how can i reduce ammonia?

Question

i have a 30 gallon tank i noticed something wrong with oine of my guppies and he died i checked the water and my ammonia is high and so is my ph lvl i put some ph down and it neutraliced it but for my ammonia what can i do i did a water change 4days ago my friend sa=id that reducing theri food will help some is that true can i skip a day

15 fish none bigger than 1.5 in

Answer 1

Yes reducing the feedings and amounts can help. This is because excess food is one of the contributers to ammonia when it is not eaten. Unless you were really over feeding them to begin with, I'm not so sure this is necessarily the cause though it very well could be. Other factors are not having the tank stable long enough and that's very common in first time set ups. Very many times we want to have our fish and set up going as soon as possible to enjoy the view and watch. However, bacteria levels do need time to stablize. As fish grow also, ammonia production will go up and sometimes you will see cloudiness appear to compensate for the increased ammonia in your water.

I am susupecting that it's a combination of excess food along with a non stable tank to why you have the ammonia levels, and doing the water change is a good step measure to take in combination with reducing the food. One thing you will want to avoid is treating this chemically with the store bought chemicals to bind up ammonia into ion form. Not only does this not remove the ammonia, but also makes this useless as a fuel source for your beneficial bacteria. It will also skew your readings if you take them.

For now continue doing what you are doing, though I doubt reduction in food is something really new in terms of knowledge, maybe just not dispensed frequently as a treatment for lowering ammonia. It would be a good measure for you to employ while your biological filtration stablizes.

JV

Answer 2

check your water for ammonia right out of the tap, make sure there is none. if so, you can treat it before it goes into the tank. try using live plants as well. yes, you can skip a day, you can skip two days and even a week, but don't do that unless you really have to. i feed every other or very little if i'm feeling generous the day in between.

high ammonia also comes from over stocking and poor filteration. how many fish do you have in your 30 and what kind of fish matters too?

Answer 3

Oh my god, why do people answer here if they have no idea???????????

Ok, first of all, if your ammonia is high to a 50% waterchange with a gravel siphon right away, and repeat doing partial waterchanges of 25% every 4 days until your ammonia levels are at 0

After that you're suppose to do weekly partial water changes of 25% with a gravel siphon

And yes, it is true that high ammonia levels come from overfeeding your fish, you're only suppose to feed them as much as they will eat in a period of 3-5 min, you can feed your fish up to 2 times a day, any other food left you should take out with the net

PLEASE don't use any chemicals to get your ammonia down


Hope that helps
Good luck


EB

Answer 4

Water changes!! change 10-20% of the water daily if needed until you get the ammonia under control! Test again!
over feeding is a big cause of ammonia spikes. the filter can't get rid of the waste. also did one or more of your fish die? That will cause a spike!
Water conditioners are not going to do the trick.. Water changes are!
Good luck!

Answer 5

I had this same difficulty once I first set up my aquarium after dropping a minimum of 15 guppies I went to the puppy keep to have my water examined and the tank had ammonia in it they informed me to alter some million/4 of the water daily for some week and placed some AQUA secure in the water ,it makes faucet water secure for fish,then run the aquarium for 40 8 hrs. then deliver yet another water pattern andthe water replace into suited and now I even have approximately 3 grownup guppies and 13 babies in a 5 gallon tank and that they are effective approximately as quickly as a month one gets old and die yet thats organic.

Answer 6

well reducing food is one thing but also doing more water changes or a higher percent of water changed every time
for a thirty gallon id say a nice 20 percent a week
and only feed your guppies maybe two medium sized pinches of food every three days

Answer 7

Get a decent powered fish filter. Do not get an air driven filter. Also activated carbon will absorb it and natural bacteria purchased from a pet store helps break down stuff.

Answer 8

if you overfeed your tank you get more waste..... waste=high ph level. The ph down stuff should work just keep adding, testing, adding, testing.......you don't need to put alot of food in for the guppies just a dash...how many guppies do you have?

Answer 9

it is even recommended to skip a meal or two. This is a new tip that is comming out, it is to mimic what fishes will have in the wild.

If your over feeding that can def. lead to high ammonia. cut the feedings.

Answer 10

If you go to your local pet store or wal-mart, they should have an ammonia clear . It is a bottle of drops and it is to reduce the ammonia! Good luck with that!