FAQs on Freshwater Aquariums & Ammonia 3 Related Articles: Ammonia, Freshwater Aquarium Water Quality, pH, alkalinity, acidity, Treating Tap Water, Freshwater Maintenance, Frequent Partial Water Changes, Establishing Cycling, Freshwater Filtration, Know Your Filter Media, A Concise Guide to Your Options by Neale Monks, Setting up a Freshwater Aquarium, Tips for Beginners,  Related FAQs: Freshwater Ammonia 1, Freshwater Ammonia 2, & Freshwater Nutrient Cycling, FW H2O Quality 1, Aquarium Maintenance, Environmental Disease, Treating Tap Water for Aquarium Use, pH, Alkalinity, Acidity, Biological Filtration, Nitrogen Cycling, Establishing Cycling 1, Nitrite, Nitrate, Freshwater Algae Control, Algae Control, Foods, Feeding, Aquatic Nutrition, Disease,

All fishes, invertebrates are mal-affected by any detectable level of ammonia. Some much more than others.

Ammonia problems in pond, trop.  9/22/09 Hello Crew-- My husband and I are having some problems with ammonia in our pond, and we don't know why. I really hope that you can help, because it's so frustrating to have built this indoor pond for these fish, only to have them be subjected to ammonia! That really wasn't the point! This is in our 1,000 gallon pond with the two Pacu and one Red-Tailed Catfish. About a month ago, I noticed a slight ammonia spike (.5, at the most). <Yikes!> I immediately assumed that it was time to increase water flow through our filter, as we were only running about 4,000 gallons per hour, and I know that 10x is recommended. So, we ordered three new pumps, and they're 5,000 gallons per hour each, so, after the plumbing (elbows and such) we should be getting around 12,000 gallons per hour. The filter is approximately a 7 ft by 1.5 ft by 3 ft area, and it is filled with Matala filter media pads, just stacked one on top of the other. Tucked onto the very top of the pads is a layer of filter floss. We're still experiencing ammonia problems. <Unusual... By what measure?> The only chemicals used in the pond are Prime, and now, Organica Pond Clarifier, because it absorbs ammonia. However, we were not using this product prior to the ammonia presence, and I have never heard anything about Prime causing a false positive on ammonia tests, so I think we have ruled out a false positive, especially considering we use Prime in all of our tanks. Our ammonia tests come in at zero when I test the other tanks, so i know it's not a bad test. We have no nitrite, which is strange, because there's always a little ammonia, except in the couple of days after we add the Organica. It's like the cycle is "stuck." Though I didn't like it, at first, I did not add Organica. I didn't want to arrest the cycle, so I waited. Ammonia climbed to 1 over a week and a half, and I started doing water changes and adding the Organica. However, I would think that within this time, we would have seen nitrite. Nitrate is between 10 and 20. We do 30% water changes (just changing water) once per month, and also rent a pond vacuum and vacuum the gravel <I would skip a month or two and see if this ammonia disappears> once per month, which removes roughly the same amount of water. Prior to the initial ammonia spike, we didn't do any of the things that usually kill off beneficial bacteria -- no non-treated tap water was used to clean anything, no over-cleaning, and no medications have ever been used in the pond. The only thing I can think of that's left is pH, which is 6.0. Could this be crippling the biological filter? <Yes... it could> I have read in various replies on the site that bacteria don't function as well at this low level, but since we have a 180, 125, and 75 gallon tank with no problems, I'm not sure this is the cause. What do you think? Should I work on raising the hardness? Our water comes out of the tap at 6.6. <I would be buffering this up to about neutral, 7 or so> We are in the process of setting up a 50 gallon stock tank with water lettuce and a fluorescent fixture with grow lights to slowly pump water out of the pond, through the stock tank, and pour back into the pond. We're hoping this will help (it should be up and running tonight). The water lettuce has about twelve to fourteen inches of roots on it, so we have our fingers crossed that we'll see some sort of change. <Might well help> I'm sorry for the novel, but I wanted to give you as much information as possible. I appreciate any help that you can give me, because I'm stumped, and the situation is frustrating! Thanks again for all you do. --Melinda <Thank you for writing so completely... I would do what you have planned and look into bolstering both the pH and alkaline reserve. Please read here re: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwph,alk.htm and the linked files above. Bob Fenner> Re: Ammonia problems in pond – 9/22/09 Hello Bob-- Thank you for your reply. We will stop gravel vac'ing the pond for a couple of months, and will begin to add Neale's Rift Valley Salt Mix at the dosing he suggests for community aquariums. We'll probably do this very slowly, monitoring hardness and pH constantly, and only add enough to get to a pH of 7. Hopefully, we'll see some improvement. Again, thanks. --Melinda <Thank you Melinda. Please do report back with your findings, results. Bob Fenner> Re Ammonia Problems in Pond... Resolved! 10/4/09 Hi Bob-- I'm writing back to update you on an earlier e-mail, in which I explained that ammonia levels were present in our pond. We began to add Neale's salt mix slowly. In order to avoid doing 250 gallon water changes over and over, we mixed up a batch which would "treat" 500 gallons in a 55 gallon barrel. <Good> Then, we added half of the barrel every few days, testing each time. We have now treated 75% of the water at Neale's community fish suggestion. Our pH is up to 7.2, and KH is at 3. Best of all, ammonia has been 0 for six days! Our nitrates are up, so we'll do a large water change tomorrow, and, obviously, replace what we take out, but this worked so fast, and it was so easy, and so cheap. <Ah yes... like moi> I really appreciate your help in this -- it would have taken me a lot longer to come to the conclusion that you suggested. We're going to begin using this mix in our other freshwater aquariums, as well. I have one more question -- do you suggest we go ahead and add the rest of our solution in the barrel to the pond, thereby treating 100% of the volume? <I do> Or, should we add the rest, and raise KH levels higher? Will this raise pH more (we are a little above what you suggested to me in your e-mails)? Thank you again! --Melinda <Should raise pH only slightly. BobF, who will share with Neale> Thanks for your help with the indoor pond! 10/4/09 Hi again Bob-- We'll definitely add the rest of our solution of the salt mix to the pond. Thanks for your speedy reply, and please pass along thanks to Neale for coming up with the mixture! <Will do so> I just wanted to provide a photo of the fish that WWM has helped so much. And, no, your eyes are not playing tricks on you... there are 3 Pacu now. The last, and final, Pacu was 20 inches long, and living in a 55 gallon tank before he came to us. <Imagine its relief! To go from a world 13 inches wide to your home> I have promised myself, the fish, and my husband that no more fish will be added! Thanks again for all of your help throughout this process. --Melinda <Thank you for sharing. BobF>

