Regular Member ladyhill Posted July 23, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted July 23, 2010 So, the Freds have been with me since July 3rd. They were in the 10 gallon tank for about a week. Then we moved them and the 20 gallon filter they had in their tank along with a 40-60 gallon NEW filter to a 29 gallon tank. The ammonia levels have not spiked higher than 1.0 and are usually at .5 or .25 using the API liquid test kit. I have been doing water changes (25% almost every day) to keep it lower than that. I also have ammo chips in the large filter. I thought by now I would have a nitrite reading but it is still 0 according the doc wellfish test my brother in law gave me... I don't have a nitrate test b/c all 6 of the stores I have been too in the past few weeks are always sold out of that specific test. I tested my tap water and was surprised to see a .25 possitive test result. Our water is also highly chlorinated so I have been using AMQUEL+ with water changes. Am I doing something wrong? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Iheartfishies1172 Posted July 23, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted July 23, 2010 I've never used ammo chips, but it's possible that between the chips and the water changes there is nothing for the bacteria to eat. Can someone confirm? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member ladyhill Posted July 23, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted July 23, 2010 I've never used ammo chips, but it's possible that between the chips and the water changes there is nothing for the bacteria to eat. Can someone confirm? I was under the impression that I'm supposed to keep the ammonia levels under .5 (I know even .25 can be harmful/stressful to the fish) is that not true while the tank is cycling? I'm so confused. I think I'm doing the right thing and then I read that it might be the exact opposite of what I should be doing. I forgot to say that I also added MicroLift Special Blend to help the cycle along as suggested by the "goldfish guru" at one of the aquarium shops.... They seem to be doing well, and all 7 are still alive so that's a good thing since I honestly didn't expect them all to make it through the first night. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Iheartfishies1172 Posted July 23, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted July 23, 2010 Ammonia can be really bad, yeah. Which is why cycling with fish takes longer than without, you have to keep the level safe. It's just the ammo chips I'm curious about. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin koko Posted July 23, 2010 Admin Share Posted July 23, 2010 if your tap water has ammonia in it up to .5 then the ammonia chips will help, but if your cycling using them can stall the processes. the best way to help a tank with a cycle bump like this is to keep using Amquel and also get something like "cycle" to help get the bio bugs to start living more in your filter Keep doing those water changes hun 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member ladyhill Posted July 23, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted July 23, 2010 (edited) if your tap water has ammonia in it up to .5 then the ammonia chips will help, but if your cycling using them can stall the processes. the best way to help a tank with a cycle bump like this is to keep using Amquel and also get something like "cycle" to help get the bio bugs to start living more in your filter Keep doing those water changes hun uuughhh. I hate our water here. My drinking/tap water is highly chlorinated to the point where you can smell the chlorine every time you turn the faucet on. Taking a bath is like sitting in a pool. Now I find out there is ammonia in it as well?! Ew. I have another question, I just did two diff ammonia tests and a nitrite test. The first API (2 bottle) liquid test showed a 1.0 ammonia level!! The next ammonia done with a Doc Wellfish liquid (one bottle) test showed 0 ammonia. Both showed the same level as the other one about 2 days ago. The nitrite level is still registering a 0. I only have the doc wellfish test for that one. I used the special blend which is bacteria that is supposed to help cycle the tank a few days ago. It says to add more on the 8th day. Can I add more now to help boost it? It says that it is not harmful to the fish. Should I do a water change today, even though one of the tests reads 0 ammonia? Should I take some of the ammo chips out of the tank? I have them in two separate media bags so I can take one out and see what happens? in case it matters my PH is at or around 7.5 maybe slightly higher but definitely not an 8. the water temp is currently 80 degrees and there is no salt in my tank. Sorry for all of the questions. :-( Edited July 23, 2010 by Ladyhill 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Iheartfishies1172 Posted July 23, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted July 23, 2010 Questions are fine! Ask away! I would test your water straight out of the tap, and test your tank water again. Maybe you goofed on one of the tests. If the difference shows up again, then I don't know what the problem could be. Just to be sure, check the expiration dates of both tests. How much ammonia is coming out in your tap water? A PH of around 7.5 is healthy, if I'm not mistaken, but water temperature as high as yours could be a problem. Make sure there is enough disruption on the surface of the water to exchange gasses, as warm water holds less oxygen. That said, if your fish are acting normal, you probably don't have anything to worry about. Can anyone confirm? I think the reason the ammo chips can slow down the cycling process is that while they hold ammonia so it doesn't hurt the fish, the bacteria can't get at the ammonia to eat it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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