The ammonia level has risen what have i done?

Question

Or what have i not done can anyone help me as i am a newby to all of this. All the fish i have are small
2 Mollys
5 Guppies
1 Rainbow Shark

Answer 1

First you need to understand the Nitrogen cycle and I am sorry to be harsh here, however about.com is not the place to start, their information is canned and often not up to date.

Knowing the size of your aquarium and filtration system and care is helpful; here are some basics;

*Do Rinse filter media in used tank water or de-chlorinated tap water so as to not kill nitrifying bacteria.

*Do NOT rinse your filter media in tap water or turn filters on and off, this will hamper the establishment of healthy bio colonies of nitrifying bacteria. Filters should run 24/7 except in rare instances.

*Do NOT wash gravel or totally change water, again this will destroy or hamper establishment of bio bacterial colonies.

*Do rotate filter media changes so as to always have older media with bacterial colonies. In a HOB filter with a cartridge, place a second cartridge in 7-10 days before changing the old one of install a sponge pre-filter on your HOB filter such as a Filter-Max Pre-Filter

*Do add de-chlorinators when changing water over 10%

*Add prooducts such as Prime to de-toxify ammonia during this process.

I recommend this article about the aquarium nitrogen cycle:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Nitrogen_Cycle.html

Answer 2

Since you are new, here is a link to help you understand what is going on in your tank. A process called cycling.

http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/biologicalcycle/a/nitrogencycle.htm

These ammonia spike do and will occure during this break in process. When your ammonia spike you really need to do a 25% water change.

Doesn't matter what size the tank is if it isn't cycled. 5 or 50 gallon.

These spikes will continue to occur until the tank begins to mature and settle down. Since you have fish, this could be 2 weeks. I would test every day. If the ammonia is elevated (anything above 1-1.5 ) do a water change. Remember do not take all the water out. It will be a pain in the dupa but it needs to be done for the health of your fish.

I suggest you read the cycling process link I listed so you can understand what is going on in your tank even if you cannot see it. I

If you need more help, feel free to email me.

Good luck.

Answer 3

Ammonia is not caused by anything you can do. Ammonia is part of the process the fishes waste goes thru. Ammonia is toxic to your fish and I would preform a 25-30% water change immediately. That should definately lower the ammonia levels in your tank, it definately worked for me.
Be sure that the water you put into the tank is close in temperature to the water all ready in the tank.
I am assuming that you have an ammonia test kit. Keep testing the ammonia levels for the next week, and once it's settled, test once a week.
I've found this website below the most helpful in setting up a 2nd tank in my home, maybe it will help you too!

Answer 4

The pet store seels products to help decrease your amonia levels. Buy some of that and follow the instructions on the bottle (or box, if you buy tablets). Also, make sure you are vacuuming your tank and doing a 10% water change 1/week. And change the filter based on whatever the instructions for your particular filter instructions say (like mine, I need to change the carbon once a week, and some other stuff in it I change 1/month).

By the way, tip I got from the pet store: instead of buying those expensive carbonl refils, buy a bulk carton of carbon and some ladies knee-high nylons. Seal the fill 1/2 the knee high with charcoal and seal the open end with a rubber band. Saves you some cash! Thanks, Petsmart!

Answer 5

All new tanks go through a nitrogen cycle, be very careful not to overfeed you aquarium, as this contributes to high ammonia levels. Try changing some of the water. A nitrogen cycle can take 6to 8 weeks. I hope this is helpful.

Answer 6

i agree the size of the tank could help with the answer. Its my understanding that if too many fish are added to a tank at once it will cause the ammonia level to rise. You didnt say if you just added fish, so that may not be a possibility.

Answer 7

I'll need more info to be able to help you. How big is the tank and how long has it been up and running? Also, how long have you had the fish and have you added any recently? Have you cleaned the tank in the last week and if so what did you do to clean it?

I'll watch this quesiton, please add the additional info and I'll edit my answer.

MM