Re: Ammonia Problems in Pond... Resolved! 10/5/09 <Should raise pH only slightly. BobF, who will share with Neale> <<Thanks for the update. Yes, Bob is correct, raising the KH generally doesn't raise the pH wildly. the minerals responsible are buffers, steadying the pH in both directions. For pond fish, something around pH 7.5 is ideal. The pH will go up and down through the daytime cycle, depending on photosynthesis, even as high as pH 9, but this doesn't seem to cause pond fish problems. But a pH drop, much below 7.0, is much less tolerable, especially for carps (e.g., Goldfish) which don't like soft/acid water. Cheers, Neale.> re: Thanks for your help with the indoor pond! 10/5/09 Hi again Bob-- We'll definitely add the rest of our solution of the salt mix to the pond. Thanks for your speedy reply, and please pass along thanks to Neale for coming up with the mixture! <<Glad to have helped. The mixture certainly *isn't* mine. I'm trying to think where I got it from. If I recall, from the excellent The Krib site? That sticks in my mind for some reason. Anyway, credit where credit's due. Enjoy your fish! Cheers, Neale.>>

... fish sitting down... SW, FW?... Ammonia present...    6/23/09
Dear Crew,
Two of my fish have been sitting down at the bottom of my tank and one of them has already died. And the ammonia level is low. Their doesn't seem to be anything wrong.
What should I do?
<? Keep reading>

