High Ammonia

[Joel Jordan]

Hello eveyone, I got a question, my tank has 3 months now, and it has cycled already ive been doing partial water changes every week, every week i try to add small things like zoas, or a mushroom, my last addition was a yellow tang, i did a water change yesterday and when i ran the tests, my ammonia was at .25 ppm, i ran the test again today and its the same, idk if its because i have added more stuff to the tank or what but, not sure how i can lower the ammonia, nitrites are at 0 ppm, phospate at 0 ppm and nitrates are at 10 ppm, so can somebody tell me what im doing wrong, if im adding stuff too fast or what?

 

[Colin Levy]

Are you using the API test kit?

I have heard that one is notorious for showing 0.25

When cycling my tank I don't think I ever saw 0 ammonia using the API test kit. But when I switched, it allows read 0.

 

[Joel Jordan]

Are you using the API test kit?

I have heard that one is notorious for showing 0.25

When cycling my tank I don't think I ever saw 0 ammonia using the API test kit. But when I switched, it allows read 0.

So if with API reads .25 that means that it really is 0 ppm?

 

[Colin Levy]

So if with API reads .25 that means that it really is 0 ppm?

Just what I have noticed. Multiple times i let me cycling tank sit long enough that there was no way the ammonia wasn't at 0, but still read 0.25

Also what I have read (after I researched myself about the API test kit)

But can't say for sure.

 

[ndrwater]

What he said^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^.
All that aside, giving the tank at least 10 days between new additions is always a good idea. Especially in a new tank.
Very old sayin in this hobby, nothing good happens fast, and if you think you are going to slow, slow down more.
The more patience you have in the early days,the better off you will be in the long run. Good habits start early.

 

[Joel Jordan]

What he said^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^.
All that aside, giving the tank at least 10 days between new additions is always a good idea. Especially in a new tank.
Very old sayin in this hobby, nothing good happens fast, and if you think you are going to slow, slow down more.
The more patience you have in the early days,the better off you will be in the long run. Good habits start early.

Thanks for the advice lol, i just think im carrying carried away with this addiction, im starting to think that the ppl at my LFS are getting annoyed by seeing me there every weekend..ill need to stop hahaha

 

[Ubergroover]

watch the tang....He will let you know if something is wrong...Get another test kit. I use Salifert never had an issue...

 

[Dom]

Hello eveyone, I got a question, my tank has 3 months now, and it has cycled already ive been doing partial water changes every week, every week i try to add small things like zoas, or a mushroom, my last addition was a yellow tang, i did a water change yesterday and when i ran the tests, my ammonia was at .25 ppm, i ran the test again today and its the same, idk if its because i have added more stuff to the tank or what but, not sure how i can lower the ammonia, nitrites are at 0 ppm, phospate at 0 ppm and nitrates are at 10 ppm, so can somebody tell me what im doing wrong, if im adding stuff too fast or what?

The ammonia will come down once the nitrifying bacteria colony grows large enough to accommodate the additional bio load of the tang.

 

[billr65]

you doing water changes ever week ???

 

[Joel Jordan]

t

watch the tang....He will let you know if something is wrong...Get another test kit. I use Salifert never had an issue...

The tang is doing well, it doesnt stop looking for food, but ill deff keep an eye on it, thank you

 

[Joel Jordan]

you doing water changes ever week ???

Yes, I do 25% water change every weekend

 

[Joel Jordan]

The ammonia will come down once the nitrifying bacteria colony grows large enough to accommodate the additional bio load of the tang.

I think thats why it spiked up, because the same day i added the tang i placed a new dry live rock

 

[Dom]

t
The tang is doing well, it doesnt stop looking for food, but ill deff keep an eye on it, thank you

Big appetites on Tangs. LOL

 

[Dom]

I think thats why it spiked up, because the same day i added the tang i placed a new dry live rock

I don't understand; was there no rock previously?

 

[Joel Jordan]

I don't understand; was there no rock previously?

