Ammonia: Trials of the Newb
I've got an embarrassing admission.
I've got an ammonia problem.
And it's a BIG ammonia problem.
One that's been going on for... oh, at least two or three months now.
Ammonia spikes are the bane of the fish newb, so often their first big problem with fish keeping. As we all know ammonia spikes are the initial phase in the nitrogen cycle.
They happen in every new fish tank.
However, they are NOT supposed to happen in well established tanks.
Tanks that are almost two years old.
I've had clear and present ammonia readings, ranging from .25 to 2, in my 180 gallon big cichlid tank. The water has been hazy and off-again/on-again smelly for months.
I believe this is what finished my firemouth. Also the second blue acara. I also attribute this to the red oscar's lateral line erosion.
I have not spoken about this sooner because frankly I'm baffled. I don't understand why this is happening at all. I'd wanted to be able to solve the problem, and then share how I solved it, but everything I've tried has failed.
I had several good theories, but each have been shattered:
I maintain good husbandry. I do a water change once a week, never less than once every two weeks, often 20-30%. I make sure the water flow in the filters is where it should be.
I do not overfeed and the tank is not overcrowded -- (180 gallons, 2 adult oscars, three severums [one half the size of an oscar, the other medium-sized, the last much smaller], two blood parrots, 1 bala shark [outgrew 55 gallon and was terrorizing my ghost knife], a stunted 2 -inch blue acara, and 1 6-inch raph cat. Yes, tank's at capacity, but certainly not overcrowded, especially with the filtration and my weekly water changes.
Filters include the Iron Man-powered Rena XP 4 and two Aquaclear 110s. Each are full of biorings and biostars, but not enough, in the case of the Rena, to reduce water flow.
Water current is healthy and strong.
I did a wholesale chemical test an hour ago. pH down, as expected, probably below 6, which is indicitave of bacterial issues. Ammonia at 1, nitrite zero, nitrates at 10. I've been doing water changes every five days or so, often 40% or more, so the nitrate reading was not a surprise. I was expecting some nitrite to show but none did.
I tested the ammonia test kit on my tap and also another tank. No readings, as expected, showing it's not an issue with the test kit.
This is a frustrating problem and it's getting beyond me. These are all large fish and I can't just quarantine a couple of them to try to reduce the ammonia output. I've even cut off feeding for four days and the ammonia readings continue to stay level.
One thing I only recently theorized is the substrate, which is playsand. That doesn't hold bacteria anywhere near as well as gravel. And I also don't have any biowheels running. When I removed the driftwood, this may have shocked the system even more, as a sizeable venue for the bacteria was now gone.
This may have been compounded by my most recent filter cleaning, where I hosed off the filter sponge in tapwater. The biorings were protected but they may have been exposed to air for too long.
As it's such a massive system, a water change can take up to an hour. I usually turn off the filters during the W/C and the Aquaclear HOB's run dry as the water vaccuum breaks.
I'll let the filters run next time and not do such a big change. We'll see what's what then.
I run a whole-house water filter that removes chlorine, and I change the filter every two months as I do a lot of water changes on my numerous tanks. I have not always added water conditioner (Aquasafe). In the future I'll also add the conditioner just to be sure, even though in the past, in my other tanks, I've changed out 15-20% of water without any chlorine filtration and suffered no ill effects.
I'm stumped on this one. My best guess is to let the system work itself out now, with only small water changes, with the filters going full force the entire time, with plent of anti-chlorine treatment. Minimal feedings and keep the surface of the water lower than usual to promote oxygen exchange.
I'll keep you posted.
Josh, back in newbsville
joshday.com
I've got an ammonia problem.
And it's a BIG ammonia problem.
One that's been going on for... oh, at least two or three months now.
Ammonia spikes are the bane of the fish newb, so often their first big problem with fish keeping. As we all know ammonia spikes are the initial phase in the nitrogen cycle.
They happen in every new fish tank.
However, they are NOT supposed to happen in well established tanks.
Tanks that are almost two years old.
