I'm Fed Up...Im out of answers

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
It may not be the bio load exceeding the bacteria, but rather you may be killing bacteria whenever you shut your filters off for that time period. I dont know how long bacteria survives for when it doesnt got oxygen or water flowing through it. Just add more bio media, it may not be needed though because I am unsure if thats your problem, but it doesnt hurt to have it either.


If you do WC, just take the bio media and put it inside your tank to sit in there, or in a bucket of tank water.
 
ya ima try that. i honestly dont know how much longer these fish have to live in these conditions. so thats why im looking for a rather quick solution...like adding biospira or some other ammonia detoxifyer
 
how do you know the test kit is good? have you tested your tap water to see what it reads? your bacteria should be fine while doing a water change. when i do WCs on all my tanks, the filters are shut off for about an hour or more. never had any issues.
 
what kind of dechlorinator are you using? i think i read on here that some can cause false readings of ammonia. you should look into that as a possibility. it sounds as though youre doing everything right. you shouldnt have ammonia
 
thats what bugs me... is im doing everything right...everything ive done ive consulted on here...im ready to sell off my tanks and get another kitty cat lol. which sucks because i really am into fish now
 
so how big of a water change should i do? i mean ive done 50 percents..even 75 percents to just get rid of the ammonia...clearly hasnt helped...i know somethings wrong..i can tell by the firemouths colors...they are losing their red bellies...and my jack dempsey is very black
 
bumpylemon;2450260; said:
i use api stress coat.. as of the last month

Let's look at this logically first and then go into the reasons. If your problem started a month ago and you started using Stresscoat a month ago, it stands to reason that the Stresscoat is causing your problem.

If your town uses chloramines in it's water, instead of chlorine, the Stresscoat is producing the ammonia as it breaks the bond of the chloramine. You NEED to use AMMO LOCK 2 to detoxify the ammonia. More water changes with the same product are just adding more ammonia to your tank. Stop doing water changes until you either get the Ammo Lock 2 or switch to a conditioner like Prime that converts the ammonia to ammonium that is dealt with much more effeciently by your biofilter and is much less harmful to fish.
 
What media are you running in your AC filters? What is your method of cleaning this media?

You should not have to use ammonia absorbing media or chemicals to maintain a heatlhy aquarium.
 
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