. I use tap in my freshwater tank at work and the nitrates are in the 10-20 range so I know the water is filthy. I would never use it in a marine environment though.

 

[TinyChocobo]

Personally as a Precaution I would add some Prime to the tank. That way you have a bit of a safety net if you truly do have ammonia. I would also replace the tap with RODI in multiple water changes over the next few weeks. Tap will only cause you problems in the long run. I use tap in my freshwater tank at work and the nitrates are in the 10-20 range so I know the water is filthy. I would never use it in a marine environment though.

Prime, if dosed properly, and the water aerated in some way - should be fine and can't really hurt afaik. At least not as much as toxic ammonia could.

 

[Lasse]

I use tap in my freshwater tank at work and the nitrates are in the 10-20 range so I know the water is filthy. I would never use it in a marine environment though.

Tap water with measureable NO3 levels is rather rare in Sweden. Can occur at individual wells in farmland but almost never in municipal tap water. The NO3 level in Gothenburgs tap water is below 1 ppm if detectable.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[tom39]

So basicly its the 2nd day in the new tank for the fish and coral and the amonia alredy seems to be at 1.1ppm. I ised al of my old rocks in the new tank they only left water for 1 second when i puted them over. I never had any amonia in my old smaller tank and im using the same rocks how is this possible????

Almost two days has passed since the start of this thread and there has certainly been a lot of conjecture along with solid pieces of advice to help find a resolution of your ammonia issue.
I haven’t seen a concluding response, bad or good, and I was wondering if your ammonia issue has been resolved. And if it has, how was this accomplished, what methods did you use and what are the current conditions of the fish?