I've had clear and present ammonia readings, ranging from .25 to 2, in my 180 gallon big cichlid tank. The water has been hazy and off-again/on-again smelly for months.
I believe this is what finished my firemouth. Also the second blue acara. I also attribute this to the red oscar's lateral line erosion.
I have not spoken about this sooner because frankly I'm baffled. I don't understand why this is happening at all. I'd wanted to be able to solve the problem, and then share how I solved it, but everything I've tried has failed.
I had several good theories, but each have been shattered:
- Theory #1 : My canister filter's intake and outtake hoses were too long and thus water flow was negligible, barely existent. I cut off a couple inches from each hose and bam, water gushing as intended. By all rights this SHOULD have fixed the problem as it's known that a clogged filter, especially the one that's your mainstay, causes ammonia spikes and mini-cycles.
- Theory #2 : Stale pockets of water within a rectangular terracotta cave. I smashes the rectangle, making two three-dimensional isosceles triangles cobbled together, allowing for water flow to keep the interior moving. This did nothing.
- Theory #3: A bigass piece of driftwood anchored down by slate pieces. I hypothesized anaerobic conditions under the wood base and slate, causing ammonia build-up. Indeed, when I removed the wood and slate pieces, there were hydrogen sulfide bubbles that could have peeled roof shingles, but it turned out not to be the source of the ammonia issue.
I maintain good husbandry. I do a water change once a week, never less than once every two weeks, often 20-30%. I make sure the water flow in the filters is where it should be.
I do not overfeed and the tank is not overcrowded -- (180 gallons, 2 adult oscars, three severums [one half the size of an oscar, the other medium-sized, the last much smaller], two blood parrots, 1 bala shark [outgrew 55 gallon and was terrorizing my ghost knife], a stunted 2 -inch blue acara, and 1 6-inch raph cat. Yes, tank's at capacity, but certainly not overcrowded, especially with the filtration and my weekly water changes.
Filters include the Iron Man-powered Rena XP 4 and two Aquaclear 110s. Each are full of biorings and biostars, but not enough, in the case of the Rena, to reduce water flow.
Water current is healthy and strong.
I did a wholesale chemical test an hour ago. pH down, as expected, probably below 6, which is indicitave of bacterial issues. Ammonia at 1, nitrite zero, nitrates at 10. I've been doing water changes every five days or so, often 40% or more, so the nitrate reading was not a surprise. I was expecting some nitrite to show but none did.
I tested the ammonia test kit on my tap and also another tank. No readings, as expected, showing it's not an issue with the test kit.
This is a frustrating problem and it's getting beyond me. These are all large fish and I can't just quarantine a couple of them to try to reduce the ammonia output. I've even cut off feeding for four days and the ammonia readings continue to stay level.
One thing I only recently theorized is the substrate, which is playsand. That doesn't hold bacteria anywhere near as well as gravel. And I also don't have any biowheels running. When I removed the driftwood, this may have shocked the system even more, as a sizeable venue for the bacteria was now gone.
This may have been compounded by my most recent filter cleaning, where I hosed off the filter sponge in tapwater. The biorings were protected but they may have been exposed to air for too long.
As it's such a massive system, a water change can take up to an hour. I usually turn off the filters during the W/C and the Aquaclear HOB's run dry as the water vaccuum breaks.
I'll let the filters run next time and not do such a big change. We'll see what's what then.
I run a whole-house water filter that removes chlorine, and I change the filter every two months as I do a lot of water changes on my numerous tanks. I have not always added water conditioner (Aquasafe). In the future I'll also add the conditioner just to be sure, even though in the past, in my other tanks, I've changed out 15-20% of water without any chlorine filtration and suffered no ill effects.
I'm stumped on this one. My best guess is to let the system work itself out now, with only small water changes, with the filters going full force the entire time, with plent of anti-chlorine treatment. Minimal feedings and keep the surface of the water lower than usual to promote oxygen exchange.
I'll keep you posted.
Josh, back in newbsville
joshday.com
posted by Josh Day at 5:34 PM
6 comments