Ammonia Issue  05/23/09
High Ammonia Issues In Goldfish Tank
Hello, A month ago I upgraded from a 10gal to a 40gal tank. I've had the 40gal tank set up for a few weeks now and I have 2 lionheads, 2 calico Ryukins, 1 black moor, and 1 common goldfish in there. For a while the ammonia in the water was ok, until I checked it again a week ago and the ammonia spiked to 8.0ppm!! I put in ammo lock, and I've done several water changes but I am unable to get the ammonia down at all. There are signs of nitrites and nitrates.
The API liquid tests read
Ammonia: 8.0ppm
Nitrate: 5.0ppm
Nitrite: 0.25ppm
I do not know why for the past week there was the ammonia spike, and why I am unsuccessful in getting the ammonia lowered. It's stressing me out, and I'm sure it's stressing my goldfish out! I'm assuming the tank is cycling but again the ammonia is extremely high. I have yet to lose a fish but I'm worried that soon I will if I can't figure this out. I've tested the tap water for ammonia and it tested 0 ppm. I do treat
the water with AquaSafe and make sure it is at room temperature before I put it back in, I've siphoned the rocks to clear the debris.  During the day the fish are swimming and active, however during the evening they seem to hangout at the top of the tank. Again I've used ammo lock to neutralize the ammonia in the tank.  Perhaps get an air stone to help put more oxygen in the tank?  I don't know what else I can do to alleviate this ammonia problem. Any help would be great. I'm running out of ideas, and I am bound and determined to not lose any fish. Thank you, Annie
< You should have transferred the gravel and the original filter media with the additional nitrifying bacteria to the new tank to help it get cycled.  You are starting from scratch so you are experiencing new tank symptoms.  Add Dr. Tim's One and Only as per the recommendations on the bottle. In a couple of days the ammonia and nitrite levels should come down to normal levels. Then you can start to do water changes to keep the nitrates under
20 ppm.-Chuck>

Re: Ammonia Issue  05/23/09
High Ammonia Problems When Upgrading Tank
I did transfer the old gravel over, and I did transfer the old filter media and we did add cycle. I don't know if cycle works but I did make sure those steps were followed. I will use Dr. Tim's and follow the directions! Thank you for the advice, it's been the most resourceful information on this problem.  Thank you, Annie
<I have found that Dr. Tim's products to be very effective in getting tanks started again. Many tank maintenance pro's use it when setting up new tanks.  The filter media and gravel may not have been enough for the bigger tank or something may have happened to these materials during the upgrade to slow down their progress.-Chuck>

No change in ammonia level, FW, reading  9/24/08
Hello again,
Is there some reason a 20-25% water change would have absolutely no effect on the ammonia concentration levels in the tank?
<Mmm, the sensitivity of your test gear, assessment of reading, the constant production of this metabolite...>
Here are the details:
55 gallon long tank with an Aquaclear 70 HOB filter (the media are a sponge, carbon, and something they call a "Biomax" bag for promoting beneficial bacteria growth)
4 Apple Snails and what they've left of Ceratopteris Cornuta
(inconsequential amounts)
The tank's only been set up since September 8.
.50<NH3/NH4>1.0
NO2 0
NO3 0
Chlorine 0
GH 75
KH 120
pH 7.6
NH3 readings did not change after the water change???
<Mmm, and the water change may have "set back" the nitrifying bacteria...>
I was under the
impression that changing the water would dilute the ammonia concentration.
<Does initially...>
I've tested my tap water and the ammonia is 0. My concern is the snails.
They're eating and growing but they've also got their siphons out a lot.
They're not specifically going to the surface to use the siphon, but they're putting it out. I read somewhere that only when oxygen supplies in the water were optimal would the snails NOT use their siphons. Plus we all know the ammonia is damaging. It's why I tried to cycle fish(life)less to start with. So, should I be concerned here?
Thanks
Laura
<Mmm, concerned? Yes... and patient. Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwammfaqs.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>

Re: No change in ammonia level-Follow Up 9/24/08
Mr. Fenner,
Thanks for your response this morning. Acting on your advice, I read the FAQs regarding cycling and ammonia. After reading, I decided it might be beneficial for the livestock if I added BioSpira to the tank.
<Ah, yes. If you can still find this fine product w/in "freshness date">
A friend of mine noted that I'll need to raise the temperature of my tank in order for the BioSpira to work, but if I do that it'll work perfectly. Well, as you are well aware Apple Snails (of which there are now 4 residing in the tank)
don't really like temps warmer than 77F. Currently the temperature is around 75F.
<I would not raise it>
Will it harm the snails to spend some time at more of a tropical temperature with lower ammonia, or should I forego the BioSpira and risk some real toxicity?
<Monitor the ammonia period... and the pH importantly, not to let it get any higher... do not feed at all if the free ammonia is 0.5 ppm. or higher... It will "go down" in time I assure you>
(The answer seems obvious now, but I'm learning that not everything in this hobby is as logical as it seems it should be)
Thanks for everything.
Laura
<Welcome. BobF>

