Cycle seems out of whack ammonia 12ppm

tromano32

tromano32

Member
Hi, I have had my tank running for about 18 days. I was really excited the first few days when I saw some little hermit crabs come out of my live rock and start to nibble on all the newly formed algea.. but now all these little guys are dead and other weird stuff is appearing in my tank dead... (another crab, weird white worm thing, white film on water in the rear filter chamber)
I don;t know if its cycleing properly or whats going on...
also, what is wrong with using tap water instead of ro/di because everone says not to use it buy why?
12ppm ammonia
0 nitrates
0 nitrites
ph 7.8
salinity 1.020
temp 80.5
I am new to saltwater but its doesn't seem right to me.. please help
24 gallon jbj nano cube /rear 3 stage filter/ 290gph
36lb live aragonite sand
10lbs of live rock
2x36watt 50/50 10,000k/actinic lighting with led moon lights
100watt Hydor submersible heater / in rear
Coral Life digital temp sensor / in rear
 
tromano32

tromano32

Member
ya i know they died because of the ammonia... i didn't know they were in there at first.. but also didn;t think ammonia would get up to 12ppm... should i do water change?
 
stephish

stephish

Member
Tap water tends to have extra/bad stuff in it that you don't want in your tank. Phosphates that'll feed the algae and other trace elements that can be toxic to the inhabitants. I started with tap on my pico tank and constantly had a problem with nitrates but started the 20 with ocean water and RO/DI and haven't had a problem yet.
There are people on here that use tap and treat it and have no problems but the majority will tell you that RO/DI is worth it. No argument from me on that one!
Sounds like your tank is in it's "cycle" being it's only 18 days old, i'd monitor for nitrites and nitrates and let it cycle. Maybe start topping off with ro/di?
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
What is your ammonia source...uncured LR?
Your specific gravity is also VERY low for invertebrates....that could kill things and also result in more ammonia.
If your tank is running 18 days with ammonia that high and no nitrites, something is really wrong, IMO.
What is your alkalinity?
Have you had these readings verified?
 
ford81502

ford81502

Member
Not To Steal This Thread I Am Cycling My Tank Of 9 Days Old With Uncured Rock. My Amm Has Been 8 For A Couple Of Days. All Other Readings At 0. From What I Understand The Amm Will Drop Then The Nitrates And Rites Will Rise Then Drop To 0 Is That Correct??? How Long Is The Amm Going To Be Up. Thanks
 
tromano32

tromano32

Member
I cannot test the alkalinity now.. I just did a 90% water change...
other threads said that with ammo like 6ppm or high that it even kills the bacteria...
I also noticed that tank really did stink when there wasn;t anywater in it.. the filter media really stank too...
as for the rock.. I got it from a pet shop that had the rocks in their running tanks with other fish and crabs.... they said it was curred and ready to go..
no, I have not had anyone else check this but I am pretty sure the ammo is high because I have the dropper tests and the little thing you stick in the tank to show live ammo...
I know my ph was a little low but thought i could work on that after it cycled.... or should I bring ph up before and during cycle..
 
darknes

darknes

Active Member
It sounds to me like your tank is going through a normal cycle. The reason for the extra high ammonia level (if it truly is that high) is most likely that the rock wasn't fully cured. Nothing to worry about.
If you do see a lot of dieoff on the rocks, take them out and scrub it off a bit; that will help them cure a little quicker.
 
tromano32

tromano32

Member
I will keep an eye on it.. but I just checked it after the 90% water change and the ammo is still about 7ppm... do you think it may also be my live sand? it smelled fine in the bag and was not expired...
should I get rid of the live rock for now and put it in a bucket or something... I just can't believe that the ammo will get this high before it comes back down... (maybe thats my fresh water experience talking)
Thanks everyone for the advice..
 
H

huskychasrs

Guest
Let it go...check it every other day. Can you get some sand or some water from someone who has an established tank? You need to get the bacteria going.
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
I don't think you need to remove it, but I am definitely still suspicious. I've seen classically cycled tanks - max stocking level of damsels (1 per 5 gallons), heavy feeding, leaving bodies in the tank and no LR at all - and they don't get that high.
How long has it been like this? or when did you first start seeing ammonia?
I would go with some water changes to keep it a bit lower, and hope it starts making progress.
 
zman1

zman1

Active Member
Originally Posted by tromano32
I just checked it after the 90% water change and the ammo is still about 7ppm.

Courious, did you test the change water before adding it? Chloramine (chlorine and ammonia) is used by some water treatment facilites to disinfect the water lines.
 
tromano32

tromano32

Member
I checked the tap water and it is zero.. I also checked my established fresh tank and it read zero as well...
I started noticing high ammo about a week ago.. I thought it was normal so I left it go and then it just seemed getting to out of control..
I just tested the water again and its still high.. almost off the chart and it goes to 8ppm....
 
tromano32

tromano32

Member
yes sir..
I am using the ammonia test kit by aquarium pharmicuticals (its the brand with doctor wellfish cartoon thing) it says freswater/saltwater..
I just mixed up a batch of saltwater and tested it and reads zero ammo...
I am using Jungle brand 5 in one quick dip strips for nitrate, nitrite, alkalinity , ph , says for salt and fresh
Would it help if i used some ammo-lock, it says on the bottle it will detoxify 3ppm for every dose.. so does that mean if i use double dose it will detox 6ppm? or will that somehow add to many chemicals????
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by tromano32
update
ammo is still about 8ppm
but i am starting to get nitrate about 20ppm
nitrite is still 0ppm
Have you verified these results? Your ammonia may have been so high because of alot of die off. Being it is comming down, that accounts for the nitrates. No nitrites at this point does not sound right to me. How old are these kits?
 
X

xnikki118x

Guest
Originally Posted by sepulatian
Have you verified these results? Your ammonia may have been so high because of alot of die off. Being it is comming down, that accounts for the nitrates. No nitrites at this point does not sound right to me. How old are these kits?
I was also thinking the kit might be expired or from a faulty batch.
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
what brand test kits are you using? you should at this point see a decrease in ammo and and increase in trites and trates. some of the bacteria is starting to convert the ammo, but it is probably slow because the ammo is so high.
 
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