how can i get rid of ammonia in my 40 gallon freshwater fish tank?

Question

and my 2nd question is how due i change my aquerium water and how often and why ???? and dont 4 get how can i get rid of ammonia in my 40 gallon freshwater fish tank ??????

Answer 1

OK... lets assume this is a new tank. First, you don't want to get all the ammonia out of the tank. You want to grow bacteria in the tank that will turn the ammonia into nitrite. Then bacteria will grow that will turn the nitrite into nitrate. From then own as the fish produce ammonia the bacteria will take care of it for you. This s called the ammonia or nitrogen cycle. This can't happen without some ammonia in the tank, so you want a little ... .but just a little.

You need to change water to remove some of the ammonia and keep the level low until the bacteria can grow. Grab a gravel siphon from the pet store ( any pet store will have them) and change water while cleaning the gravel. While there get an ammonia test kit if you don't have one. You need to change water any time the test kit says it's in the danger zone. That's going to be every day or two at first (depends on how many fish you have and how much you feed them). but after about two weeks you will see the amount of ammonia on the test kit dropping off. By three weeks or so you will probably see almost none if any at all. After that you can start changing water once a week to keep the tank clean. When yu change water change out about 25% of it. Early on in the life of the tank you may need to change more to keep the ammonia level safe.

That will keep your fish alive until the ammonia cycle is up and running.

Best of luck with it!

MM

Answer 2

Is this a new tank? If so, then you have New Tank Syndrome, where your ammonia levels are high because the tank is not done cycling. This means that there is not an established colony of beneficial bacteria, which breaks down toxic ammonia into less toxic nitrite, which in turn breaks down to even less toxic nitrate. This process takes between 4 and 6 weeks to complete, and it is not safe to keep fish in the tank until then.

Chemicals are close to useless when dealing with water conditions, so other measures must be taken.

First, if you want to cycle with fish, you must reduce your fish population to 1 or 2. The ammonia that those fish produce will jump start the bacteria growth without overpowering the tank.

If you want to do a fishless cycle, remove all your fish, and add a source of pure ammonia instead. Google "fishless tank cycle" for more information. They also sell small packets of bacteria in most aquarium stores, which provide all you need with no wait time.

If this is not a new tank, then it could be an issue with either overfeeding or overpopulation. Make sure to only feed the fish as much as they can eat in under a minute, and scoop out the rest. As far as population, it depends on the fish.



Second question. Its best to change 25% of the water in your tank every week. Its best to purchase a gravel vacuum, which will siphon the water, as well as clean the fish poop and other waste from your substrate. Make sure to put all water conditioning chemicals in the new water each time. Also make sure the water temperature of the added water is the same as the tank water.

Good luck!

Answer 3

If you mean algae growing on things or green water, the cure is much the same. The algae grows when it has enough nutrients. The primary nutrient for it is nitrate. This is a natural end product of the cycle that removes ammonia from your water. Ammonia that is there from fish waste and uneaten food. Regular water changes will control the majority of algae. Change 25-35% of the tank water each week with a gravel siphon (available at any pet store for just a few dollars) being sure to clean the gravel well as you go. Using a power filter and replacing the filter media each week will also help. If you still have algae problems, then reducing the amount you feed and reducing the amount of light the tank gets will further help the problem. The tank lights should only be on for about 10-12 hours per day, longer will encourage algae growth. If the algae is growing on things in the tank and resists these efforts you may want to add an algae eating fish to the tank, but with proper maintenance that shouldn't be necessary.

Best of luck with it

Answer 4

ammonia can be removed 2 ways,

1 by an established colony of nitrifying bateria, that convert ammonia into nitrites, and then eventually to nitrates. This is also known as the biological filter, or a "cycled tank"

2 by water changes. 25 % off the top of the tank every other day untill the ammonia & Nitrites read 0PPM,
( usually takes about 4-6 weeks depending on temp of tank water)

Untill your tank cycles (ammonia & Nitrites at 0PPM) you should remove 25% of the water every other day off the top of the tank with a cup or small pail. Replace with conditioned tap water (dechlorinated).

Once your tank is cycled you should syphon the water off of the bottom this will clean the gravel by removing waste and excess food. 25%-40% at least once a week, or when your nitrates reach 30 ppm.

The reason why you have to change the water so often in the beginning is to keep your fish alive. The reason you take the water off the top as opposed to syphoning it off the bottom is to offer more "food" for the benifical bacterial colonies. Each time you change the water you dilute deadly toxins (ammonia, nitrite & nitrate) with fresh water. To put it plainly, fish poop, and they produce copius ammounts of ammonia, which will suffocate the fish if not removed. Once the tank is cycled and the biological fiter is established, the ammonia and nitrites are removed by these bacteria, and you only have to worry about nitrates, which are far less toxic then the other waste products & by products, and fish can endure much higher concentrations of nitrate before suffering any ill effects from them. Which is why you can cut down on water changes to once a week.

Answer 5

You have gotten some great advise here. The only other think I would say is to do some research on the cycle process like they are saying.

Also, it is important to get a test kit so that you can test your water at home. After the tank has cycled it is a good idea to test your aquarium water once or twice a month just to make sure things are going well

Good Luck

Answer 6

Great Advice by everybody! If this is a new aquarium you are best to start over--empty your tank, put the fish is an established aquarium, refill your tank, and let it sit for a week. After a week buy test strips and test ammonia levels. Then you can buy chemicals to get the water to the right levels.

Answer 7

if you do regular water changes then you will be getting rid of the ammonia too. if you tank isn't overstocked (you followed the one inch per gallon rule and don't have goldfish) on a weekly basis gravel vacuum and change 20% of the water. before you do this it helps to remove all your decorations and rinse them off with hot water and wipe down the insides of your tank with paper towels to loosen up anything trying to attach itself to your tank. do the gravel vac til 20% of the water is gone and then replace the water and decorations and you are done. easy. now your ammonia has spiked i would recommend doing this every couple of days until it is down again.

Answer 8

To get rid of the ammonia in the tank, you must do a partial water change out. To change out the water I siphon it out into buckets about every two weeks. I change my water to get rid of the ammonia and dirt.

Answer 9

A couple of Answerers got most of it, but no one said it better than Black Aliss, so I won't even try. She said it completely and clearly and in a step-by-step fashion. You listen to her, your problems will be resolved.

Answer 10

use a gravel siphon and clean the gravel in it, take about 25% of the water out.