Ammonia vs. temperature  9/17/08
Is ammonia less toxic at 69 degrees F. than it is at 74 degrees F. ?
<Makes no difference. Ammonia is dangerously toxic at any temperature. Cheers, Neale.>
<<Mmm, more so with elevated temperature, but do agree otherwise. RMF>>

The tank won't cycle! Never ending ammonia.   8/1/08 Hello, <Hello,> I have a frustrating problem that I brought upon myself. I went a little crazy when cleaning an established 15 gal. freshwater quarantine tank. At the time, it was hosting seven young fancy platys. They had been there just over a week. When I did the regularly scheduled water change (I change 20% every other week in all my aquariums), I noticed there was quite a bit of Pleco dirt on the bottom left over from a previously quarantined fish a month before. You guessed it. I over-vacuumed the gravel which siphoned off two-thirds of the aquarium water and, like a fool, I had changed the filter pad that week too. A couple days later I had three dead fish, tested the water and found the ammonia spiked at 2.0 <Removing water has ZERO impact on how well a biological filter operates. There are virtually no bacteria in the water. If you want to change 100% of the water, then go ahead. Just did this myself yesterday with my 180-litre system because I emptied it to redecorate. All I did was make sure the temperature and water chemistry weren't too different from the water I'd taken out. Likewise rinsing or vacuuming filter media (including gravel) does no harm provided the media doesn't dry out and isn't exposed to water with much different temperature or water chemistry.> Still kicking myself, I pulled the surviving fish and stuck them in temporary hospital tanks and waited for the 15 gal to start cycling and balancing out. That was five weeks ago. The ammonia is still at .5 and nitrite and nitrate are still not showing up at all. What's going on? Should I be doing something besides waiting? Where's that nitrite? <To be honest, I suspect the tank is under-filtered, overstocked, and/or overfed. Platies are too big for a 15 gallon tank once they're mature, and while you might have been fine when they were younger, as they grow they will of course put more strain of the filter. Undergravel filters can work very well, but their capacity depends on how deep the gravel is, how fast the water is moving, and how small the gravel particles are. In any event, if you are finding your ammonia isn't going down, then one of these issues is to blame: review the filtration, stocking, and feeding.> I thought about trying bio-Spira but I did not have any luck with it when I bought it once before. Any advice is appreciated. I really miss having that big quarantine tank always standing ready. I'm almost considering tearing the whole thing down and trying to start the cycle up again. The java moss and crypts are growing beautifully, BTW. ~Mars <Hope this helps, Neale.> Re: The tank won't cycle! Never ending ammonia. 8/2/08 Thanks, Neale. I doubt overstocking is an issue here. <The filter is inadequate/immature, or the tank is overfed. The ammonia comes from decaying organic matter, and that comes from fish and their food. There's really no argument over this linkage, so if you have ammonia in your aquarium that never goes away, then your problem is one of these issues. My gut feeling is under-filtration, or at least improper maintenance of the filter or perhaps bad choices re: media. Review these topics, and address any problems.> The seven platys were quite small and, as it is a quarantine tank, only destined to stay in the tank for 2-3 weeks. The Pleco that resided there the month before had been long removed to his new home. There were no other fish in the tank. However, judging from the amount of debris, it's clear I hadn't vacuumed properly after the Pleco was moved. <OK.> The filter isn't an undergravel but a Penguin Bio-Wheel 100 which is supposed to filter up to 20 g. <Not a fan of going by the recommended capacity of a filter. I much prefer the turnover rating.> I was looking at it yesterday and wondering if this filter might be the cause. The tank is a 15 tall and the intake does not reach all the way to the bottom so there is likely a lack of circulation on the bottom. <Sounds a good analysis. I'm just not wild about these hang-on-the-back filters. I know they're popular in the US, but you hardly see them in the UK, and I don't miss them! If you're on a budget, then a properly set up Undergravel filter or a sponge filter will work much better, with less to go wrong and much easier maintenance. For breeding tanks, sponge filters are particularly good because the gentle water current helps the baby fish, and the baby fish love nibbling on the algae and micro-organisms that grow on the sponges. Bubble-up box filters can also be very good for the same reasons.> I mocked up an extension and will give it another week to see if that helps. It's odd as I have not had water quality issues with this tank before. It's been set up for a year and a half. <The filter may well be mature but just inadequate for some reason. Do consider that filter cartridges containing carbon are basically wasting space that could be used for biological filtration. When push comes to shove, biological filtration must always be the priority. Again, that's why I like sponge filters for small tanks.> ~Mars <Cheers, Neale.>

