having very high ammo spike ,what to do???

[aone4u2luv@yahoo.com]

I recently started my cichlid aquarium and waited 24 hours but unfourtiantly added toooooo many fish, approx 10 cichlids,3gouranis,1 pleco (very small) , 1 snail, and electric blue lobster....ok this is what happened..... the water was really cloudy after adding the fish, went and got accu-clear to fix the tank was used and just takin down,so i did not clean anything exept the filter and added fish after 24 hours or less...i thought doing this would establish it quicker....anyways, the fish look very happy swimming eating playing , etc. but......i tested te water everything is perfect except the amonia???? its about 6.0 but tested just the tap water out of the sink and it was about 1.0-2.0 in the middle. i hav done two 50% water changes the water has cleared up but even after two changes the amonnia has stayed the same....can anybody please tell me how to fix this and what to expect after the amonnis problem???pleeeeaasssse!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[rebelliondog206]

I recently started my cichlid aquarium and waited 24 hours but unfourtiantly added toooooo many fish, approx 10 cichlids,3gouranis,1 pleco (very small) , 1 snail, and electric blue lobster....ok this is what happened..... the water was really cloudy after adding the fish, went and got accu-clear to fix the tank was used and just takin down,so i did not clean anything exept the filter and added fish after 24 hours or less...i thought doing this would establish it quicker....anyways, the fish look very happy swimming eating playing , etc. but......i tested te water everything is perfect except the amonia???? its about 6.0 but tested just the tap water out of the sink and it was about 1.0-2.0 in the middle. i hav done two 50% water changes the water has cleared up but even after two changes the amonnia has stayed the same....can anybody please tell me how to fix this and what to expect after the amonnis problem???pleeeeaasssse!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Should've been a little more patient....sound like the fish may have a hard road ahead of them. Hope they all make it. Move some (your favorites) to an established aquarium if you are able. Too many, too fast.

I am not sure how a 50% water change would not lower the ammonia, though. After all, that is diluting it. What size tank is it?

Maybe move some filter media from an established tank to the filter in the new one. Might help kickstart the necessary bacteria colony you need.

Also, which test are you using to test the water? My tap water shows NO ammonia. 1-2ppm seems a lot for tap. And, what do you treat the water with before putting it in the tank? The chlorine in the tap water may kill any useful bacteria trying to colonize in the tank.


Useful information....

http://www.firsttankguide.net/cycle.php

http://faq.thekrib.com/begin-cycling.html

[aone4u2luv@yahoo.com]

well i dont have any other aquariums so moving the fish is out...2nd its a standard 30 gallon...3rd i am using just a #1,#2 drop test kit for amonia....4th i treated the water with and ordinary water conditioner,and accuclear. but the fish seem very happy the water was cloudy but has become clear and the ammo dropped like one today so what should i do now anything that i can buy to help out the process??? withthis many fish should another pump be ideal?? thanks for concern too i need a little help... i will be upgrading tank size after they get bigger.

[rebelliondog206]

Ammonia dropping?.....then continue with 25% water changes everyday till it is gone and the ammonia to nitrite to nitrate cycle really gets going.

I think that changing too much water at a time will slow the growth of the beneficial bacteria you are waiting for.....so not too much on the water changes.

In my opinion, over filtering is the way to go......especially with that many fish (all my cichlids produce a lot of waste). More filter can't hurt anything and any extras will be good to have for later anyway.....more tanks, a spare, etc.

http://www.aqadvisor.com/

Use that link to check on bioload vs fitration, compatibility, etc.

[aone4u2luv@yahoo.com]

tbanks so what happens in the nitrate cycle what to watch for?

[wesleydnunder]

Bacteria process ammonia and the result is nitrite. Another bacteria process nitrite and result is nitrate.

So as the tank cycles you'll see ammonia begin to drop as nitrite rises, then later nitrite will fall as nitrate rises. Tank is cycled when hobbyist test kit can detect no ammonia or nitrite, and nitrate continues to rise.

Mark

[fshfrk]

Dose the tank with some prime to convert ammonia to ammonium, which is a non toxic form and can be processed by your filter.

[aone4u2luv@yahoo.com]

thanks for the advice but dont i have to watch out for high nitrats too cant this kill the fish?

[Mzungu]

thanks for the advice but dont i have to watch out for high nitrats too cant this kill the fish?

High nitrates are the end of the cycle, and the least toxic for your fish. Your main concern right now is getting the ammonia and nitrites to drop to zero. Like Mark said, when you start to see ammonia drop, you should see a spike in nitrites. After that, ammonia should be zero and nitrites should start to drop and you will begin to see nitrates. Nitrates are the easiest to get rid of, as well - that's what water changes are for.

If you're detecting ammonia in your tap water, though, you may have a longer cycling period ahead of you. Keep up with the water changes, as although this may make the cycle longer, it will help your fish to cope, since ammonia is very hard on them.

Also, like rebelliondog stated, if there is anyone you know with an established tank, borrow some dirty filter media from them.

AND, like fshfrk stated, go buy some prime. It will help the fish deal with your high levels of ammonia.

[Mzungu]

P.S. The cloudy water you observed was most likely a bacterial bloom, which is expected for a new tank. This means that the cycle has begun. Try not to treat this with any chemicals - it will go away naturally within a week, at most.

[aone4u2luv@yahoo.com]

the cloudyness has gone away, but i have been doing water changes , should i expect it to get cloudy again? and what would cause this again, what about the ammo?and nitrates? etc

[aone4u2luv@yahoo.com]

hey thanks for advice helped alot ammo is down to 0 yea!!!!