Ammonia won't go below 0.25 PPM!

FluffySackson

Gambusia
MFK Member
Aug 27, 2014
599
6
18
Ok, I do my water changes every single week, never skip. My nitrates and nitrates have always been at 0 but my ammonia won't go down. The tank is cycled, I have 3 filters already colonized with beneficial bacteria and yet my ammonia still stands at 0.25! Never had this before, usually if my ammonia spikes, a water change or two gets rid of it. But for the past 2 weeks, my ammonia won't go down! I've been doing 2 50% water changes a week...the tank is a 65 gallon cichlid growout tank.
 

welsher7

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Apr 20, 2006
682
26
61
Fort Wayne, IN
What kind and size filters are you running? What kind of media are you using? What is in the tank? Maybe you don't have enough media to handle bio load or maybe you are over feeding? Or you could just have an out dated test kit.
 

FluffySackson

Gambusia
MFK Member
Aug 27, 2014
599
6
18
My tap water is 0 nirates 0 nirtrite and 1.0ppm ammonia. I always treat it during a water change. (With seachem prime)
 

FluffySackson

Gambusia
MFK Member
Aug 27, 2014
599
6
18
An emperor 400, Aquaclear 110 and an API Filstar XP-L. All loaded with sponges and bio media (colonized too). Is there an expiration date on the test kit? I'm using the API master test kit and I've tested my water even after a water change, still 0.25 ppm ammonia.
 

davenmandy

Peacock Bass
MFK Member
Feb 1, 2012
1,781
459
122
Your kit may be off/old. Take a water sample to lfs and then buy a new kit if they're reading is 0. Don't use strips.

Sent from my Z10 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 

wrslrcichlid

Candiru
MFK Member
Aug 27, 2011
596
2
48
Battle Creek, MI
My question is why your nitrites and nitrates are 0. Nitrites and ammonia should be 0, but in an established tank you should always have some nitrates. Obviously less is better, but unless you do daily water changes, or have a continuous drip system your tests should always show some levels of nitrates.

One thing is that with certain water test kits Prime can cause false positives, so that could be something to look into.

Liquid test kits can expire, and in my experience that can cause readings to be off some. I would definitely get your LFS to check it and then buy a new kit if their reading is different. Until then, I would continue with regular water changes.

Lastly, one test you could do is fill a small bucket from the tap and add some prime. Then after stirring for a few minutes (allowing the Prime to work), test it and see what you get.
 

FluffySackson

Gambusia
MFK Member
Aug 27, 2014
599
6
18
I had some nitrates a while back, but my test kit has been showing 0 for a little while. My fish show no sign of bad water quality but I'm still fairly concerned. I'll try the bucket method.
 

Keman

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Aug 31, 2014
127
0
0
Auburn, wa
When you do the bucket test, test before and after you add Prime. Anytime I do water changes, I have to wait at least 24 hours get a reliable result.
 
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