Amonia Mystery

[steelo27]

Ok so i have a 'somewhat' new 55 gallon freshwater aquarium (2 months old), but constantly for a month now my amonia reads off the charts (8 ppm +) with nitrites and nitrates always reading zero. These readings do NOT change regardless of water changes, amonia blockers, zeo-carb bags in my filers...NOTHING will bring my amonia down. I have a Marineland C-220 (55 gallon rated) canister filter AND a I have Marineland Penguin power filter (50 gallon rated). Just to rule out everything I even tested the tap which reads 0 amonia as well. I stocked slowly - 2 weeks running with no fish, then added 10 fish, waited 2 weeks then added 5 fish, waited a week and added 5 more. Waited a week and added 5 more and so on. I also have an air pump with air stone in addition to a volcano ornament which also aerates. Oh, and no live plants.

In my tank I have 10 neon tetras, 8 guppies, 3 dwarf gourami, 5 rainbow fish (only one is 4" the rest are 2"), 8 white fin glowfish tetras, 3 cory cats and 1 rubber lip pleco (2"- whom I've seen only twice since I put him in).

Since i started the tank I have only lost 3 guppies. So all the other fish seem, look and act fine. But WHY is my amonia off the charts and why am I unable to even put a dent in it??? Please help!

[originalhandy]

What is your cleaning schedule like ? I had high ammonia because I cleaned the gravel weekly when I started. Now it's good and lucky to get done every 4 to 6 months.

Have you tested your water coming out of the tap? What testing kit are you using ? That ammonia is sky high, if do daily water changes.

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[steelo27]

What is your cleaning schedule like ? I had high ammonia because I cleaned the gravel weekly when I started. Now it's good and lucky to get done every 4 to 6 months.

Have you tested your water coming out of the tap? What testing kit are you using ? That ammonia is sky high, if do daily water changes.

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I actually havent vacuumed the gravel yet. But i do a 25% water change every week sometimes 2 weeks. But then again, my tank is only a little over 2 months old and has only had fish in it for 6 weeks. I have even done one 40% water change and still not a dent in the amonia (still 8 ppm +).

I tested the tap = no amonia. I use the API dropper kit with the little test tube bottles.

I have put in API amo lock a few different times, but I've read that just turns toxic amonia NH3 into non toxic NH4 which my test kit still reads as amonia. But why haven't my filters bacteria eaten it up and turned to nitrite and nitrates?

[morpheus]

how often and how much do you feed? this can cause a build up of decaying food. you have a lot of plant cover so there are lots of places the food could fall and accumulate.

how often are you doing water changes? does the pH do any wild swings or is it constant? massive/frequent water changes could swing the pH and other water parameters causing more stress.

the tank looks hazy, which is normal for a period with a new tank where the cycling is not yet complete. it takes time for the good bacteria to build up within the media and break down the ammonia naturally. this process varies in length but could take months with water changes, which are needed in new tanks to check that ammonia spike.

you can use seachem stability to introduce that good bacteria and kick start the cycling process. you dose the tank more heavily in the beginning then less as it becomes more established and with water changes.

Is this a new test kit? it is possible the kit is expired and giving you bad readings, but since you get 0ppm out of the tap that may answer my question. i vac the gravel every time just so nothing continues to build up over time.

it sounds like you have enough filtration, and the bio-load you currently have is not pushing the boundaries of a 55 gal tank.

it doesnt sound like the fish are showing signs of ammonia poisoning since you said they are acting/eating fine. symptoms would be be gasping for breath, not eat as readily, act lethargic, etc.

i would continue the routine water changes. vac the gravel, and start using the stability to kick start that bacterial growth in your filters. dont add any more fish until you can see the issue getting under control.

[nacra99]

mmm.. sounds to me like your tank is not fully cycled. 2 weeks is too short for a cycle. Even fishless cycles by dosing ammonia still takes me about 6 weeks at high ammonia concentrations.
You do not have live plants (plants remove nitrates), yet you have zero nitrates, this is a sure sign that the Nitrogen cycle is not completed. A fully cycled tank should have some (or at least a trace of) nitrAtes, zero nitrItes and zero ammonia

I would suggest not adding any more fish to your tank and simply allow the remaining fish to cycle your tank. Stop dosing Amolock, remove any ammonia absorbers and NOT do any water changes as this will remove the ammonia slow down the cycling. Note that it is quite certain that some (or all) the remaining fish may die of ammonia & nitrIte poisoning if you choose this route. If you decide that you don't want to kill any fish, then remove all the fish and let someone who has a cycled tank take care of them for you temporarily while you do a fishless cycle (using ammonia from the supermarket).

You can try to speed up the the bacteria growth by asking a friend for an established sponge filter and squeezing out all the gunk (and bacteria) into your tank. this may shorten the cycle.

After a few weeks, you should start seeing traces of NitrItes.. which means cycling is underway. The nitrItes will increase until a certain point and start decreasing.. at which point the NitrAtes will start increasing. Whenever you have zero ammonia and Zero NitrItes, do a large waterchange and then it should be safe to introduce your fish slowly.

Good Luck!

[f1stephens]

Is it possible you are using the correct dechlorinator for your tap water? Houston disinfects with chloramines, chlorine mixed with ammonia, if you only remove the chlorine, you're left with ammonia.

[rage]

What kind of filter do you have ? You know you have to have some kind of media for the bacterias to grow in, right ?