Can't Get Rid Of Ammonia

[clowninaround]

I have a 55g SWFO w/LS no LR. Bak Pak Skimmer, Fluval Canister Filter. My perameters were all PERFECT up until now. I noticed a missing fish. Checked the water, and the ammonia was .5 and the nitrates over 50ppm. So I did a 30% water change, but the damage was done. I've lost 5 fish. So I did a 50% water change because I guess the other dead fish jacked up the ammonia again. So now my coral beauty(sole survivor so far) has ich. Anyway, that's not the cause of my frustration...It's the Ammonia....It keeps coming back. Could one dead fish have spiked the ammonia that high in the beginning, and are the other deaths causing it to return even though I'm getting them out of the tank quickly after they die? Parameters now....Temp 82 Ph 8.2 Ammo .5(again!) nitrates over 20ppm Gravity 1.023 Frustration level through the roof!!!! Why am I getting these ammo spikes? Why do they keep coming back after the water changes even though after the water change it registered 0(the ammo) but the next day back up to .5???
The tanks been established for over 2 years now and I never had any problems until now..I lost 2 false percs, yellowtail damsel, royal gramma, cardinal. Fortunately my cleaner shrimp and all my hermits and snails are still alive.

 

[737mech]

I was wondering if your tank could be overstocked or over fed. It sounds like your bio. filtration is unable to keep up with your bio load. Do you have live rock and how much. Tell us some more specs on your tank.
You could add amqul to temporarily reduce the amo. Marineland also makes crystals to absorb the amo. These are not permanent fixs though. You need to find the source of the amo.
I'm new to the hobby so others please offer you input too.
Good luck
Sorry, I reread your post. I overlooked the no live rock part.

 

[clowninaround]

Well, they're all dead. I quit!
You think that it's or was overstocked? I may have overfed, however I fed them once every other day and they would finish everything I gave them. Could it have been the original fish's death that caused this since I never did find him to remove him? I really wish I knew because I don't think I want to start over again and have this happen again if I can't figure out WHY. Now my cleaner shrimp looks a little weird. I think he's gonna go too. Damn it all, my whole tank gone in 5 days Any comments would be appreciated.

 

[lesleybird]

Sorry about your losses. From what I have read amonia of .5 is stressful but not enough to kill fish. I think that crabs and shrimp and snails are as sensative as any fish, and they are fine. Maybe some fish disease or bacteria or something killed your fish.... because if the water was all that bad you would think the other creatures would be affected also? I don't know. Did you add anything at all new to the tank? Lesley

 

[clowninaround]

The test kit I have is the Wardley master kit and the ammo was 5.0 and then you have to multiply that by .0998(ph=8.2, temp=82). The 5.0 is as high as it will test so it must be off the charts. My shrimp and snails died last night. Now I don't know if it's from what killed my fish or the "Ich Cure" I used for the beauty. All that's left is my hermits but I can't tell if they're gonna go or not. My next question is can I start over using my water and just let it filter for a while or should I drain it and refill it? Also, what do I do with the "dead rock" I have and the sand? Should I wash them, Leave them alone, air them out, or what? Because I know there was a lot of ammo I couldn't get out even with 2 huge water changes. Then there is the ich and the "Ich Cure" in there and whatever else could have killed everyone. Will all this filter out or should I start over completely. Thanks

 

[thomas712]

What is your water source? Tap, Ro, distilled?
Can you have an LFS test your water also?
Crushed coral substrate? New tank syndrome?
Undergravel filter?
What is your filtration
Just guessing
Thomas

 

[clowninaround]

While I appreciate you answering Thomas, as per my first post I have a Fluval 304 canister filter and live sand. The tank has been established for 2 years. My water source is tap, filtered through a deionization filter. I also read a post about aged SW. I don't wait. I mix, test and pour. I'm sure that has nothing to do with the ammo however I'm sure it's not the best practice. I've had SW tanks for 15 years on and off and have never had any problems and only a few deaths. I guess I'm just LUCKY...til now. Anyway, I wasn't being a smartas* Thomas, thanks for the reply.

 

[lesleybird]

I was wondering if something added to the tank may have killed of all of your benificial bacteria that keeps the amonia and nitrites and nitrates in line? A lot of medicines kill this bacteria and make your tank like a new uncycled tank unsuitable for most livestock.
This is one of the main reasons one usually cannot treat sick fish in the main tank. ??????? This could have killed all your fish.
Lesley

 

[thomas712]

No worries, sometimes I skim to fast when reading a post and forget what someone said. My fault.
How deep is the sandbed? Do you have critters, pods, worms, and such to keep it stirred? I am just trying to help pinpoint where your ammonia could be coming from. Could be that you have reached a level of saturation in your sand bed from the bio load that you had.
Regular maintainance on the fluval? anything get stuck in the tubes of the fluval? all a-ok.
Just trying to think of things that I would check.
If you did not find the original carcus of the first dead fish this could be what has caused the mystery ammonia.
Stumped, sorry
Thomas