New tank water parameters confusion

[brian222]

Hi reefers, I have a 90 gallons regular tank running with 60 lbs of live rock in the tank, and some MarinePure biospheres in the sump.

I finished the cycle about 2 weeks ago, with 0ppt ammonia and 0ppt nitrite. I dosed back 2ppm ammonium chloride and it was converted to nitrate in around 24-30 hours.

I added 2 ocellaris clownfish and 4 blue green chromis to my tank 2 days ago, I fed them once with frozen food. However, when I did my daily water parameter tests the API ammonia test show non zero results (looked like 0.25 ppt, sorry I forgot to take a picture...). I am a little concern so I will do a 20% water change tomorrow, hopefully to dilute ammonia in the water.

I haven't seen any sign on all fishes yet (no sign of ammonia poisoning like heavy breathing and red gill). The questions that I have are:

1. I know API ammonia test kit has a false positive problem, so I am not very sure what test kit is more reliable for testing ammonia, any suggestions?
2. Did I introduce too many fishes to the tank?
3. Do I have enough surface area for the nitrifying bacteria to colonize and grow?
4. I just did a water test, the test kit is showing 0 ppt nitrite, if the ammonia test was correct, what is the reason of ammonia not being converted to nitrite then nitrate?

Sorry I have so many questions.

 

[chawalte-qcvux5]

Theres a couple things that could be causing that. First and foremost is the API Test Kit itself. API can be quite difficult to read and there are multiple stories of people showing .25 incorrectly. I'm not sure on the exact details but its not uncommon for API Ammonia tests. I wouldn't be too alarmed unless it continues to climb. A lot of people use Salifert.

With that said, assuming the test is correct, the 6 fish and frozen food could have caused a small ammonia spike and the bacteria is in the process of growing to withstand the new bio load. Again, if it continues to rise that's when I would start corrective measures. Keep an eye on nitrite and nitrate and that will tell you quite a bit. Every action has a reaction.

The "norm" is 1 lb per gallon for live rock, so your tank could use a little more and I personally would get rid of the MarinePure Biospheres. IMO going the "natural" route with rock is much better.

Don't be sorry for the questions. We were all new once. The best thing about this hobby is the constant learning curve. Keeps you interested.

 

[Orm Embar]

Theres a couple things that could be causing that. First and foremost is the API Test Kit itself. API can be quite difficult to read and there are multiple stories of people showing .25 incorrectly. I'm not sure on the exact details but its not uncommon for API Ammonia tests. I wouldn't be too alarmed unless it continues to climb. A lot of people use Salifert.

With that said, assuming the test is correct, the 6 fish and frozen food could have caused a small ammonia spike and the bacteria is in the process of growing to withstand the new bio load. Again, if it continues to rise that's when I would start corrective measures. Keep an eye on nitrite and nitrate and that will tell you quite a bit. Every action has a reaction.

The "norm" is 1 lb per gallon for live rock, so your tank could use a little more and I personally would get rid of the MarinePure Biospheres. IMO going the "natural" route with rock is much better.

Don't be sorry for the questions. We were all new once. The best thing about this hobby is the constant learning curve. Keeps you interested.

Agreed. My only addition - do you have a refugium with chaeto, reactor, or scrubber? I'm a big Chaeto refugium fan. :-D

 

[ScottR]

Thought I’d just add this. I was at @ylreefer house the other day. He’s cycling a 110g. We tested his ammonia with a Salifert kit. All we got was cloudy water. So we assumed his ammonia would be 0. Then we added 2mL of tank water to the test tube along with 2 drops of dr Tim’s ammonia - recommended is 4 drops per gallon. We tested the ammonia and also got a cloudy result with no color. Anyone ever have this problem? He had 2 Seachem ammonia badges that are showing probably .02 ammonia or so.

 

[brian222]

Theres a couple things that could be causing that. First and foremost is the API Test Kit itself. API can be quite difficult to read and there are multiple stories of people showing .25 incorrectly. I'm not sure on the exact details but its not uncommon for API Ammonia tests. I wouldn't be too alarmed unless it continues to climb. A lot of people use Salifert.

With that said, assuming the test is correct, the 6 fish and frozen food could have caused a small ammonia spike and the bacteria is in the process of growing to withstand the new bio load. Again, if it continues to rise that's when I would start corrective measures. Keep an eye on nitrite and nitrate and that will tell you quite a bit. Every action has a reaction.

The "norm" is 1 lb per gallon for live rock, so your tank could use a little more and I personally would get rid of the MarinePure Biospheres. IMO going the "natural" route with rock is much better.

Don't be sorry for the questions. We were all new once. The best thing about this hobby is the constant learning curve. Keeps you interested.

Thank you for your answer [emoji1]

I skipped feeding yesterday, and I will continue to monitor the fishes and test results to see if anything irregular.

Is it normal to have a little ammonia/nitrite spike after introducing new fishes to a tank at any stage of maturity (meaning new tank or 5 years ago tank)?

I understand that the existing bacteria population has to reproduce to catch up with the extra bioload, so if a tank is stable and showing 0ppt of ammonia and nitrite, I assume that means the capacity of nitrifying free ammonia to nitrate is at equilibrium, is it a correct assumption?

If that is true, should I expect some level of ammonia/nitrite spike everytime I add any fish to my tank?

 

[brian222]

Agreed. My only addition - do you have a refugium with chaeto, reactor, or scrubber? I'm a big Chaeto refugium fan. :-D

I just bought a media reactor and a roll of LED plant light, I am planning to DIY a chaeto reactor for nutrient export (I wanted to have a refugium but I don't have enough space in my sump[emoji29] )

 

[lapin]

While 6 fish is a bit much for a new tank you will always get an ammonia increase when adding more fish. The added food to feed them plus the ammonia the fish give off. If you added 6 fish to a more mature tank you would also get that ammonia spike. I would just feed them as you would normally and watch the ammonia level.
Chromis are active fish. I would feed them 3 times a day, small amounts. It might take them a day or 2 to get used to your tank before they start eating.
I always have a bottle of Prime around, just in case of something like an ammonia spike that might hit dangerous levels.

 

[brian222]

While 6 fish is a bit much for a new tank you will always get an ammonia increase when adding more fish. The added food to feed them plus the ammonia the fish give off. If you added 6 fish to a more mature tank you would also get that ammonia spike. I would just feed them as you would normally and watch the ammonia level.
Chromis are active fish. I would feed them 3 times a day, small amounts. It might take them a day or 2 to get used to your tank before they start eating.
I always have a bottle of Prime around, just in case of something like an ammonia spike that might hit dangerous levels.

Thanks you just answered all of questions I have, and I will look into Prime.[emoji108]

My 4 chromis are eating and they swim around my tank together. They swim toward me everytime I walk close to my tank, probably think I will feed them, I just love those little guys[emoji1] [emoji1]

 

[chawalte-qcvux5]

It depends on the size of the tank on the amount of the ammonia spike when adding new livestock. Also the size of the livestock. Adding a very small fish to a 150 gallon may not show much if any ammonia spike (although it is occurring behind the scenes, just undetected). I always get a small ammonia spike when adding livestock but my tanks are all nano/pico sizes. And yes you are waiting for the equilibrium to happen, bacteria to grow in population due to the increase nutrient source. Now, with that said, there's only so much "room" for that bacteria... and that's when you run into the overstocking issue... but you are far from that right now.