Lol yes i did but i had a biggo space that had nothing in it so i decided to add a new rock

 

[DLHDesign]

Yes, I do 25% water change every weekend

One thing to note is that with a new tank, water changes of this size could be doing as much harm as good. Your bacteria population is likely not as high as the tank can support, so water changes will remove some of this beneficial bacteria. Not all of it, of course, - and likely not much - but some. You are also removing some undesirable elements and adding in new trace elements, of course.
But given how new the tank is, it's unlikely that your trace elements are actually being depleted enough to require a weekly change of that size. Which means that your water changes are pulling out a small amount of undesirable nutrients, but not doing much else. It's very likely that you could reduce your water changes - either in frequency or volume, in other words. You don't want to put your livestock at risk, of course, but you might want to try lowering the volume a bit and see if you notice anything different. Measuring your parameters before and after a WC can also help to determine if you actually made any difference or not, which might lead you to extend the time between.
You can keep at the weekly 25% change as well, of course - you will just have a higher than average salt and water cost.

so i decided to add a new rock

The new rock may be the cause of the ammonia. Dry "live rock" will have dead things on it that will break down in a tank. It will take a little time in a new tank for the bacteria population to catch up to this new food supply, so you'll likely see a "mini-cycle" as a result. Your best option, IMO, is to keep an eye on the tank and let it sort itself out naturally. If things look to be going sideways (ammonia continues to rise, tang or corals show signs of stress, etc.), then it might be a good idea to have some Prime on-hand to knock down any ammonia spikes.

 

[Joel Jordan]

One thing to note is that with a new tank, water changes of this size could be doing as much harm as good. Your bacteria population is likely not as high as the tank can support, so water changes will remove some of this beneficial bacteria. Not all of it, of course, - and likely not much - but some. You are also removing some undesirable elements and adding in new trace elements, of course.
But given how new the tank is, it's unlikely that your trace elements are actually being depleted enough to require a weekly change of that size. Which means that your water changes are pulling out a small amount of undesirable nutrients, but not doing much else. It's very likely that you could reduce your water changes - either in frequency or volume, in other words. You don't want to put your livestock at risk, of course, but you might want to try lowering the volume a bit and see if you notice anything different. Measuring your parameters before and after a WC can also help to determine if you actually made any difference or not, which might lead you to extend the time between.
You can keep at the weekly 25% change as well, of course - you will just have a higher than average salt and water cost.

Ill make a note of that, thank you for the suggestions, what ill do is reduce the amount of water been changed, i dont think it might me a good idea to reduce the frequency of the changes, this can increment my parameters wouldnt it?

 

[DLHDesign]

this can increment my parameters wouldnt it?

It might, yes. You'll want to measure, measure, and measure again. The ideal time to do a water change is "when you need it" - which you can only know when you are testing the parameters that matter (and those that are reasonable to test, of course). The ideal volume to use is "as much as you need, but no more" - which you can only know when you are testing.
In the early days of your tank, you will do A LOT of testing and observing. And then - eventually - your tank will stabilize, you'll have more experience, there will be things you know to look for in your tank - and you'll be able to more easily tell what the results of a test will likely tell you. As that happens, you'll test less to learn what's happening and more to validate what you already know - and sometimes to diagnose a condition you've not seen, of course.

 

[Joel Jordan]

It might, yes. You'll want to measure, measure, and measure again. The ideal time to do a water change is "when you need it" - which you can only know when you are testing the parameters that matter (and those that are reasonable to test, of course). The ideal volume to use is "as much as you need, but no more" - which you can only know when you are testing.
In the early days of your tank, you will do A LOT of testing and observing. And then - eventually - your tank will stabilize, you'll have more experience, there will be things you know to look for in your tank - and you'll be able to more easily tell what the results of a test will likely tell you. As that happens, you'll test less to learn what's happening and more to validate what you already know - and sometimes to diagnose a condition you've not seen, of course.

OK, understood, now changing the subject, i got this ricordea that has stuck in between the rocks, its mouth is basically covered by itself, is it normal for them to do this? How the hell is it eating? Do i leave it alone? What if it dies? Will it hurt the tank?

 

[DLHDesign]

is it normal for them to do this? How the hell is it eating? Do i leave it alone? What if it dies? Will it hurt the tank?

I've not actually had one, but it looks fine to me compared to other pictures I've seen. They generally figure out how to eat, so yes - I would leave it alone unless it looks to be having issues (color loss, shrinking for extended periods of time, etc.). Trying to pry it out of there is likely to do as much harm to it as leaving it there anyways. If it dies, it will increase the ammonia in the tank (as does pretty much everything that dies), which the bacteria may or may not be able to handle - keep Prime on hand and if you notice this has happened, do a large water change as soon as possible. It's so small at this point that it's unlikely to crash your tank, I'd think, so it's not likely to harm it in the long run.