Amonia Suddenly in Tap Water

[Gavint85]

I have a South American biotope setup for five years, during which I've never tested for ammonia in the tank. Recently I performed a very large water change (probably 150%) which I do frequently, and lost several larger cichlids (including my favorite geo mirabilis). Since then I've been doing smaller water changes, but noticed that my remaining fish get stressed and start flashing after a short time. I finally tested the Ammonia, as I was unsure what else it could be, and low and behold my tap water suddenly has approx 1.0 ppm of ammonia.

Does anyone have advice for water changes when there is ammonia in the tap for South American cichlids? Obviously I use prime afterwards, but the fish are still subjected to stress every time I change the water.

 

[tlindsey]

I have a South American biotope setup for five years, during which I've never tested for ammonia in the tank. Recently I performed a very large water change (probably 150%) which I do frequently, and lost several larger cichlids (including my favorite geo mirabilis). Since then I've been doing smaller water changes, but noticed that my remaining fish get stressed and start flashing after a short time. I finally tested the Ammonia, as I was unsure what else it could be, and low and behold my tap water suddenly has approx 1.0 ppm of ammonia.

Does anyone have advice for water changes when there is ammonia in the tap for South American cichlids? Obviously I use prime afterwards, but the fish are still subjected to stress every time I change the water.

What type of test kit are you using?

 

[Gavint85]

What type of test kit are you using?

API Master Test Kit.

 

[tlindsey]

API Master Test Kit.

You may have to add prime prior to adding your water during water changes.

 

[tlindsey]

https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/ammonia-in-tap-water.658124/#post-7414153
Hope this helps sorry for your loss.

 

[Gavint85]

You may have to add prime prior to adding your water during water changes.

Ooof. That will add serious time onto every water change. Any other ideas?

 

[tlindsey]

Ooof. That will add serious time onto every water change. Any other ideas?

That's all I can think of but read the link until someone else chimes in.

 

[squint]

I always pre-treat and pre-heat water before using it. The time from the start to finish of a water change is increased but the amount of time actually spent working is about the same.

 

[Gavint85]

I always pre-treat and pre-heat water before using it. The time from the start to finish of a water change is increased but the amount of time actually spent working is about the same.

Not sure about the size of your tank, but how do you pretreat the water for a large water change for a 150 gallon? I would think I would need to go back and forth with 5 gallon buckets which will be a killer on both my time and my back.

 

[squint]

Not sure about the size of your tank, but how do you pretreat the water for a large water change for a 150 gallon? I would think I would need to go back and forth with 5 gallon buckets which will be a killer on both my time and my back.

I have a 55 gal barrel and unused 40 and 75 gal tanks. I have a pump and various lengths of tubing all with quick disconnect fittings so I can pump short, medium, long, and super long distances. The pump is controlled by a short cycle timer. I set it to something like 2 min on, 8 off so it doesn't refill the tank too quickly.

Water changes have killed more of my fish than anything. I became much more careful and now do 95% water changes without issue.