Ridiculously high ammonis, fish acting fine, new test kit..whats going on?!

[MSG]

Isn't 12 capsules of the stuff too much to add? How long has this tank been running?

If I was to supplement the substrate with gel caps, I would use 3. (Left, Center, Right)

I can't figure out which one is the gourami. Too early in the morning for me.

Any fish with weird bumps, spots gets removed immediately for observation.

Good luck catching the suspect.

[Cthulhu]

Plants will also consume NH4, but I have no idea how much and how long it would take to bring it down to a safe level.

[somewhatshocked]

Yes. Way too much.

I use one or two for maybe every square foot of substrate.

OP: Doesn't matter if you disturb your substrate or not, once water hits the osmocote? It all starts to breakdown and become available.

Originally Posted by MSG

Isn't 12 capsules of the stuff too much to add? How long has this tank been running?

If I was to supplement the substrate with gel caps, I would use 3. (Left, Center, Right)

I can't figure out which one is the gourami. Too early in the morning for me.

Any fish with weird bumps, spots gets removed immediately for observation.

Good luck catching the suspect.

[happi]

Originally Posted by Cthulhu

Plants will also consume NH4, but I have no idea how much and how long it would take to bring it down to a safe level.

IME high tech tank full of plants use 0.50ppm of NH4 everyday, this is based on what my tank used.

[aokashi]

oh and... you can also invest in a water hyacinth.

[LyzzaRyzz]

The tank is doing well, the ammonia leve is about 1.5ppm, much better in my eyes, seeing as though the fish act as though its not even there! They are playing and swiming, eating and shoaling. =]
My tank is low tech, and has no CO2, and is regularly at 6.4 ph. My tap water is 6.4, too, so water changes shouldent affect the ph level. Right?
And if thats right, then leaving the osmocote in the tank til it depletes itself, shouldent be a problem.

What i dont get is that so many people use this as a fert, and dont have problems. What makes it a problem, or not a problem?

[happi]

Originally Posted by LyzzaRyzz

The tank is doing well, the ammonia leve is about 1.5ppm, much better in my eyes, seeing as though the fish act as though its not even there! They are playing and swiming, eating and shoaling. =]
My tank is low tech, and has no CO2, and is regularly at 6.4 ph. My tap water is 6.4, too, so water changes shouldent affect the ph level. Right?
And if thats right, then leaving the osmocote in the tank til it depletes itself, shouldent be a problem.

What i dont get is that so many people use this as a fert, and dont have problems. What makes it a problem, or not a problem?

people overdose it, it might looks small amount when you are adding it, but that small amount can be quite big. people have problem overdosing it, not covering it with least 2-3" of substrate, sand substrate covers it better than gravel based substrate, it leaches out of gravel based substrate, in most cases it comes up. you should not have any problem if you are keep on chaing the water and keep up with the lower PH. are you dosing any fertilizer in this tank? if you are dosing any Nitrogen then i would not dose that for now.