Mbuna and Ammonia Problems  7/7/08 Hi there. Wondering if you may make a couple of suggestions regarding filtration, etc. <Sure thing!> A number of months ago, I read Ad Koning's book on African Cichlids. Since I was experiencing ammonia levels in my 55 Mbuna tank, I followed his advice and fed the fish once every other day (vs. 2-3 times per day). This brought on a great deal of aggression and I lost a lot of fish. So I went back to feeding them twice per day - an amount they can consume within 30 seconds. <I have to say I agree with your experience. Whilst in theory feeding fish less than once per day may have distinct advantages, on balance I'm in favour of the "multiple small meals" approach. All my day-active fish get two meals per day, but small ones. One in the morning, another in the evening. The catfish get their pellets or wafers at night, after lights are out. This way you spread out the ammonia and problems with uneaten food.> I then commenced doing 10% water changes every other day which did nothing to abate the ammonia levels. <Ah; well, if you're getting ammonia present "in real time", then there's three things to consider -- overfeeding, under-filtering, or overstocking.> I am back to conducting 30-40% water changes on Saturdays. Despite taking ammonia tests, which show no trace of ammonia, a few of the fish still flash. I've been treating the water with Amquel which neutralizes ammonia and I have found this effective. I also have a canister and a large hang on filter equipped with ammo chips. I change the filter media once per month (not at the same time intervals). <Chemical ammonia removers only work up to a point, and once a dose has been used up, any new ammonia produced by the fish is left untreated. Amquel is of no value at all in this context; it is exclusively for removing ammonia from tap water prior to adding fish.> I understand bio media aid in the nitrification process. Both filters are loaded with the stuff. What to do? I must be doing something wrong? <As outlined above. Given the tendency for Mbuna tanks to be overstocked, filtration has to be profound. I'd reckon on a big canister filter at least 6 times and ideally somewhere between 8-10 times the volume of the tank in turnover per hour. So adding a second big canister might be just the ticket.> Look forward to hearing from you. Lisa Mae <Hope this helps, Neale.> Re: Mbuna and Ammonia Problems  7/9/08 Hi Neale, thanks so much. With both filters (canister and hang on) I'm turning over an equivalent of 685 gph which meets the needs of the 55 gallon tank. The canister is only filtering 185 gph which is rather weak. Looks like I need to seriously upgrade the canister. What about media Neale? Is zeolite effective if changed/recharged once per month? What do you use to combat ammonia levels and spikes? Thank you very much! Lisa. <Hi Lisa. The problem with combining multiple "weak" filters on a single big aquarium is that unless you position their inlets and outlets carefully, it is very easy to end up with corners of the tank with minimal water movement. Adding powerheads can help, as will an undergravel filter. But in all honesty, with fish are big and messy as Mbuna, filtration needs to be robust. If you are detecting ammonia, then you clearly don't have enough biological filtration. I wouldn't bother with zeolite -- realistically this will be very expensive, and removing some biological filtration media from one filter to replace it with zeolite makes no practical sense at all. So, what I'd look at is something like a couple of Eheim 2217 'classic' filters. These aren't expensive, have lots of capacity for biological media, and are extremely reliable. At about 260 gallons per hour turnover, two of them would give you well over 10 times the volume of the tank in turnover per hour. You could of course simply add one and use that alongside what you already have, or combine one filter with a reverse-flow undergravel filter that would take care of carbonate hardness as well as ammonia. While old school, reverse-flow undergravel filters are inexpensive to set up and extremely effective at dealing with ammonia and solid waste. Either way, fill with good quality ceramic media or sponge for biological filtration. That should take care of your ammonia. In properly maintained, mature aquaria with suitably sized filters, you shouldn't get ammonia spikes or problems. It's as simple as this: if you detect ammonia, you either have too many fish for your filtration system; put too much food in the system for the filter to deal with; or just don't have enough filtration for the overall bioload. Cheers, Neale.> Re: Mbuna and Ammonia Problems  7/9/08 This is great info - thank you so much! My problem has to be poor filtration - I only have about a dozen Mbuna in the 55 gallon so I'm not overstocked. I'll swap my current canister for the Eheim 2217. Thank you! <Hi Lisa. The concept of "being overstocked" is a practical rather than theoretical one, which is why I am leery of these inches-per-gallon rules. If you have a system where ammonia never gets to zero, you're overstocked. As you say, on paper at least a dozen 10-15 cm Mbuna should comfortably fit into a 55 gallon system. But in practise these fish are so active and have such high growth rates that it is very easy to find the otherwise reasonably sized filter being overwhelmed. I have a 40 gallon system in which I keep a few smallish tetras and glassfish along with a 15 cm Panaque nigrolineatus. Although water quality is perfect, the tank itself gets dirty very quickly simply because the catfish eats wood and produces masses of brown faeces. So it has two canister filters offering water turnover of almost 10 times per hour. Seems ridiculously over-filtered on paper, but actually the least I can get away with! In other words, one should go by empirical data -- ammonia tests for example -- rather than what is stated on the box the filter came in. Cheers, Neale.>

