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Question
QUESTION: Hi, Matt. I've gotten high ammonia readings in my 55-gal FW Aquarium for a long time now.  For the past month or so 8.0 or higher.  I've tried everything I know to do, and maybe it's not true ammonia, but I'm having trouble keeping the water clear, not hazy.  I currently am using zeolite in the filter and recharging it every 5 days, AmmoLock which seems to haze the H20 (but I fear for their gills and lives), StressCoat.  The sponge in the filter gets pink/reddish but I do feed Omega Super Color flake in addition to other food.  Various tetras & corys, 1 pleco, 1 silver dollar, upsidedown catfish and (yes, I know he shouldn't be in there) a dward puffer.  I've done water changes, used to use AmmoChips, nothing brought the "ammonia" reading down.  Only 1 death in a long time (black neon tetra).  Tetras might be a bit bloated or it could be my imagination.  What besides ammonia would give a dark green,very high ammonia reading using the AMI drop kit?  Fish are eating, but may be darting about more than being sluggish.  Thanks!

ANSWER: Hi Denise, high ammonia readings means  the tank is not cycled yet.  In my perspective, it looks like a newly set up tank and I right?  When I say a tank is not cycled, it means the tank has not matured.  Theres 2 sets of beneficial bacteria that an aquarium needs to grow in order to break down ammonia into nitrite and then nitrite into nitrate.  The first set is the ammonia-to-nitrite converting bacteria and the second set is the nitrite-to-nitrate converting bacteria.  In a fully mature tank, ammonia and nitrite readings will both read 0ppm,  with some readings of nitrate.  After nitrate has been achieved, the only way to get rid of nitrate is to do water changes, which is why aquarists are doing partial 15%-20% water change weekly, to lower nitrates.  

Now, about your tank.  Have you tested for nitrite and nitrate?  If you have some readings of nitrite it means the 1st set of bacteria is growing.  Right now your ammonia readings is 8ppm.  You need to do a water change every 2 days to reduce it to 1ppm.  Any concentration of ammonia or nitrite above 1ppm will harm the fish's gills.  Fish can tolerate nitrate a whole lot better, even up to 70 and 80ppm.  But in order to achieve nitrate rather than ammonia and nitrite, you must allow time for your tank to cycle.  Do water changes every 2-3 days to lower ammonia and nitrite levels until your tank has cycled, after it has cycled, you can resume water changes to once a week.  Cycling with fish can take up to 2 months.

About the "cloudy" water.  Cloudy water means you have a bacteria bloom.  Reason is because the tank's "bacteria" is not enough to break down the excess food, waste, or anything biodegradable in the tank so a bloom occurs to break it down.  It also means your tank is still cycling.  Cloudy water will resolve itself in a couple days to a couple of weeks.

In summary, just do water changes every 2-3 days to keep ammonia and nitrite levels at bay, until your tank is cycled.
Let me know if this is confusing.  Hope it helps.
-Matt-

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Well, that's the weird thing.  No, the tank is a few years old, and we've had most of these fish for quite a long time.  The Silver dollar and pleco from the beginning.  The water is clear now, the "ammonia" reading stays at 8.0 or even higher now.  It used to stay at 4.0 until a month or so ago, and there may have been a time that it hung out at 2.0 before then, but never has it been really low.  If all but one fish are still alive, it's been suggested that it's not a harmful type of ammonia or may not be ammonia causing the reading, especially since I get 0 to low readings on nitrite and nitrate thoughout all this.?  One other thing: the glass is also clear now, but it did have a whitish/greyish "film" coating it, which I was able to wipe away partially when I did a pretty big water change night before last.  If there's a possibility it's a bacteria problem, would it do any harm to use some Maracyn-Two, just in case some of the fish might seem a bit swollen and are doing a bit of fast darting about? I could be wrong about the tetras seeming plump, but the neon that died was definitely swollen some.  Thanks!

ANSWER: Hi agian Denise,
An ammonia reading of 8ppm in a few years old tank is not possible unless it has bene tampered with or soemthing drastic must have happened.  Are you using test strips by any chance?  Test strips are very inaccurate and I suggest you use liquid testing, such as the API freshwater test kit that can be found at Petco and Petsmart.  In a few years old tank, there shouldnt be a reading of ammonia that high in a tank let alone ANY ammonia reading.  A mature tank has 0 ammonia and nitrite reading.  Unless you are EXTREMELY over feeding the fish to where the first set of bacteria cannot break it down fast enough.  If the ammonia is that high, I believe that is the cause and not the bacteria.  You must lower it to 1ppm or less, the lower the better.
-Matt-  

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I may be overfeeding, but I really don't have a great concept as to how much is the right amount to feed since so many of them eat at the bottom--a rather large pleco, a large silver dollar, an upside-down cat, a panda cory and a black-spotted cory, not to mention most of the 11 various tetrae (buenos aires, head & tail, black neon and cardinal) and the little dwarf puffer, too.  I try not to give them more flake than they'll eat in a couple of mins. once a day.  But I may be overdoing the "bottom" food--several little shrimp pellets, more than several tiny Omega One super color sinking granules, a couple of broken up "bottom feeder tablets" (Aqueon), and sometimes an algae wafer for the pleco.  I did find out today by trial and error that I probably overuse Stress Coat, because when I poured a bit in when the fish seemed a little freaked out this afternoon, the crystal clear glass surface of the tank showed the "film" I was talking about once again.  But I've used the Stress Coat because it "removes" ammonia, and I thought I was doing the fish a favor.  

Did I mention that I do have a packet of Algone which works to clear the water and which I suppose gets rid of algae among other things?  Maybe the pleco needs more algae to eat and I should usually not use the Algone??  Right now I'm doing smaller water changes (about 5 gals) every three or four days to try to bring the "ammonia" number down.

As of last night I'm doing a round of MelaFix rather than Maracyn Two in case of some sort of problem or infection.  It seems to have tamed the BA tetra that was swimming fast loop-the-loops over and over again for a few days!  

(I know, I'm a basket case, but I've always tried to take the best care that I possibly knew how to with the fish.)  I use API liquid not expired.  Despite large and small water changes, the ammonia reading is still at 8.0.  I hope it's a false reading somehow.  I don't see how the fish could live through several weeks of it, do you?

Answer
Its best to not use so many meds to help cure anything in the tank.  Stress Coat is not needed, nor is Algone because you must fix the water quality to reduce algae rather than useing meds to treat algae.  Nitrate over 10ppm start to grow algae, keep it low and algae problems will subside.  Same with Melafix, dont use it unless they are injured and usually if they are minor cuts, they will heal itself quite fast.  Also, same with Maracyn 2 unless they have some kind of infection.  All these meds build up in the tank and can cause health problems.  To see if you test kit is working, try this; On your next water change, replace 50% of the water.  If your last ammonia reading was 8ppm, removing half MUST reduce it to 4ppm.  Retest it after the 50% water change.  If it gives a faulty reading then it is the test liquid.

I dont see how fish could live though readings of 8ppm Ammonia either.  Aquarists that do fishless cycling, purposely add straight ammonia to a tank to help it cycle.  And since they are cycling with no fish, they bring the ammonia up to a high concentration such as 5ppm or 6ppm.  A fish usually dies at a concentration that high.  But yours read 8ppm.  Be sure you are using the test kit correctly.  Shake both bottles well, 1st bottle 8 drops and 2nd bottle 8 drops.
-Matt-