Ammonia Still High

stevenjohn21 · 10-03-2012, 06:26 PM

Ive started a new tank and i know about the whole cycle process.
Im using two rena XP-3 from another established tank on this 75 gallon tank for almost 1 week now and my readings are the following:

Ph 7.0
Nitrate 5.0
Nitrite 0.25
Ammonia 1.0/2.0

Ive been doing 50% water changes every other day and the ammonia still keeps going back up. How long is it expected to stay this high ? I have 1 platy in the tank that i used as a dither fish for my Kribensis tank, he doesnt seem to be struggling at all. I have tested the water 4 times in the last 2 days so i know the readings are correct.

GeToChKn · 10-03-2012, 07:47 PM

What are you using as a source of ammonia? a 75g with 1-2ppm of ammonia is a lot for 1 platy. lol.

When you are doing the 50% water changes, what are you treating the water with? Prime will give a false/positive on ammonia tests, so if you are changing 50% of the water, then treating with prime, then testing a bit later or even the next day, it will show a false/positive. Maybe hold off on the water changes for a few days and then test and see what the readings are. Other alternative is to get the seachem total/free ammonia test which will test and show what the true ammonia and ammonium levels are. Ammonium is the byproduct of prime binding with the chlorine.

stevenjohn21 · 10-03-2012, 07:56 PM

I knew it was a lot of Ammonia but couldnt understand why. I am using Prime during WC , ill give it a few days and try again. Thank you

sarahspins · 10-03-2012, 08:33 PM

Try Seachem's ammonia test.. you can test free ammonia and total ammonia so if you're experiencing ammonia showing up on your API test because of chloramines in your tap creating ammonium when prime is added, you can still see what your actual (harmful) ammonia level is.

stevenjohn21 · 10-05-2012, 03:22 PM

Ok today i tested and i have different results....

Ph 6
Ammonia 0.50/1.0
Nitrate 5.0
Nitrite 0.25

The platy is still swimming around looking fine, except due to not feeding him for 3 days he gets excited when i go near the tank LOL

I just did a test on Ammonia straight from the tap and it reads maybe a slightly darker yellow than the 0 ppm but not as dark as 5.0 so i think maybe 1 more week and fish should be good to slowly introduce.....man this has taken forever !

Diana · 10-05-2012, 06:36 PM

Remove the fish.

Do the fishless cycle.

SittingBull79 · 10-11-2012, 12:02 PM

Sorry to hijack the thread. Just a question. My tank is undergoing cycling and due to the Amazonia New subtrate, ammonia levels are as high as 6ppm. That being said, should i still dose Nitrate (plants are melting a little) since ammonia will eventually be converted into Nitrate and i want to avoid over-dosage.

Sotty · 10-11-2012, 04:15 PM

Plants will generally preferentially utilize the ammonia over nitrates. They will still need phos and potassium though.

Diana · 10-13-2012, 12:16 AM

Do not add nitrate when there is ammonia in the tank. Ammonia from the ADA products will work just fine to grow nitrifying bacteria, but I would do water changes if the ammonia reaches 5 ppm, and test also for nitrites. These bacteria do not do well when the NO2 is over 5 ppm.

10-03-2012, 06:26 PM	#1
stevenjohn21 Wannabe Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (10/100%) Join Date: May 2012 Location: Atlanta Posts: 1,014	Ammonia Still High Ive started a new tank and i know about the whole cycle process. Im using two rena XP-3 from another established tank on this 75 gallon tank for almost 1 week now and my readings are the following: Ph 7.0 Nitrate 5.0 Nitrite 0.25 Ammonia 1.0/2.0 Ive been doing 50% water changes every other day and the ammonia still keeps going back up. How long is it expected to stay this high ? I have 1 platy in the tank that i used as a dither fish for my Kribensis tank, he doesnt seem to be struggling at all. I have tested the water 4 times in the last 2 days so i know the readings are correct. __________________ “We didn’t underestimate them. They were just a lot better than we thought.” -Bobby Robson “Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans win.” -Gary Linekar "Some people are on the pitch! They think it's all over! It is now, it's four!" -Kenneth Wolstenholme

