Stubborn Ammonia Level in Freshwater Tank

Question
QUESTION: Hello Tricia. We hae a newly esablished 20 gal freshwater tank with 4 Cherry Barbs, 2 Strawberry and one Cardinal Tetra (wish I knew about dyed fish before) and a Clown Pleco. Everyone is seemingly happy, eating well, and unstressed. My problem is that the tank originally spiked Nitrite and Nitrate levels far before Ammonia, so I got spooked and added AmQuel. The levels have come down to zero, except for Ammonia which is ta .50 or so, and Phosphate which is >3ppm. I started to use ammonia test strips (instead of the standard test kit) which return a level of zero or just above. I understand that the use of AmQuel can cause a false positive, but even after waiting 2 weeks, and then doing several water changes, probably totalling 50% or so, I still have the same exact test kit reading. The zero test strip reading suggests that there is little or no free ammonia in the tank. I have been using Cycle and Stress-Zyme liberaly since the tank was started 5 weeks ago, but nothing is changing. FYI, the only fish in the tank until last week were the barbs. The others came in from an established 10 gal tank. I wish I had known then about fishless cycling, but now I do. I am not going to add more fish until this riddle is solved. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thank you.

ANSWER: Hi Ralph. First off, you sound like a very conscientious fish owner, and I think that's great.  Let's try to get you figured out here, because things sound awful backwards, lol!!

I don't know where to start.  First, let me allow you to let go of the myth about both the Amquel and Prime (which I prefer) products.   These products DO NOT, let me repeat, DO NOT affect readings of ammonia, nitrates or nitrites in water tests.  These products simply make these things LESS HARMFUL (caps for emphasis only).  This lie has been made up from people who have NO IDEA what they are talking about and they have NOT read about these products or they will plainly see and understand.  Take a look at this article which more fully explains: http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Nitrogen_Cycle.html Scroll down to: "WHAT TO DO FOR HIGH AMMONIA OR NITRITES:" There is also some useful information in regard to ammonia, nitrite and nitrates, that I would follow as much as possible.  The whole website has wonderful information in it about everything you can imagine, if you get a chance, go through it and see the different things that you can learn! This website is owned and run by a personal friend of mine with almost 30 years in the business. I trust him implicitly to have the most useful, up to date information on his site.  He also has a storefront and carries only those products that he can truly back with good conscience and at an extremely reasonable price.  I would suggest you check out his "pre filters" for your filter if you have a HOB, because it adds to the effectiveness of it! Here is the link: http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/PreFilter.html  It's just a suggestion as I have had great luck with mine.

Ok, on to the next matter.  I would STRONGLY urge you NOT to use test strips.  Stick with the Master Water Test Kit as it is your most accurate readings. I have both read about AND conducted my own experiments using the test strips vs. the Master Water Test Kit and it has come out the same every time. The strips are not reliable in any way.  They have always measured LOWER then the actual reading with the MWTK. This, of course, it totally up to you though.

Third.  Please please do not go dumping lots of chemicals in to your tank.  You are only going to wind up making a huge mess out of things.  It's best to add as little as possible.  "More" is not always better.  The Cycle is useless and the Stress-Zyme may add slime to the water, rarely does it get on to the fish. You really don't need it, we can fix this problem through other measures.

Ok, on to your main problem (I felt it important to address first things first so you can more fully understand now that we are at this point).  Here is a great article on the different phases of cycling a tank:  http://americanaquariumproducts.com/Nitrogen_Cycle.html .  It is a little wordy, but I think you should understand. Plus it's obvious you know something of the cycling process because of your confusion as to why it's going backwards!!  To be honest, I've not heard of this happening.  NOT to say it doesn't, but it's a little uhhhh, strange <lol...just trying for a chuckle at this frustrating time>.

Before I go on, I wanted to say.....don't worry about the fact that you didn't use "fishless cycling".  It's still a new concept and it's just starting to catch on.  Many still do it the "old school" way too. Don't down yourself on it, it's no big deal in the grand scheme of things, especially if you didn't "lose" any fish.  Just keep it in mind for next time!

First, do you know that you should not add more then 3-4 (small) fish to your tank at a time?  ESPECIALLY a newly establishing tank.  This can send your biological load over the top.  Just remember that for the future. Also, if you have a tank that's been established for a long while, it's not as important so long as you don't go dumping dozens of fish in at a time!

Ok, now to fixing the ammonia problem.  Sometimes your feeding habits can cause ammonia in itself.  I suggest that you use high quality foods such as Omega One, Hikari or HBH, just to name a couple.  These products have more "good" ingredients that are less likely to foul the tank.  Also, don't feed in huge amounts, feed lightly, only what they can consume in a minute or two.  Remove any uneaten food to it doesn't fall to the bottom and spoil (a little is fine, they'll pick at it). Some people choose to only feed every other day too, which is totally acceptable.  Another reason could be too many fish in the tank.  It doesn't sound like it though.  Do you have a filter that big enough for your tank size (i.e. I have a 20 gallon tank that I use a filter for a 30 gallon tank in)?  If your filter is not big enough to handle the load, you will run in to problems also.  So there are several things to look at.