Chronic Ammonia?  5/10/08
Hey y'all,
Love the site, it has helped me more times than I can count. This is my first time writing in as I cannot find the answer anywhere else. I have had my fresh water aquarium up and running now for about three months. At this time It contains a silver arowana- 8in, a clown knife- 8in, a jewel cichlid- 3in, a common pleco- 4in, and two crayfish. My dilemma is that the ammonia has registered around 4 ppm for about a month now. I figured the test may have gotten old so I replaced it with a new one and the readings are still around 4ppm. Now for the puzzling part: My Nitrites have consistently been at zero since the cycle finished, my Nitrates are around 10ppm consistently, I do bi-monthly water changes of 25%, I do not overfeed my fish, my aquarium is bare bottom, and no one in the tank exhibits labored breathing, scratching, or any other stressful behavior. As I monitored the cycle the ammonia spiked (as it should), and never dropped below 1 ppm. Then I noticed in the months that followed the ammonia would not drop. Now it has apparently skyrocketed to 4 ppm just in the last month as I said. Could there be an inhibitor for the ammonia eating bacteria, or could there be something in my aquarium giving me false positives? I would have to assume that if my ammonia was really this high for any length of time my fish would at the very least be acting funny, and my crayfish would definitely be dead. Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Regards
James
<Hi James. As you seem to understand anyway, ammonia comes primarily from the fish, either as an excretory product or else because of the decay of uneaten food. So you could review your filtration and consider whether an upgrade (or perhaps a service) is in order. For fish of the type you're keeping, I'd be recommending turnover rates of 8-10 times the volume of the tank. Things like carbon are (in my opinion) a waste of filtration space, so removing carbon the make space for more biological media may be in order. Water changes of 50% weekly would also be recommended for this type of system, but that's not really relevant to this particular problem. More important might be the size of the tank: unless the tank is fundamentally big enough (in terms of volume) to dilute the ammonia the fish produce, the combination of a too-small tank with too-weak filtration system can result in persistent levels of ammonia. Or put more simply, the filter never gets enough time to remove the ammonia in the system, and the tank isn't big enough to dilute what remains. For these types of fish, the aquarium will need to be 750 l/200 gal in size once the fish are adult, though juveniles might get away with a somewhat smaller system. Now, the other issue is servicing the filter. Filters need a certain amount of care, in particular cleaning. Removing the filter media for a rinse is fine, but some folks overdo this and end up killing the filter bacteria. Conversely, if the filter gets clogged, the lack of oxygen lets the bacteria die as well. One last consideration is your water. Some water supplies come with a certain amount of ammonia; others are treated with chloramine, and this can split into chlorine and ammonia when treated with traditional dechlorinator. So test your tap water. Cheers, Neale.>

