ammonia issue , increase flow rate?

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Candiru
MFK Member
Nov 2, 2008
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denver,co
i am facing high ammonia problem that i thought would go away after my tank has been cycled but it has been about 3 months now and it's still there
below is a video of my setup. i have sinced added as much k1 as i can fit in that would still allow most of it to flow. i've also packed chamber 1 with poret foam , and chamber 3 with eheim pro bio media. still the problem persist.
i am currently using a danner model 3 pump which supposed to deliver 350 gph which i thought would be sufficient for my 75 gallon setup. Should i get a bigger pump? i am stumped on why this filter isn't very effective.

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There's no reason your filtration shouldn't be sufficient. I'd suspect the test results. Are you getting nitrite too? Is this test kit good? Have you tested tap water to see what it reads? Chloramines in your water? Treating with a water conditioner that breaks the ammonia/chlorine bond?
 
i'm using the master test kit with test tubes (8 drops from each bottle for ammonia test).
I have a larger tank (180 gallon) witha 75 gallon sump and there is no issue what so ever , using the same tap water so that kindda rule out the possibilty of my tap water having high ammonia
i Do use dechlore every water change.
 
What is your nitrite and nitrate levels?

Also, do you add things like amquel in the tank? That will show a false positive.

Most importantly, how are your fish?
 
i have a jardini aand a ray in there, both are doing ok and eating, but then again, i've seen fish goes from eating at night and drop dead in the morming so i don't really consider that being a factor. I only use declore, no amquel or anything else, nitrite is currently at 0. although 2 weeks ago it pikes as ammonia went down. but then i started feeding a bit more than ammonia went up again and now nitrite is at 0 again. it's like the cycle tries to start but fail or something, i'm thinking of tackling that last thing i can think of , which is flow rate
 
how long has the k1 been in ..since the beginning? Iam thinking it never got est... have you cleaned the media?..if so it probably didnt establish... if thats not it ,it may be flow
 
IMG_8079.jpgIMG_8079.jpgthe k1 has been in there since june 20th. it has never been cleaned, i only change the filter floss on top, not only that the 2 other chambers have beeen filed with poret foam and eheim bio media since 3 weeks back. i attach a picture of the setup and also the test tubes i did just now

IMG_8079.jpg
 
I don't think flow rate is your issue. Biologically speaking, slow flow is actually more effective due to the increased contact time between the media and "dirty" water. High flow rates always improve mechanical filtration, but not necessarily bio filtration. Something else has to be going on IMO
 
i just dont' really know what else to try , i only have 2 fish in there, and i feed them every other day, not even to their capacity, just enough to get by to try to control ammonia level
 
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