Lowering Ammonia

[lionfish]

I have a 20 gallon fish only tank with 10 pounds of live rock, 4 damsels ,Emperor 280 filter,20 pounds of live sand. I'm still in the process of cycling and need to know how to lower the ammonia level. Any advice will be apreciated.

 

[mr . salty]

What is the amonia reading at, and how old is your tank? This subject intrests me. I am also cycling my first tank and my amonia is stuck around .25 after six weeks. How about a water change? STEVE

 

[bobsingh1]

There are lot of ammonia detoxifiers available in the market. Ammolock is one of them by Aquarium Pharm. Another one is Amquel. Both are pretty good. Just an advice... You should take care of this ASAP

 

[chuckm]

ALTHOUGH I AM NEW TO THIS 4 WEEKS OR SO I GOT BIOZYME? WITH MY STARTER KIT AND IT SEEMS TO HANDLE AMMONIA NITRATE AND NITRITES VERY WELL I KNOW I CANT BE GOOD AT THIS YET AND NOT USUALLY LUCKY SO I GUESS IT IS THE BIOZYME THAT HAS HELPED KEEP THEM IN LINE

 

[porkypuffer]

AMMONIA IS PRODUCED BY THE FISH WASTE, THE PRESENTS OF AMMONIA IS NORMAL IN A NEW TANK. THE AMMONIA TURNS TO NITRITES, THEN TO NITRATES BY THE BIOLOGICAL FILTERATION THAT MUST BUILD UP IN YOUR TANK. ONCE THE TANK CYCLES, THE AMMONIA AND NITRITES SHOULD STAY AT 0, IF IT DOESN'T, THAT IS A SIGN OF TOO MANY FISH OR TOO MANY FISH ADDED AT ONCE. THE PRESENTS OF NITRATES IS NORMAL BUT SHOULDN'T BE ALOWED TO RISE TOO HIGH.
FISH SHOULD NEVER BE ADDED WHEN THERE IS A PRESENTS OF AMMONIA OR NITRITES, EXCEPT THE DAMSELS USED FOR CYCLING.
GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR NEW TANK.
[This message has been edited by PORKYPUFFER (edited 06-13-2000).]

 

[lionfish]

Thanks for the replies! MR. Salty, my tank has been up for two weeks and ammonia reads at .25. I think I'm going to clean the tank tomorrow and pick up a bottle of Biozyme.

 

[ktwheet]

You might want to point a finger at your testing kit. My tank has been up and running since August and I always get a reading for ammonia. It has never been zero. But my fish and my starfish seem happy enough. I just stopped worrying about it (I only have four small fish and one starfish in a 75 gal tank so I know the bioload is not high - if anything, my inhabitants don't produce enough waste to warrant frequent water changes). Have a lfs test your water for you and compare their results to that of your home kit to rule out the possibility of it being a test kit problem.

 

[porkypuffer]

IN MOST CASES, 2 WEEKS ISN'T LONG ENOUGH FOR A TANK TO CYCLE. GIVE IT SOME TIME. THE BIO-FILTER SHOULD TAKE CARE OF THE AMMONIA ONCE IT IS ESTABLISHED. 4 DAMSEL IS ALOT FOR A NEW 20 GAL. TANK BUT THE BIO-FILTER SHOULD CATCH UP.