ammonia spike

[burkey]

Had ammonia spike for almost 2 weeks.
This happened after I lost my tank to nitrates that I could not lower for over a month.
Did water change after water change and then one day I croaked the entire tank.
Tested water and the ammonia was high along with the trates.
Kept changing large volumes of water till trates got down to less than 10.
this was approx 2 weeks ago.
All levels today are
nitrites-0
nitrates-less than 10
PH- 8.2
S.G.-1.021
temp.75
55 gal
4" sand bed
50 lbs. Base Rock
404 Fluval canister
Visi jet protein skimmer (can't keep it emptied fast enough)
2 402 power heads
4 watt U.V.
Tank has been running since JAN.
Added ammo lock with no success
Can't get these ammonia levels under control.
Don't want to put more fish in and lose them again.
Advise gladely received here.
Thanks
Steveb

 

[bbuck_camelback]

You might have went overboard with the water changes, that can sometimes cause more harm than good, esp in a new system. You need to clean the canister filter and protein skimmer weekly, or ammonia and nitrate will build up.

 

[burkey]

My ammonia levels are 8.0
The level was at 0 until the nitrate boom.
After I lost the tank then the ammonia levels went sky high.
I keep my filters cleaned weekly.
I kept doing 10 gal changes till my trates got to about 10.
My ammonia has never come down since the tank crashed.
Like I said all levels are good except the ammonia.
Just wondering if I should be changing water until I get rid of ammonia problem ?
Maybe I should start from scratch again ?
Don't have anything to lose .

 

[buzz]

I didn't see it mentioned, but what kind of water are you using for water changes? Are you using tap water? RO water? Have you tested that water for nitrates? phosphates? ammonia? etc...? Are you mixing salt? If so, how?
I would be more concerned with the cause of the problem initially...these things don't just happen by themselves.
Have you checked the filter media in your canister? Is it dirty?
I would also, IMO, unplug the UV Sterilizer for now. You are killing everything good in the water, along with everything bad. Let the tank stabilize. Stop adding supplements. Stop doing water changes. Find any fish that may still be there a new, temporary home until you sort this out.
75 degrees is too low. Raise it to at least 78-79, IMO go to 82.
Also, you say you have 50 lbs of base rock, but no mention of Live Rock. I would invest in some.
Small change - just IMO - bring your SG up to 1.023-1.024 too.