Problems with ammonia, Goldfish in too small a world, reading   4/28/08
I have two fancy goldfish who are currently living in a 10 gallon aquarium.
<Stop! This is the real problem... Need more room than this...>
I am now aware that ten gallons is not sufficient and I am looking into upgrading to 30 gallons, hopefully in the near future. In the meantime, I am trying to cycle my tank
<!? Fish should not be present during>
and I am very concerned about the ammonia levels.
Unfortunately, I did not know about cycling ahead of time.
<Take the fish back>
The pet store did a quick water test of my two day old aquarium water and said I was "good to go." I knew that a biological filter would have to develop, but I thought it was OK to do that with the fish in there.
<No>
I didn't know how hard it would be on them and that I would have such trouble addressing the issues with ammonia. Regardless, I now have two adorable fish looking to me to provide a safe environment for them. I added the two small goldfish (one Oranda, one Ryukin) 17 days ago and I have been trying to keep the ammonia levels down by doing daily partial water changes of 25 to 40%.
<Mmm... the changing of water will forestall the establishment of cycling>
This does not seem to be providing adequate relief from the ammonia, however, and the tank does not seem to be cycling yet (Nitrates and Nitrites are both at zero and the ammonia does not decrease significantly). I am extremely concerned for my fish. I just can't get the ammonia down to an acceptable level.
Today, I placed them temporarily in a fishbowl with water that is similar to what they have in the tank (regarding temperature, pH, etc.) just to give them some relief from the ammonia while the aquarium cycles.
<Won't work either>
I plan to change the water daily (at least partially) and closely monitor ammonia. At least I can change the water in the fish bowl and let their aquarium cycle without them. I just could never get the ammonia down to zero in the aquarium. Is this OK? How long can they stay in the fish bowl? I just want them to be somewhere safe while their home undergoes all the ammonia and Nitrite, etc. spikes. I want them to go back in as soon as the aquarium water is safe for them. Please help. I love these little guys
<Then return them temporarily... use a real cycling product or other means... see below>
and I know a fish bowl is not where they should be but I don't know what else to do.
Thank you so much.
Sincerely,
Laurie
<Read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwestcycling.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>

HIGH AMMONIA >>> EMERGENCY PLS HELP!
Hello, i will start off by saying that i have a 60gal freshwater tank which has been up n running for about 2 1/2mo now ... i have 14 1" baby piranhas, 1 3" Pleco, and 1 3" black lobster ... i have about 10 live plants and 2 whisper 60 filters (660gph total filtration) ...
<Not sure about mixing Piranhas with the other stuff, and obviously once these fish get even more than 3" long, they will need a massively larger aquarium.>
My nitrites & nitrates are always at 0 (i would assume due to the live plants) and my ammonia is always in an acceptable range.
<There is NO ACCEPTABLE AMMONIA RANGE. Let me be crystal clear about this! If you can DETECT ammonia, you've got problems. Period. End of discussion. Piranhas are notoriously sensitive to ammonia, and any exposure to the stuff is life threatening.>
Well i tested my ammonia lvl one day and it was at 8.0, so i decided to clean all my filters and get the gunk out of them, rinse/change my filter media, and i also added 2 3"x8" bags of carbon/ammonia reducer pellets. I vacuumed my gravel thoroughly twice and did a 50% water change. I did not find any type of dead fish or decaying matter other than what was in the gravel. I also tested my tap water and its ammonia reading was 0 ...
<If you have this much ammonia in the system, you have MAJOR problems. Let's take this one step at a time. Carbon is neither here nor there, and in most freshwater tanks is a waste of space. Anything carbon can do, 50% weekly water changes can do better -- and without the need for the carbon to be replaced every month. Or the risk of removing medications. Next up, ammonia remover is irrelevant here. Ammonia remover is for fixing very specific situations, e.g., hospital tanks or breeding tanks. You'd need huge amounts of the stuff for fish on a high-protein diet, and you'd also need to replacing it all every few days. So don't waste your time with it. Finally, if you have no ammonia in the tap water, but lots in the fish tank, it means only this: overstocking, overfeeding, under-filtration. Pick and choose from these. Likely more than one.>
so after doing my water change, i tested it and my ammonia WAS STILL AT 8.0!!! i don't get it at all ... and not to mention my water looks dirty and my water smells???
<Almost certainly overfeeding and/or under-filtering.>
i took out all the deco fake trees and everything too ... i don't understand what is causing such a large ammonia reading ESPECIALLY after doing a water change and cleaning all the gunk out of my filters ... like i said i did not find any decaying matter at all so i do not understand y after such a large water change my ammonia is still high ... PLS HELP ME bc im goin nuts trying to figure out what's going on!
Thx for your help, i look forward to your knowledge ... thx again!
<You need to [a] stop feeding; and [b] remove everything but mechanical/biological media from the filters; and [c] insure those filters are mature/adequate to the task at hand. Simple as that! Hope this helps, Neale.>

