Very high ammonia levels(+8)

[suprakid95]

what brand of conditioner do you use?

i use tetra aqua's aqua safe water conditioner

yes i bought a whole new test kit but only because i just bought a 125 gallon tank and am too lazy to walk back and forth from tank to tank.

 

[suprakid95]

and as far as my filtration is concerned a fluval 204 and a aquaclear 50 running together isn't sufficient for a 30 gallon tank?

 

[Toby_H]

yes it is... please see post #20 as you and I were posting at the same time ;-)

 

[sostoudt]

I completely disagree...

The tank is a month old... it was never cycled...

It's not that you don't have enough surface area to grow the needed bacteria... it's that you’ve never had the bacteria to begin with...

If the ammonia levels have been 8ppm + since the beginning... then it very well may have been to toxic of an environment for the bacteria to formulate or take hold... Much less reproduce or expand…

I believe far too much emphasis is put on "surface area"... as I've never seen a mature tank with a realistic stocklist lack the surface area to keep ammonia/nitrite at zero...

oh missed the age i thought it was atleast a couple months, but a month should still be atleast enough to get ammonia down if not nitrites, excluding ammonia toxicity to the bacteria.

/***supra you can ignore this, this is debating surface area importance**/
ive had tanks with less then adequate biological surface area. usually with a little then less enough you get cloudy water, algae, or sludge build up in the filter. alot less you end up with ammonia, nitrites. but i accept i may be wrong. so i challenge you to setup a barebottom tank with just a airpump, no filter with whatever you consider realistic stocking for the size

 

[suprakid95]

i think you might be right because i did notice the fins deteriorating on the fish the first 2 weeks, i did major water changes and they seemed to get better then recently it started again. during this whole process i did at least one 20% water change a week. but the ammonia levels would be 8+ within the day.

 

[sostoudt]

i use tetra aqua's aqua safe water conditioner

i asked because certain conditioners can be used to treat high ammonia levels so its not toxic . but im not familiar with tetras products.

 

[Toby_H]

/***supra you can ignore this, this is debating surface area importance**/
ive had tanks with less then adequate biological surface area. usually with a little then less enough you get cloudy water, algae, or sludge build up in the filter. alot less you end up with ammonia, nitrites. but i accept i may be wrong. so i challenge you to setup a barebottom tank with just a airpump, no filter with whatever you consider realistic stocking for the size

I'll be sure to share details as it developes

950 square inches of surface space including glass, heater, thermometer , tubing & stone

Sorry for the side track Supra... from now on it's all about you ^5

 

[sostoudt]

I'll be sure to share details as it developes

950 square inches of surface space including glass, heater, thermometer , tubing & stone

Sorry for the side track Supra... from now on it's all about you ^5

looking forward to it. im so glad you put your fish where your mouth is. most people just ignore my challenges.

supra if you believe that your bacteria never developed or your ammonia killed them off, you could add those bottles of bacteria they sell at the store or get some media from a established filter on another tank. I would try to keep your ammonia lower to prevent kiling the new bacteria.

 

[suprakid95]

the fluval 204 was from an established tank i even carried the water over from that tank, the filter was only used for 2-3 months.

 

[Schneider]

I set up my tank about a month ago, it is a 30 gallon tank stocked with 3 bullhead catfish (about an inch and a half each) and 2 large mouth bass around the same size, i have a 125 ready to move them into when they out grow the 30 gallon.

Why not move them to the 125 now? These fish will not take very long to outgrow your 30. The bass may eventually outgrow your 125.