Is Ammonia too high?

[rcmcg]

My ammonia level is between .5 and 1. I have had a yellow tang and a coral beauty for a week now. I used a liquid from the lfs store to cycle the tank and everything else is testing ok. Are my fish in danger? Do I need to do a partial water change? It is a 40 gallon tank.

 

[xrayman]

How old is your tank?

 

[rcmcg]

The tank has been up and running 2 weeks. I used a liquid that was supposed to cyle the tank instantly. I have learned several things that the lfs said that was bad advice...but my fish are stuck...what should I do?

 

[xrayman]

I'm no expert here but i would be concerned lets see what the others say this site is the best for excellent info.

 

[xrayman]

What were the levels at the time you put the fish in?

 

[ruaround]

In this hobby there isnt an "Instant" anything... If your tank is 2 weeks old then I would venture to guess that it is in the beginning of a cycle... could you give us somemore info about your tank???

 

[rcmcg]

Everything was in normal range except buffering was high...because of stuff that was in the salt mix.
The fish seem ok. They have really started eating more the last couple of days. It may be a spike related to that.

 

[rcmcg]

Sure, it is a 40 gallon stretch hex tank. I have about 2 in of crushed coral in bottom. Dead rock from the lfs. (they said it was too early for LR...I would guess another bum steer) I ran the tank for a week then added the liquid cycler. Added the tang and coral beauty about 12 hours later. Tang has done great and coral beauty was really slow to start eating. He started eating more Thursday.

 

[yimmy]

Many people will say CC is bad...I don't think so, but it can be, you want to have your sand bed MAX of 1in, I would just syphon some out. The Ammonia is a bit in the "hazard" zone but it'll be fine for fish but not corals. How are your other tests (nitrate,nitrite,pH,salinity,alk) Good Luck.

 

[usinkit]

Most likely the fish will die. You have to becareful with takinf advise from the LFS. They usually are just out to make money off of you and will tell you anything to make a sale. I would take the fish back and tell the the LFS they gave you bad abvise and you want your money back. After the fish are out just keep testing your water for ammonia and nitrites everyother day until they have reached 0. After that do a 20% water change and then you can add your clean up crew. After a week of adding the clean up crew you can add a fish. You should wait 2 weeks in between adding fish so your beneficial bacteria biulds up to support your waste load. You should also setup a QT tank to put your new fish into for 4 to 6 weeks before putting them into your display tank. HTH

 

[rcmcg]

Nitrates, nitrites, ph, specific gravity all test fine and have since the fish were added.
I am puzzled by advice from LFS...he maintains several salt water tanks at his store and around town. They all look great and thrive, yet in my reading on this site and in books, his advice is not always accurate.

 

[usinkit]

if you have .5 to 1 ppm ammonia you will end up killing the fish you have. tangs and angels are more delicate fish to keep and should only be kept in an established tank.