I would do partial water changes (10-15%) every other day until your ammonia problems are solved.  You can use a little Amquel with each change.  I would also suggest adding 1/2 the recommended amounts of aquarium salt to your tank, which will help your fish if they are having problems from the ammonia. It helps to heal their gills and allow them to breathe better.  Remember, salt is ONLY removed from the tank through water changes.  Therefore, whatever amount of water you take out, you need to re-add the salt for that amount (i.e. if you are using 1/2 tsp. per 5 gallons of water and you take out 5 gallons, re-add the 1/2 tsp. back to the water).

Do this for about 10 days and see where you are.  I would think that within this time it should be clearing/cleared up.  Think about the filter size in the meantime also.  Sometimes adding a sponge filter to a tank with a HOB filter already on it helps a lot.  Everyone has different preferences.

Get back to me with any questions which I didn't cover here, or for clarification of anything I might not have been real clear on.  Please also let me know how you make out with everything, I would love to hear about it.

Good luck!!   ;o)

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

QUESTION: Thank you for the information and complements. I unfortunately am having the same issue after an additional two weeks of water changes, AmQuel, and Cycle/Stress-Zyme. The readings are as follows:

Ammonia = .25 - .50
PH = 7.0
Nitrites - 0
Nitrates = 0
Phosphate = >3 ppm

The filter in this 20 gal tank is a Penguin 150. There are 4 Cherry Barbs, 2 Strawberry Tetras, 1 Cardinal Tetra, and a 2" Clown Pleco. There is also a live plant of a species I can't remember right now. This is at the 6&1/2 week mark at this point. I am very puzzled. Do I need to think about a Penguin 200 with the additional media basket and larger Bio-Wheel? I just do not get it.

Happy New Year! Thank you for the informative links and suggestions you have provided so far. All the fish seem very calm and healthy. I am even beginning to see the catfish come out occasionally during the day.

Ralph


Answer
Hi Ralph, and Happy New Year to you and yours!

This is very interesting, I must say.  I'm at a loss, however, I DO have some more ideas.  First off, your ammonia is not at lethal levels, which is a good thing, however, if you are not diligent, they could wind up there.  I would stop using the Cycle and Stress-Zyme as these things are hype and don't really do anything for your tank.  The Amquel has everything in it you need.

When you change out the water in your tank, do you rinse the filter media out in the water that you take out?  This is very important that it is done this way, because if you clean it under tap water you kill the beneficial bacterias that you need.  Now, another thought that has entered my mind is that you are using a bio wheel.  I personally do not like bio wheels and had one and stopped using it as I had no luck with it.  Here are 2 articles that I think you might find interesting about these type of filters:  http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Filtration.html and http://aquarium-answers.blogspot.com/2006/12/do-bio-wheels-really-work.html .

Now, I don't want to tell you to stop using your filter.  HOWEVER, could this be causing your problems?  Well, in my opinion.......yes.  I cannot say this with 100% accusation, but I do have my suspicions, and so may you after reading these articles.  These articles are researched and written by a friend of mine who has been in the aquarium business for nearly 30 years.  This man "knows his stuff".  I help him in a forum at:  http://groups.msn.com/EverythingAquatic/  We would love to have you join.  This is a place where you can ask questions like this (for free) and get the help or thoughts from a whole community of people who have or have had similar experiences.  Carl also provides EXCELLENT information in his answers.  Just a thought.  It's still just getting off the ground, but we expect it's going to be GREAT!  He is the one who wrote the articles above.

Now, I would say that IF you are thinking about and/or willing to get another filter, I would NOT get a bio-wheel.  I myself use Aqua Clears on all 7 of my tanks and have rarely had problems with them.  Plus, you can add separate media, not a cartride that contains everything.  They have a bag for charcoal, ammonia remover, bio-bag and a sponge.  You can look them up online if you'd like.  If you have a 20 gallon tank, I would get a filter rated for a 30 gallon tank (or next higher up from 20 gallon). This will assure you get the correct circulation and filtration.

Continue with the weekly tank cleaning and perhaps purchase an additional ammonia buffer to put in the filter or the tank.  OR in the alternative purchase the new filter. You might find that that solves your problem, since you seem to be doing everything else right.  This is really the only logical answer I have for you.  I wish I had a solid idea of what it could be, but other then the filter, I'm at a loss.  It may be a good idea to join the forum just to find out.  However, I AM going to send this whole thing to my friend and see if he has any ideas.  I will follow up with you when I get his thoughts.  If you write back and make the message "private" I can get back to you with some info, I'll explain then.

We'll get you straightened out, I'm determined!  Hang in there and keep doing what you're doing until we are able to get the right "fix" for it.

When you write me back, please let me know the following:
1.  Your feeding schedule and what you are feeding.
2.  Your cleaning schedule and when you clean do you use a gravel siphon?

Thanks!!