10-03-2012, 07:47 PM	#2
GeToChKn Planted Tank Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (1/100%) Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Posts: 5,113	What are you using as a source of ammonia? a 75g with 1-2ppm of ammonia is a lot for 1 platy. lol. When you are doing the 50% water changes, what are you treating the water with? Prime will give a false/positive on ammonia tests, so if you are changing 50% of the water, then treating with prime, then testing a bit later or even the next day, it will show a false/positive. Maybe hold off on the water changes for a few days and then test and see what the readings are. Other alternative is to get the seachem total/free ammonia test which will test and show what the true ammonia and ammonium levels are. Ammonium is the byproduct of prime binding with the chlorine. __________________ 20g platy, , 2 x 10g shrimp, 3 x 20g shrimp, 7.5g shrimp and 1 great dane/mastiff puppy. Sump Pimp #2 My Tanks and my shrimps

10-03-2012, 07:56 PM	#3
stevenjohn21 Wannabe Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (10/100%) Join Date: May 2012 Location: Atlanta Posts: 1,014	I knew it was a lot of Ammonia but couldnt understand why. I am using Prime during WC , ill give it a few days and try again. Thank you __________________ “We didn’t underestimate them. They were just a lot better than we thought.” -Bobby Robson “Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans win.” -Gary Linekar "Some people are on the pitch! They think it's all over! It is now, it's four!" -Kenneth Wolstenholme

10-05-2012, 03:22 PM	#5
stevenjohn21 Wannabe Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (10/100%) Join Date: May 2012 Location: Atlanta Posts: 1,014	Ok today i tested and i have different results.... Ph 6 Ammonia 0.50/1.0 Nitrate 5.0 Nitrite 0.25 The platy is still swimming around looking fine, except due to not feeding him for 3 days he gets excited when i go near the tank LOL I just did a test on Ammonia straight from the tap and it reads maybe a slightly darker yellow than the 0 ppm but not as dark as 5.0 so i think maybe 1 more week and fish should be good to slowly introduce.....man this has taken forever ! __________________ “We didn’t underestimate them. They were just a lot better than we thought.” -Bobby Robson “Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans win.” -Gary Linekar "Some people are on the pitch! They think it's all over! It is now, it's four!" -Kenneth Wolstenholme

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10-03-2012, 08:33 PM	#4
sarahspins Planted Tank Obsessed (View User Tanks) PTrader: (2/100%) Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: TX Posts: 305	Try Seachem's ammonia test.. you can test free ammonia and total ammonia so if you're experiencing ammonia showing up on your API test because of chloramines in your tap creating ammonium when prime is added, you can still see what your actual (harmful) ammonia level is.

10-05-2012, 06:36 PM	#6
Diana Planted Tank Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Contra Costa CA Posts: 5,013	Remove the fish. Do the fishless cycle.

10-11-2012, 12:02 PM	#7
SittingBull79 Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Sg Posts: 19	Sorry to hijack the thread. Just a question. My tank is undergoing cycling and due to the Amazonia New subtrate, ammonia levels are as high as 6ppm. That being said, should i still dose Nitrate (plants are melting a little) since ammonia will eventually be converted into Nitrate and i want to avoid over-dosage.

10-11-2012, 04:15 PM	#8
Sotty Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Ann Arbor, MI USA Posts: 220	Plants will generally preferentially utilize the ammonia over nitrates. They will still need phos and potassium though.

10-13-2012, 12:16 AM	#9
Diana Planted Tank Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Contra Costa CA Posts: 5,013	Do not add nitrate when there is ammonia in the tank. Ammonia from the ADA products will work just fine to grow nitrifying bacteria, but I would do water changes if the ammonia reaches 5 ppm, and test also for nitrites. These bacteria do not do well when the NO2 is over 5 ppm.