BIG Problem!

Question
Hi Karen:  I had emailed you in the past about a red-zebra holding (my first) and you gave great advice.  I currently have a ten gallon fry tank full of baby mbunas.
Now, I have a new problem.  My city water is not the best.  It usually maintains an ammonia level of 1 to 2ppm.  Therefore, I have always used Amquel Plus during water changes, plus a water conditioner to make sure that the heavy metals are taken care of.  The store ran out of Amquel and Prime, so I was forced to make due with Ammo-lock (which I don't normally use, because it only takes care of ammonia, and not nitrite.)  My 80 gallon tank has been fully cycled for some nine months now.  I have never had any problems in the past with water changes and the biological filter seemed to deal with the extra ammonia from the tap water efficiently and quickly--Dropping the ammonia level down to zero within a couple hours after a water change.  If it weren't for the tank being upstairs and the price of r/o water, I would be using r/o water--might save on the price of chemicals!  The problem is this:  I did a normal water change as I have always done, except this time using the Ammo-lock.  I changed out 30 gallons.  It is a well stocked tank of mostly mbunas and south americans (which I am saving for another large tank so I can separate them.  There are some foul tempers in that tank!).  I have always done this water change once a week faithfully, and sometimes a small one mid-week if I felt the nitrate was getting too high too fast (like 10-15 gal.)  This time, after I changed the water out, there was a slight bacterial bloom almost immediately after, somewhat murky white water.  I didn't worry, thinking that maybe I cleaned too rigorously this time, all would be well the next day. Wrong!  I woke up the next morning to a very cloudy tank only being able to see the fish that would come to the front.  I tested the water and the ammonia was a 5-6!  I did a small water change leaving the water level below what I normally would to increase aeration, added an airpump with two outlets and let the airstones loose to agitate the water further, added more ammo-lock and added more salt.  It is a whirlpool of fog, but the fish are no longer breathing rapidly, though their activity has slowed and they are neither not interested in eating or cannot see the food.  I certainly cannot see them to feed them.  I assume everyone is still alive.  One of the albino hangs out at the front and acts very strange, of course, the albinos have always acted strange.  I assume this latest strangeness is due to it not being able to see clearly in the water and maybe the light is reflecting in the water and irritating it.  I tested the city water and the ammonia is still at 2ppm.  The tanks ammonia level has jumped from 6-8ppm (using the API liquid testing kit) and nitrite is .5ppm.  Oh, and I currently have two mbunas holding at the moment in that tank.  To my surprise, they seem fine.  Obviously, something has caused the tank to cycle again.  Any idea how long this cycling will take.  I would try to catch some of them and temporarily relocate them to another tank, but I can't see them to catch them.  And as you probably know, cichlids can be hard to catch under the best circumstances.  What should I do?  Should I do a large water change?  The tank should already have all the bacteria it needs from the first cycling, right?  Why is it making more bacteria?  Should I do small water changes, or should I do nothing, wait for the water to clear, and see who is still alive?  This is my largest tank, so I don't have enough water from another tank to give it (I have two ten gallons, one one gallon heated, filtered beta tank, and a 30 gallon.)  This has got me in somewhat of a panic, because I have some full grown beautiful mbuna specimens in that 80 gal.  And also because I did a regular water change in my 30 today and it is slightly misty.  I fear I will wake up tommorrow and find that I cannot see my fish in that one either.  There are two puffers in that tank, and I don't know that they would hold up to a cycling, as they are healthy, but I know they are also sensitive fish.  In the 80, I have suspended the feeding schedule, only dropping a few pellets a day to hopefully curve tempers.  They seem to be more agitated than usual.  From what I could see, no one has red gills, and they seem to have good coloration.  They seem very paranoid of each other right now, perhaps due to a lack of food and poor visibility.  I have no doubt I will have to break out the Bio-Bandage when this nightmare is over.  Any advice you could give would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Jennifer

Answer
Hi Jennifer, (Sorry to hear about the big problem you have!)
It seems really obvious that the ammo-lock and/or water change may have something to do with the tank's bacterial bloom. Probably with both tanks (the 80 and the 30-gallon) I have noticed that in the past when I would change water conditioners, the water would become very cloudy. But fortunately it would clear up on its own in several days. The fact that you have ammonia is dangerous as you know. But there may be a trick to this, because sometimes ammonia neutralizers will give false readings on your ammonia test kit. Some ammonia removers are only compatible with certain test kit reagents.  I do know that with Ammo-lock there will still be ammonia readings showing up on your test kits even with its use. But the ammonia just isn't toxic to the fish. It can still be used by the bacteria. So they should be taking care of the ammonia level soon. It might take several days to a week or more...

Bacterial blooms are a pain to deal with. Sometimes we can't even be sure what it is caused by exactly. But usually its if the tank has been disturbed such as the gravel being stirred around a lot or the filter being washed too much. It  also seems to be really common in tanks with a high bioload.  The ammo-lock should save your fish from any ammonia harm. But I would continue watching your fish closely for any signs of stress. Such as rapid breathing, gasping at the top, or any other symptoms. If this happens I probably would do a moderate water change. I know this seems like it would be pointless since the city water already has ammonia in it. But if you could get a hold of some Amquel then that would be great. It might make a difference.
Some aquarists recommend a near-90% water change to rapidly clear the water. There is a chance the cloudiness will come back but it should clear the water, and it might help especially if you use the same water conditioner you used beofore in the past. Doing a 90% water change won't be easy for your 80Gallon I know, so this probably wouldn't be the best option.

In this case, you may have to let the bacterial bloom wear itself out. If it were my tank, I'd probably try to do water changes everyday. Maybe around 30% but I'm not sure if you'd have time to do this everyday. Something else I might try to do is add a beneficial bacteria supplement. These have been known to help cloudy water conditions. So its something you might want to consider.

It sure sounds like your tank is going through a mini-cycle again. I think you'll have to let everything settle. And watch your fish closely for any signs of stress.

Hopefully we can pull through this. I know how hard it can be to battle bacterial blooms! Especially with such a large tank. Try using a bacterial supplement (biospira is reported to be the best), try a few water changes, and give the tank some time. What's probably happened is your biological filter is severely unbalanced.

I hope you can get your tank straightened out soon!
Best of luck!!!
Karen~