Ammonia in qt/frag tank.

J

jstdv8

Guest
So I took my filter media and put it in the dt sump fr two weeks, I took a decent sized rock out of the dt ( loaded with aiptasia )
And I just checked the parameters and I've got 1.0 ammonia and no nitrates.
Looks like I'm smack into a cycle I was hoping to avoid.
I've got 3 peppermints a pair of zoas a monti cap and an emerald crab in there.
I've been feeding very little to coax the peppermints into cleaning off the lr of aiptasia.
What can I do at this point? Water change to get ammonia down? Or just eat it cycle and hope I don't suffer any livestock losses?
Any suggestions?
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
Cycle is a good thing of course. Just not when I've got livestock in there :p
Will the tank still establish itself so i can add more stuff down the road? or by adding this prime what exactly am I gaining or losing in short and long term?
 
mr. limpid

mr. limpid

Active Member
Short term getting ammonia down quickly, good for creatures in tank, long term will take longer to get the bacteria to multiply to consume the existing bio load.
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
Thats what I expected. Thanks :)
surprised that with only 3 peppermints and a crab that I would get any spike since I used a filter from in my sump and 2 nice sized pieces of LR.
I have a feeling my LR has a lot of detritus buildup and that's whats causing this.
Something to think about.
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Ok I just want to say that just by moving a rock from an established tank to another does not guarantee that along with the rock came nitrifying bacteria. Using prime will not remove ammonia it will make it nontoxic but you WILL still read ammonia when you test for it (just not toxic). As long as you are starting the nitrification proses why not remove the rock with the aiptasia and sterilize it
 
mr. limpid

mr. limpid

Active Member
I don't know about prime first hand was told it work the same as Amquel+, but I have used Amquel+ and I did get a lower ammonia reading on my test.
 
deejeff442

deejeff442

Active Member
reading the 1st few posts i was going to say the same as Joe. either dont take ammonia out it just nuetralizes it making testing useless. .but it does work to help the livestock.
 
foodshape

foodshape

Member
Although a SW newbie I have many years of experience with Prime on the FW side of the hobby and I can confirm it detoxifies, but does not remove, ammonia. It should not slow down the cycle as the ammonia is still available to the nitrifying bacteria (again note, this is FW experience, need an SW confirmation on this last point - different bacteria). It saved my bacon a time or two when I (for reasons I won't get into) had to move fish to an un-cycled environment.
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
Ok I just want to say that just by moving a rock from an established tank to another does not guarantee that along with the rock came nitrifying bacteria. Using prime will not remove ammonia it will make it nontoxic but you WILL still read ammonia when you test for it (just not toxic). As long as you are starting the nitrification proses why not remove the rock with the aiptasia and sterilize it
I guess part of my point of putting the rock in there was to see if the peppermints coud destroy the aiptasia or not.
So far they have definitely killed all three that were on a piece of tongas.
But I'm not sure they've done much to the many many that are on the bigger rock.
Would you like to elaborate on why you think I may not have gotten any good bacteria with my lr, and or my filter media?
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jstdv8 http:///t/395191/ammonia-in-qt-frag-tank#post_3518332
I guess part of my point of putting the rock in there was to see if the peppermints coud destroy the aiptasia or not.
So far they have definitely killed all three that were on a piece of tongas.
But I'm not sure they've done much to the many many that are on the bigger rock.
Would you like to elaborate on why you think I may not have gotten any good bacteria with my lr, and or my filter media?
I will certainly try to explain my no guarantee statement. First let me say I am sure I am not telling you something you do not already know. Let’s look at our donor tank. We know we have nitrifying bacteria colonization by the simple fact that we can sustain life in our tanks. Now when we first stated the nitrogen cycle we add something to have organic breakdown. This breakdown caused the growth and colonization of nitrifying bacteria. Now once this bacterium was established we added our livestock and as knowledgeable hobbyists we know not to over stock and or overfeed. So basically our nitrifying bacteria colony’s growth is predicated on the amount of food they have to “eat”. More food more growth less food less growth and die off. Now I do not think that the amount of livestock and the amount of food you introduce would be enough for you to colonize every inch of your system. So where is this colonization most likely to take place? It would be in areas of constant flow the constant flow provides a constant food source. Even if your returns and power heads were pointed directly at a rock. Without microscopic identification of the surface of the rock we have no guarantee that said rock harbored any nitrifying bacteria. IMO if you have a better chance of transferring the bacteria via a piece of filter pad that had a constant flow of tank water going through it BUT again without microscopic evaluation one cannot say that without question that they have transferred the needed bacteria
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
I see. In my case with the scrubber going I feed more than my fish can eat. But even that being said I did take these rocks from down in front near where cyano shows up from time to time. so they are certainly not in the best of flow.
I did have the filter media that I transferred from the sump in the overflow between chambers so it was getting quite a bit.
Point taken.
 
geridoc

geridoc

Well-Known Member
Amquel contains hydroxymethylsulfonate, which neutralizes chlorine and chloramine, and is able to bind to ammonium, detoxifying it. However, the nitrifying bacteria are still able to metabolize the complex, so they will develop a sufficient bioload to deal with subsequent ammonia spikes.
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by GeriDoc http:///t/395191/ammonia-in-qt-frag-tank#post_3518379
Amquel contains hydroxymethylsulfonate, which neutralizes chlorine and chloramine, and is able to bind to ammonium, detoxifying it. However, the nitrifying bacteria are still able to metabolize the complex, so they will develop a sufficient bioload to deal with subsequent ammonia spikes.
no one likes a show off
 
mr. limpid

mr. limpid

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by GeriDoc http:///t/395191/ammonia-in-qt-frag-tank#post_3518379
Amquel contains hydroxymethylsulfonate, which neutralizes chlorine and chloramine, and is able to bind to ammonium, detoxifying it. However, the nitrifying bacteria are still able to metabolize the complex, so they will develop a sufficient bioload to deal with subsequent ammonia spikes.
Cool stuff, so it doesn't hinder the nitrifying bacteria colon's growth. This stuff sounds like a wonder drug. Kordon does claim that the build up of ammonium is harmful, is this true?
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
I was thinking the same thing. If it does all that why not just dose it right off the bat on a new cycle and throw in your fish?
Must be something to that.
Of course maybe that's what the guys from "Tanked" do.
Different touchy subject all together :)
 
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