Ammonia emergency

[Monster_Ronster]

Recently ive been fighting an ammonia spike in my 75 gal that has been established about 2 months now. Before about 3 days ago my ammonia has always been 0 while doing a 75% wc every week. So i check the levels a few days ago and it's 1.0 ppm. I do a water change and forget about it since i was pretty busy that day. Today i check the levels again and its the same. I did a 80% wc and check them again and they are still 1.0. By this time im like what the hell so i check the water straight from my tap and bingo its 1.0 also. What can i do? Will extra prime work untill my biological filtration can bring the levels down or what? I fell like driving to the water company and punching someone in the face. Any and all help is appreciated.

 

[Bderick67]

First I would verify the test against another test kit. I would double dose the tap with prime. Do you do water test before the water change or just after? Once you have verified your test kit I would test daily after a water change to see if there is a decrease in ammonia levels.

BTW`after dosing with prime your ammonia test results will not change, prime detoxifies ammonia but does not eliminate it.

 

[Dr Joe]

Have you done anything to the filter? It sounds like the filter started to crash.

Adding Prime could help.

Do you dechlor the change water before adding it to the tank?

More than likely (unless the water dept. has had an algae outbreak in the water system) they haven't changed the chlorine/chlorimine levels.

Dr Joe

.

 

[StingrayFanatic]

Doing a 50% w/c and adding bacteria (Bio-Spira) to the tank and prime to the water before it goes into the tank should help. It has worked for me in the past usually within 24 hours.

 

[WyldFya]

Even with the source having ammonia, your filter should be taking care of the majority overnight. Since it isn't, it is likely your filter crashed.

 

[WyldFya]

First I would verify the test against another test kit. I would double dose the tap with prime. Do you do water test before the water change or just after? Once you have verified your test kit I would test daily after a water change to see if there is a decrease in ammonia levels.

BTW`after dosing with prime your ammonia test results will not change, prime detoxifies ammonia but does not eliminate it.

Actually, Prime does eliminate ammonia, it detoxifies nitrite and nitrate. After dosing prime the ammonia levels should drop a noticeable amount.

 

[Scorponok]

Add a water purifier onto your faucet.

 

[Bderick67]

Actually, Prime does eliminate ammonia, it detoxifies nitrite and nitrate. After dosing prime the ammonia levels should drop a noticeable amount.

Although is says it removes Ammonia on the front label, more explantion is given on the side of the bottle.

Quote taken from the following link; http://www.seachem.com/products/product_pages/Prime.html

Prime™ is the complete and concentrated conditioner for both fresh and salt water. Prime™ removes chlorine, chloramine and ammonia. Prime™ converts ammonia into a safe, non-toxic form that is readily removed by the tank’s biofilter. Prime™ may be used during tank cycling to alleviate ammonia/nitrite toxicity. Prime™ detoxifies nitrite and nitrate, allowing the biofilter to more efficiently remove them. It will also detoxify any heavy metals found in the tap water at typical concentration levels.Prime™ also promotes the production and regeneration of the natural slime coat. Prime™ is non-acidic and will not impact pH. Prime™ will not overactivate skimmers. Use at start-up and whenever adding or replacing water

I have found that after dosing with prime it does not change the ammonia levels when tested.

 

[Wolf3101]

This is why I use RO/DI water for the aquariums...Tap water can change a great deal from day to day and as youve just seen....not for the better. The answer is better water...not more chemical additives. Cut your water change schedule in half and drop it down to 30% rather than 75%.

In your case....the water changes are doing a lot more harm than good.

 

[duke33]

This is why I use RO/DI water for the aquariums...Tap water can change a great deal from day to day and as youve just seen....not for the better. The answer is better water...not more chemical additives. Cut your water change schedule in half and drop it down to 30% rather than 75%.

In your case....the water changes are doing a lot more harm than good.

I think so too.