I have a 120 gallon tank in it I have 2 8 inch oscars 4 convicts 2 4 inch males and 2 2 inch females a school of 7 silver dollars 2 raphael catfish about 3 inches and a pleco my nitrite is at 0 nitrate about 15ppm and ammonia sits between 0.25 and 0.50 ppm as filtration I have a emperor 400 and eheim 2026 and bi-weekly water changes of 25% how can I get this ammonia to go down?
0.50 ammonia
- Thread starter yobejoe
- Start date
Less fish? Get a second test kit, or test a second water sample with the one you have, to be sure the ammonia test is accurate. Test your tap water for ammonia to see what you measure outta the tap.
Might look at adding some bio media to your set up--that might help--might not.
Might look at adding some bio media to your set up--that might help--might not.
Assuming that the ammonia readings and pH readings are accurate....
The high ammonia with no deaths seems to be explained by the low pH. Unfortunately very low pH (like 6.0-6.5, iirc) is close to the point where bacteria simply go into hibernation.
However, reducing the ammonia can be done in any of several possible ways:
1) reduce the protein content of the food you are serving. Protein----> ammonia. Feeding 80% protein food can be swapped to 35-45% food.
2) reduce the amount of food you are feeding. Less food overall means less ammonia.
3) reduce the amount of fish you are keeping. Fewer fish should lead to less food.
4) try adding more biological material so you can "cultivate" more bacteria. More media leads to more bacteria that can handle higher nitrogen requirements.
5) look to see if you can raise temperatures a little. More temperature means more bacteria (assuming they have enough places on which to grow) and also makes the bacteria more efficient at converting nitrogen molecules.
All of these are possible solutions, but in the mean time, my suggestion is to not try to raise the pH artificially first. Low pH may be the only thing protecting the fish from ammonia stress.
The high ammonia with no deaths seems to be explained by the low pH. Unfortunately very low pH (like 6.0-6.5, iirc) is close to the point where bacteria simply go into hibernation.
However, reducing the ammonia can be done in any of several possible ways:
1) reduce the protein content of the food you are serving. Protein----> ammonia. Feeding 80% protein food can be swapped to 35-45% food.
2) reduce the amount of food you are feeding. Less food overall means less ammonia.
3) reduce the amount of fish you are keeping. Fewer fish should lead to less food.
4) try adding more biological material so you can "cultivate" more bacteria. More media leads to more bacteria that can handle higher nitrogen requirements.
5) look to see if you can raise temperatures a little. More temperature means more bacteria (assuming they have enough places on which to grow) and also makes the bacteria more efficient at converting nitrogen molecules.
All of these are possible solutions, but in the mean time, my suggestion is to not try to raise the pH artificially first. Low pH may be the only thing protecting the fish from ammonia stress.
How long has the ammonia reading been above 0? If this tank has been running for a long time, and u didn't add any new fish lately then you shouldn't have any ammonia (unless the gravel got stirred up lately since u cleaned it last and it spiked a bit). But if thats the case than you do not have enough bio media in your filter for the waste being produced by these fish. Get rid of any filler such as carbon in the filter and load up.
Also, I'd do larger water changes than 25% per week when you have oscars and a big school of silver dollars.
Also, I'd do larger water changes than 25% per week when you have oscars and a big school of silver dollars.