How to clear 0.5 Ammonia Level? – 03/07/08
Hello,
My 20cm Flowerhorn who is in a 55-gallon tank has stopped eating and changed swimming behaviour for a week. The pet store tested the water, everything is OK except ammonia level (0.5) and I was recommended to clean and use Ammo Chips for the filter . I did as recommended but today when the pet store tested again. the ammonia level is the same without improvement. I usually change water every day, about 1 gallon every 1 or 2 days to remove fish feces. I don't know how the tank got that ammonia level. Please show me how to remove the ammonia or any solutions to use for ammonia removal.
Thank you.
Sophie
<Greetings. Ammonia-removing chemicals won't work in a situation like this. Ammonia-removers are designed either to remove ammonia from tap water or from small, lightly stocked aquaria where biological filtration can't work. In your case, the problems are one or more of these: overstocking, under-filtration, or overfeeding. Pick and choose. I'd recommend a program of major water changes per week, at least 50%. The filter needs to be providing at least 6 times the volume of the aquarium in turnover per hour (i.e, the filter used in your tank needs a turnover of not less than 6 x 55 = 330 gallons per hour). Reduce the amount of food you are providing; fish need no more than they can eat in a couple of minutes. Big fish only a need a single meal per day, and skipping a meal once a week will do no harm at all. Lean towards green rather than meaty foods to provide energy with less protein, as this will also help. If you fail to manage the aquarium as I've described, this fish will soon be dead: cichlids have very little tolerance for ammonia. Cheers, Neale.>

Guppies... hlth., use, dis-use of ammonia removing tap/source water treatment products    02/29/2008
I'm sorry for being a nuisance but I wonder if you could give me a bit of advice, I purchased 2 male guppies and 2 female guppies yesterday to go with the other guppies in my tank but two of the males have since died, I checked the water and found that the PH, Nitrate and Nitrite were smack on the correct level, but the ammonia gave a reading of 8.0.
<Means one of two things. Firstly, the filter could be completely immature (i.e., the fish produce ammonia, but not ammonia gets converted to nitrite, let alone nitrate, so you detect zero nitrite and whatever nitrate level you have in your tap water. Alternatively, you have a source of ammonia above and beyond what the filter can cope with, e.g., ammonia in the tap water, or a lot of decaying organic material. Either way, extremely bad news.>
I added some "Ammo Lock" to the water but when I checked it this morning it was still high so I changed a third of the water and added some "Tap Safe" I have just checked the water again and whereas all the other readings are correct, the ammonia is still between 4.0 and 8.0 so I added some "Interpet Ammonia Remover"
<OK, you're misunderstanding what these Ammo Lock-type products do. They do not remove ammonia produced by the fish or from decay. All they do is neutralise small (typically less than 0.5 mg/l) amounts of ammonia that sometimes are found in tap water. If your tap water has ammonia, then obviously adding it to an aquarium would be bad, so these product render than ammonia harmless. What they CANNOT do is remove masses of ammonia constantly being produced by livestock or decay in the aquarium. If it was that easy we wouldn't bother with filters! So put them away; they are as much help here as a bottle of mineral water would be for putting out a forest fire. You need to establish why your aquarium is generating ammonia (because it is). Review: stocking, feeding, filtration. Do also check you are using the correct dechlorinator: if your local water supplier uses chloramine, but you use a dechlorinator that doesn't treat chloramine, you end up with a measure of ammonia in each bucket of treated water. Stop feeding the fish, for a start. Check the filter is running and mature. Do 50% water changes DAILY until things get down to normal. Ammonia is incredibly toxic to fish, and anything above zero will kill them quickly.>
Do you have any suggestions on why all the readings are fine apart from the ammonia.
<Outlined above.>
The other thing which puzzles me is that although the guppies have died, all the other fish are thriving, including two very small molly fry which are between a third and half the size of my neon tetras. Many thanks for your help.
<Hmm... fish that have been in deteriorating conditions will adapt (to a point) whereas new stuff added from a clean tank to a dirty tank will just keel over and die. But the short answer is if you have ammonia in the water, then chances are all the fish will die.>
Regards, Gaynor
<Hope this helps, Neale.>