Help w/ what's producing amonia in old tank I'm trying to get running again?

[GolemGolem]

Hey, it's been a few years since I've kept tanks, but I want to again.

Trying to set up an old 75g into a mbuna tank.
Cleaned everything as best I could with water and vinnegar.
new substrate
old rocks and driftwood.
old sponge filter.
new power filters.
seeded w/ substrate from nice LFS
Been a little over a week.
I'm getting occasional nitrite spikes, but the ammonia levels keep growing, I'm doing 50% water changes every other day to keep ammonia under 5ppm. . .
Should be able to solve this one on my own, but any advice? Maybe the old drift wood is rotting or something?

 

[tlindsey]

Hey, it's been a few years since I've kept tanks, but I want to again.

Trying to set up an old 75g into a mbuna tank.
Cleaned everything as best I could with water and vinnegar.
new substrate
old rocks and driftwood.
old sponge filter.
new power filters.
seeded w/ substrate from nice LFS
Been a little over a week.
I'm getting occasional nitrite spikes, but the ammonia levels keep growing, I'm doing 50% water changes every other day to keep ammonia under 5ppm. . .
Should be able to solve this one on my own, but any advice? Maybe the old drift wood is rotting or something?

It can take over a month for a aquarium to fully cycle . How many fish did you add or are you doing a fishless cycle?

 

[tlindsey]

It can take over a month for a aquarium to fully cycle . How many fish did you add or are you doing a fishless cycle?

Also very important are you adding dechlorinator to the water during water changes?

 

[GolemGolem]

Also very important are you adding dechlorinator to the water during water changes?

Using Prime, and I have 12x zebra danios in there now (will be moved to a second tank before I move in the chichlids), and a java fern and another plant the store recommended.
Anyway those danios are not making that much ammonia.

 

[tlindsey]

Using Prime, and I have 12x zebra danios in there now (will be moved to a second tank before I move in the chichlids), and a java fern and another plant the store recommended.

Great to hear that. Just keep doing what you're doing until water parameters stabilize and you get a positive reading for Nitrate.

 

[tlindsey]

What type of test kit are you using?

 

[duanes]

It can take over a month for a aquarium to fully cycle

Agree
Even with seasoned substrate, it takes time for a large enough population of bacteria to process ammonia.
A couple more weeks may be needed to reach equilibrium, especially enough to convert ammonia fro a significant population of mbuna.

 

[GolemGolem]

API master kit, expires next year.
I know it can take a bit, what's a little different this time and got me worried is in the past is once nitrites started showing ammonia started dropping not in a straight line, but dropping. This time it is not. The only big differences is a lot of the gear has been in storage for a few years this time.
But you think I should chill and stay the course?

 

[tlindsey]

you think I should chill and stay the course?

Yes don't worry like I stated earlier keep doing what your doing.

 

[duanes]

One of the reasons you are seeing both ammonia and nitrate at the same time, is the LFS gravel you added.
It is able to process some of the ammonia to nitrate the danios are producing.
I'm guessing they gave you some where around a handful, or maybe a couple cups?
Enough to process some ammonia, but not all.
One other possibility, is if your tap water treated with chlorine, or Chloramine (sometimes called Total Chlorine) Chloramine is made by combining free chlorine, and ammonia, and can add to the ammonia ppm result in your API test depending on the added concentration..(usually 5 to 1, with 5 parts chlorine to 1 part ammonia.
You may ask, why would they use Chloramine?
Because it provides a longer disinfection residual in the distribution system (and has a longer half life) reducing water borne disease in humans, everything from intestinal disease, to the bacteria that causes Legionaires disease
And when straight Chlorine combines with organic matter, it produces Trihalomethane, a carcinogen to humans.
The addition of ammonia to chlorine in water treatment, significantly reduces the carcinogen effectt