# Fix for ammonia level?



## stealth (Dec 11, 2005)

All of my tank specs are in the signature. There are also some live plants. About a week ago I picked up a Mardel in tank Ammonia monitor. I did my usual water changer a few days ago, and the monitor was slightly green which meant some ammonia. Well I check it today and its at a level of .02-.05 which says its caution or stress for the tank. Do I need to do a 50 percent water change or what is the best process to get rid of the ammonia?


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## Guest (Feb 27, 2008)

Water changes are indeed the best way to get rid of ammonia. 0.02-0.05 isn't terribly high, but you want the number to be 0. I suggest you do about a 15% water change and recheck the ammonia later today.

How long has the tank been setup?


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## stealth (Dec 11, 2005)

For over 2 years it has been setup. I typically do 15 to 25 percent changes a week or as needed. I previously posted about a weird die off of some of my guppies and fry do you think it could be because of the ammonia? And I recently(2 months ago) changed the type of filter I used do you think that would have a say in the equation?


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## stealth (Dec 11, 2005)

Oh and also just a FYI none of the fish show symptoms of ammonia poisoning - no swimming near the top and gasping for air or laying at the bottom.


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## lochness (Jan 10, 2006)

you changed the filter altogether or just the media? if it was a complete swap did you just remove the older filter and put in the new one or did you run them both for a while til the new filter was mature enough (3-4 weeks) to be the sole filtration unit - if you just switched them out, you might have caused a mini-cycle because you've tossed out much of the beneficial bacteria that was attached to the old filtration unit which might be the main cause for the ammonia spike. what kind of filtration unit do you have now?

there are other signs of rising ammonia that are often missed until we see fish gasping at the surface or coming close to dying at the bottom; redness by the gills, slight shimmying, or staying off to the sides with little movement except to feed are some examples.

oh and since you mentioned guppy fries: it's similar to what i'm experiencing atm due to a cherry barb fry bloom - babies also add to the bio-load of your system - i had to increase my water changing and recently added more ceramic rings to my canister filters to increase my beneficial bacteria.

also, your sig says *too many damn snails* - snails also contribute to ammonia if you are overrun with them. A few is ok, but if you feel that you have *too many* of them, you probably do.


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## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

Also- that it read that you have ammonia after the water change and not before (provided I read that right) tells me you might have ammonia in your tap water. I would test the tap water to make sure it is not contributing. 

If there is ammonia in the tap water and its at the low amount that your tank is reading, I would watch it to see if it is going away within 24 hours after a water change. If so then thats not necessarily going to harm anything, you just might want to do smaller water changes. 

If it is not contributing then YAY!


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## stealth (Dec 11, 2005)

Thanks...Sorry to be unclear I changed my filter "media" I is just a hang on the back style that came with the tank kit...can't tell you the name off hand. But when its time to change the media there is no bio media to leave in there so basically I am taking away all of the beneficial bacteria that was on the original one. I was having some issues with it clogging up at one point but I believe I have that fixed. 

On the snail issue any suggestions on getting them out of here? I tried to wash the plants as best I could but to no avail. Also if my plants grow in my opinion extremely well and fast is that a sign of any additional nutrients or CO2 or is it just a really good plant? Again couldn't tell you the plant name off hand.

On a side note I have noticed something peculiar about my gravel. I have 2 different color blues, one is a silvery blue and another is a flat blue. I have noticed that the paint or w/e it is has some how been transfered on spots from the flat blue to the silvery ones and it does not wash off. Could this be a problem with the flat blue gravel leaking anything? And yes it is aquarium gravel but sadly to say the flat stuff was purchased from Walmart. 

Thanks again for any help. I will check back with the ammonia test and also a nitrate test tomorrow and post what I find. I may have to break down and buy a master testing kit even though it was something that I did not think was necessary.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

There's nothing wrong with Walmart gravel, and it's not the cause of your problems.
Too many snails will cause you problems. Some snails will fix problems. It's just a case of too much of a good thing being bad.
Add more plants. Lots of 'em. Plants eat ammonia like crazy, and in no time you'll have no need for a biofilter anymore since there won't be any ammonia available for one to run. If your current plant is doing so well, then get more of that kind. You might as well go with what works for you.
Obsidian may be onto something; ammonia can sometimes come right out of your faucet, especially if your city uses chloramine instead of chlorine. Check it.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I hate filters that force you to change all the media. If you can, stick a thin sponge in the filter with the cartridge. Otherwise I would suggest getting a small sponge filter to act as supplemental biological filtration.


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## stealth (Dec 11, 2005)

Ok...I am at work now.. so hypothetically if I had ammonia in my tap water what could I do or will the plants eat it up. Also if there is an abundance of ammonia would plant growth take off more quickly?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

test your tap water both before and after dechlor. If you have chloramine, you might not see ammonia until you dechlor. If you have ammonia in the tap water you can use an ammonia "detoxifier" like Prime or Amquel+ or just make smaller water changes. The plants and the filter should treat the tap ammonia just like ammonia from fish waste. If you don't "detoxify" the ammonia, keep the water changes small enough that the level stays below the dangerous range. If you use a 'detoxifier' and still see ammonia on your test, its ok, some tests will still show 'safe' ammonia and some won't.

The other way to treat tap-water ammonia is to keep a container of dechlorinated new water with a filter in it. This is what we did 20+ years ago before there were "chloramine removers" like Prime.


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## Starlight_Guide (Feb 11, 2008)

Im sorry to post here, but I saw mention to plants being good to absorb ammonia, what type of plants are good for that?


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## stealth (Dec 11, 2005)

Any live plants would work.


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## Starlight_Guide (Feb 11, 2008)

Ahh Ok. Thanks!


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