There Goes My Water Quality

[Guest theerer3]

Nitrate - 20 mg/L

Nitrite 0 ppm

Amonia 1.0 mg/L

pH - 6.8

Ph has always been like 7.4 for like 2 months now. Nothing has been wrong with the water quality for a good 2 months. About 2-3 days before leaving for vacation i noticed a small spike in Amonia. I bought amonia blocker (API) right before I left and tried to get it under control.

The only change to the tank has been the water temp raising. It was very high when I came home - about 83 degrees. I've got it down to 80 now and will bring it to 78 or so today. The temp has been btwn 78 and 80 for a solid 2 months.

I have 72 gal tank.

3 fancies

2 coy

1 black moore

fluval 404 filter (which I cleaned thoroughly before leaving for vacation)

I also did a 40% water change last night and levels are still freakin high.

Did the amonia blocker mess with the ph?

I just added some ph upper stuff and am headed to the store to get more amonia combatants

Very curious about what might have happened, the nitrates were a little high too and have come down with the water changes. Did the temp increase throw everything out of wack?

I've had pretty good algae grow over the last couple weeks.

Thanks for your insight! I'm sure the fish will be fine - I'm getting more experienced now, but it still sucks.

-Alan

[Chrissy_Bee]

When you say you cleaned the filter, what did you do exactly? I'm wondering if maybe you disrupted the bacteria in there enough to bump the cycle somehow. Also, how many gallons per hour does it pump?

I have no experience with ammonia blocker, but I know that a lot people here tend to shy away from those types of products. I'd suggest sticking to water changes, now that you're home, instead of using chemicals to control your cycle.

[Guest theerer3]

Okay, I forget what it pumps through, but u may be on to something about me wiping out the bacteria by cleaning the filter.

That might explain why I can't seem to get it under control. Is 1.0 level dangerious? the chart goes higher, but some fish are hanging out at the bottom...the smallest has been doing so for several days now.

[Acupunk]

The Fluval 404 turns over 340 gph, therefore your tank is underfiltered. Because you are still overstocked (the 2 koi really are not aquarium fish) you need to make sure that you stick with the rule of thumb that goldfish require filtration that turns over the tank volume at least ten times per hour.

If you did anything but gently clean your filter in discarded tank water, then you have disrupted your population of beneficial bacteria and your tank is now re-cycling. The fact that you are seeing ammonia only (and no nitrite) suggests that you are at the beginning stages of re-establishing your biological filter.

Between water changes and a product like AmQuel+ you need to keep ammonia below 0.5 ppm, preferably below 0.25 ppm. You also need to test daily and be prepared for nitrite to begin to rise.

[Guest theerer3]

Okay, I'm really struggling now to get this amonia down. it's still at 1.0. I've probably changed out 70% of the water over the last 24 hrs in multiple water changes and put a double dose of jungle amonia killer stuff and the amonia levels haven't budged. I haven't fed my fish anything and one is sitting on the bottom and not moving since we've been home (1 day).

I think he's about to go, so please let me know if ithere's anything else I can do. I'm afraid of changing too much of the water out.

[Guest theerer3]

Please help!!! My black moore died today and I'm starting to freak out. I just changed about 70% of the water out and the amonia dropped from 2.0 to 1.0. I'm setting up a hospital tank (10 gal) and am thinking about putting 1-2 fancies in there to take some of the pressure off the main tank and keep my prized fish safe.

I used water from the sink and put conditioner in it for the hospital tank and I put 2 cups of rocks in from the main tank (to help promote the bacteria growth)

I could really use some feedback. I'm afraid of making too many large water changes and am also afraid of not getting this stupid amonia down. I've used double dose of the amonia killer stuff, huge water changes, and put in API + Stress coat with each water change and it's STILL at 1.0!!!

I can't loose my other fishies, I can handle the black moore.

THANK YOU!

[Acupunk]

There is much greater potential for harm by letting the ammonia stay high than there is associated with large water changes. If I were you, I would gently move the fish to another container (a bucket, Rubbermaid, whatever) and remove and replace 100% of the water in the main tank. If you have gravel in there you should be sure to vacuum it very thoroughly as you remove the water. I do not see any value in moving the fish to a hospital tank -- you don't have any cycled filter material to put on the hospital tank and a smaller volume of water (in the hospital tank) will just mean that ammonia will accumulate faster.

Lay off the Stress Coat -- with repeated use it will accumulate on your fishes' gills, making it more difficult for them to extract oxygen from the water (thereby increasing their stress). I would recommend that you use AmQuel+ as your one and only water conditioner. It will help deal with ammonia and will also remove chlorine and chloramines without impairing your fishes' gill function. I do not know what "ammonia killer" you are talking about. Depending on what it is, it may or may not be safe to use in double doses. All ammonia detoxifying agents will lower dissolved oxygen levels temporarily, so this may be contributing to your fishes' stress.

A small dose of aquarium salt may help ease your fishes' stress -- 0.1% would be the place to start. Let me know if you need information about how to go about doing that.

What is your aeration like? You should be sure to have a large bubble wand or two moving the water in your tank around, particularly because your tank is uncycled and underfiltered.

And which fish are your "prized" fish? If it is the koi you are most intent on saving, I think you need to seriously consider moving them into a larger home, even if it is a Rubbermaid stock tank on your patio or whatever (the 300 gallon size would be good). They really are not suited to life in an aqaurium and will never thrive under those circumstances.

Edited August 21, 2008 by Acupunk