Ammonia High

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LiuHsi

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Aug 15, 2006
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Not sure what happened, but today I tested my water for ammonia and it was high to the max... I am using API liquid testing kit.

I did 30 % water change 2 times in the past 7 day.. I am using a 20 gallon size wet and dry filter which has been in place for years.. I have carbon and ammo chip as media in the filter, which is 1 week old.

Not sure what is going on, but I did another 40 % water change today and added amquel and cycle in the tank...

Can some one tell me whats wrong with the tank?
I have a 125 g tank with
2 large dats (8" - 12")
2 small dats (3" - 5")
2 parrots (4")
2 Acara (3")
3 Pleco
1 Red Severum (5")

I stop feeding the fish now.. i usually feed 2 times a day.

Help!
 
Here again, crappy test kits give unreliable results.

Liquid test kits need to be shaken before each use.

Ammo chips used in combination with carbon need to be in separate bags. The chips exhaust in days and the carbon should last weeks. Carbon should be purchased in coated milk cartons, hard plastic or glass jars.

Which Amquel? Kordon's Amquel formulation has changed. It's not the same as it used to be. Do a Google search...

If your fish are acting normally don't worry about it. Sometimes the addition of salt will increase the fishes' tolerance of less than ideal water conditions.
 
did you add prime or something else to treat the water for the water changes sounds like you lost alot of your BB
 
Amquel + is what I use

I start to believe my testing kid is bad now.. i mean, at 8.0 ppm (The highest of ammonia level on the kit) every fish seems ok...

I am adding cycle little by little every day. and little bit of amquel. I was wondering if i should keep on changing water or not.

What other brand of water conditioner or testing kit is recommended. I have always used Cycle...

I am not feeding my fish still.. they looked hungry
 
Kordon, Hagen, Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, and there are others. Kits can get expensive. Hardest part is keeping the test chemicals current & viable. Check code dates on packages and store properly. Clean test vials with distilled water as to not influence the tests.

Companies change they're kits and chemicals so make sure they are still compatible with your charts when you buy refills.

I prefer to use individual test kits, I find some companies I like better than others, but that's a personal preference.

Ask a friend to test the water and take it to a lfs too. General consensus wins (best 2 out of 3).

Good luck and keep us posted.

Dr Joe.
 
LiuHsi;512256;512256 said:
Amquel + is what I use

I start to believe my testing kid is bad now.. i mean, at 8.0 ppm (The highest of ammonia level on the kit) every fish seems ok...

I am adding cycle little by little every day. and little bit of amquel. I was wondering if i should keep on changing water or not.

What other brand of water conditioner or testing kit is recommended. I have always used Cycle...

I am not feeding my fish still.. they looked hungry
Click to expand...
BioSpira did the trick for me. Cycle and similar products that are not refrigerated have not worked at all for me.
 
"Cycle" will likely retard the growth of BB in the system, and it doesn't last. IMHO loose the "Cycle" have the water tested @ lfs then post all the params, we can start over...

Also were any fish added recently? Anyone die in a remote corner unnoticed?
 
NOT TO PANIC I THINK TEST KIT IS BAD IF YOU WERE AT 8.0 I WOULD EXPECT TO SEE SOME CLOUDINESS IN THE TANK I WOULD GO BUY NEW TEST KIT BEFOR YOU PANIC OR JUST BUY A BOTTLE OF QUICK DIP STIPS (QUICK TEST ) THERE ARE ALRIGHT WHEN YOU JUST NEED TO CONFURM A RESULT .
 
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