Ammonia Emergency in Non-Cycling Tank?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Thanks all..

I just had another thought. Up until about a week ago there was a monstrous eel living in my overflow. It's in a different tank now but maybe the food going into there and the waste from the fish at the bottom of the overflow is causing some of the issue?
 
Dissolved Oxygen could be an issue as well. That could cause a nitrification issue.
 
Piscine said:
Dissolved Oxygen could be an issue as well. That could cause a nitrification issue.
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Yeah, I don't think I have enough aeration in my current set-up. I am going to add some surface agitation tonight or tomorrow.
 
Okay, I added more ceramic bio-media to the sump today. I also added an air pump for more surface agitation in case oxygen was an issue.

I checked out the overflows and they look pretty clean, definitely no noticeable sludge build-up.

Did a 35%-40% water change with Prime added as I refilled the tank.

The pH in the tank is now reading about the same as my tap water, 7.5ish, so I'm not sure what was up with that one test. Might have been a fluke. Did two tonight to confirm pH is around 7.5.

Ammonia levels did not go down after the water change!!! Or at least -- not enough to show any difference on the test.

I am going to add more Prime now.

Should I start treating the tank with something tomorrow? These levels seem like they would kill most fish, mine just happen to all be hardy air-breathers.

Please help...

Is one water change a day not going to be enough to stabilize? I can do another in the AM if it would help.
 
You need to get your waste level down and give the new bio media time to develop the good bacteria. Keep doing the water changes and cut back on feedings until things are stabilized. Perhaps something just killed off all the beneficial bacterial and you are starting to recycle again??
 
I was having trouble with one of my fx5's about a month or so ago and cleaned it out almost entirely, this could have killed some BB but it was a while ago and the sump wasn't touched. So maybe some sort of a cycle still going on?

Going on two days with no regular feeding so that should help with waste.

Fish seem okay although cuban gar is dark, not normal gold self.

Will do another big change tomorrow morning.

Is Prime w/ the water changes enough, or should I look into using Ammolock or something? I double-dosed the Prime, should I consider doing even more than that?

Sorry for repetitive questions.
 
Could it be that your filter system crashed due to buffer depletion? Which killed the biological filter which in turn could not process the ammonia. Do you have buffers in the tank? Just keep in mind that if you got ammonia you want the pH low. High pH and ammonia is bad for the fish. High aeration increases pH. Best thing is water change and wait for the filter to come back. Good luck.
 
Do you mean pH buffers? I have some stone in the sump that's been there for a long time to keep pH up a bit for the cuban gar's sake, but only a small amount.
 
Another nights big water change done, more Prime added, the test is still coming up dark enough to know the ammonia is off the charts, but it might have been a smidge lighter today

I guess some progress is better than none, will keep at it

Gars have only had a few pellets over the last 3 days, no excess food and nothing meaty
 
I would cease feeding all together as long as there are no worries of cannibalism. The gars will be fine without food for a week or two.
 
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