I have a 10 gal quarantine tank that had three fish in it. Upon one of my fish dying my ammonia went up to 1.5 which is kind of what I expected it to do. I did a 25% water change in the tank. Waited a day and then I checked it again. Still the ammonia is high. Should I do another water change but do a 50% water change this time? I don't want to stress the fish out as I've only had the two remaining fish in the tank for a week. Any thoughts?
Rising ammonia
- Thread starter Kimberly VanOrder
- Start date
- Tagged users None
yes free ammonia is more lethal and stressful than a full water change, and if your quarantine tank was verified cycled/completed before you added fish, then a full water change wont hurt anything. adding drops such as Prime can work too, but they cause error reads in other tests like nitrite so be prepared. Prime is ok to use for your needs and a full water change matching temp and salinity is better.
we have to make sure an ammonia spike didn't kill it via stress in the first place. how did you ensure that tank was cycled before use
we have to make sure an ammonia spike didn't kill it via stress in the first place. how did you ensure that tank was cycled before use
Scarybo
Active Member
+1
Copper is toxic if mixed with ammonia reducers. There has been evidence it is also toxic with prazi. I would use water changes and avoid Prime if you have any medication in the tank.
Kimberly VanOrder
New Member
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2017
- Messages
- 9
- Reaction score
- 0
The tank has been set up for over a 7 months so well cycled in that area.
So doing a full water change and making sure that the salinity is the same should help, correct? I would much rather do water changes than add chemicals to the tank.
So doing a full water change and making sure that the salinity is the same should help, correct? I would much rather do water changes than add chemicals to the tank.
Scarybo
Active Member
Has the QT been setup and running for 7 months? Has it been broken down during that time? What is your protocol for new fish?
ReefWeeds
Artist, Coral Hoarder and Proud Sponsor
Agree with what all the others are saying. With ammonia that high, a 25% water change isn't going to reduce ammonia much (only 25% max). As close to 100% as you can get should bring it down sufficiently for the other fish.
ReefWeeds
Artist, Coral Hoarder and Proud Sponsor
Also, if you hadn't been ghost feeding the tank or providing an ammonia source to keep a biofilter running, it isn't going to matter how long it has been set up. Do you have some old floss or anything from your DT you can put into the QT to help establish the bacteria? I keep sponges and floss pads in my sump for this reason so I have something I can grab quickly and can be discarded after medicating.
Kimberly VanOrder
New Member
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2017
- Messages
- 9
- Reaction score
- 0
Tank has not been broke down for any period during this time period. When new fish are brought in I do a freah water dip on them and acclimate them slowly as well as making sure that the salinity from the fish store is the same as my tanks.
I thank you all for your help I will be doing a complete (almost) water change today and hope that this will help.
I thank you all for your help I will be doing a complete (almost) water change today and hope that this will help.
amps
Active Member
I keep a bottle of Seachem Stability on hand and do a double dose when I have an ammonia spike in QT. Wait 24 hrs and then do a 25% water change to remove some of the resulting nitrates. It's a bottled bacteria that does really well and tackling ammonia and nitrites quickly.
Might be worth trying in conjunction with your normal procedures.
Might be worth trying in conjunction with your normal procedures.
