amonia 8.0? Help

luvmybizz

luvmybizz

Member
I have a reading of amonia of 8.0 on my test and that is the highest the test will go. Tank has been cycling for 5 days now and was wondering if it should be that high. I have 30 lbs of live rock and 30 live sand in a nano tank. Is this normal for it to be this high? Everything else is right where it should be...I am confused! Help please?
 
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nereef

Guest
ammonia that high will lengthen the cycle by killing off any living thing on the rock or sand. i would do a water change to get that number down.
 
kclester

kclester

Active Member
well the LR is prob dead now....it should stay below 1.0 not much can survive high ammonia readings such as that. Did you was the LR befor starting to cycl? If not you should have washed and scrubbed the rock with a brush and then washed again until its fairly clean. I would do water changes until you get the ammonia down......make sure the test kit is good and make sure your not useing a FW test kit
 
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nereef

Guest
no...but if the ammonia is that high, critters on the rock will die. if it's a small tank and you have the water on hand, you should do a massive water change.
 
luvmybizz

luvmybizz

Member
ok so it is basically a 30 gallon tank and i just changed out half of it so i will see wat happens...when i first got the rock there didn't look like anything was living on it at all. Should i add anything to make sure this stops happeneing?
 
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nereef

Guest
don't add anything. in theory, when you changed half of the water, the ammonia level should be cut in half. you will probably want to do another half changeout by tommorow.
 
N

nereef

Guest
don't worry. setting up the tank correctly and getting started is the hardest part. feel free to ask any questions.
 
luvmybizz

luvmybizz

Member
so if everything else is right where it is supposed to be how long do you think it will be before it is correct? And when can i add a damsel or 2 to help the cycle? And one more question is how many more times should i change my water during the cycle and how much water should i change?
 
N

nereef

Guest
you have at least another couple weeks before your tank is cycled. don't add any fish untill ammonia and nitrite are consistently 0. your goal for changing water should be to keep your ammonia below 1.
 
luvmybizz

luvmybizz

Member
Well, woke up today and saw that my amonia was like 4.0... should i just do annother change today? I just have read on here alot tha during your cycle you do not want to change your water as it will pretty puch start over your cycle? I am not saying you are wrong at all, i am just asking a quesion that is confusing me
 
N

nereef

Guest
it would be normal that your ammonia would read 4, since it used to read 8 before you changed half the water. i would do water changes until that number hits 1(to do it in 1 change, you would need to do 3/4 of the tank volume).
as for your the second question...the water isn't cycling, the bacteria on the rocks are. you need to get those numbers under control or the cycle will last longer.
 
john,jr

john,jr

Member
Originally Posted by luvmybizz
http:///forum/post/2470938
so if everything else is right where it is supposed to be how long do you think it will be before it is correct? And when can i add a damsel or 2 to help the cycle? And one more question is how many more times should i change my water during the cycle and how much water should i change?
damsel's are the biggest mistake I ever made. They get mean and impossible to catch back out. I just got over a new start up and I fell out with the LFS.
You should see you nitrites and nitrates start to rise in a few days. Also you most likley see what looks like brown algea explode. It will last a few days then it will disapear
 
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