off the chart perameters HELP!!!

fishcurse

fishcurse

Member
i originally wrote in because i couldnt get my ammonia down and i had white slime growing on the bottom of my tank. my ammonia was at 4.0, nitrates and nitrites were at 0. i was told to do water changes by 2 people on the board to bring my ammonia down i have done 3 within the past week and a half. Now everything is off the charts ammonia is at 8, nitrates are at 150ppm, and nitrites are 5. the lfs said ive done so many water changes that i got rid of my bacteria so i put some cyclekick in there to try and get some back that was 2 days ago and i levels are still the same please help me i dont want to lose the few fish i have left. i have a hippo tang, stars and stripes puffer, a banded bullet goby, and a blenny. it is a 50 gal. i have a wet/dry, uv sterilizer, and a protein skimmer. i have been feeding lite because i dont want to add to the ammonia.
niki
 
fishcurse

fishcurse

Member
yes tank is 2 and half years old. but i have been having nothing but trouble since we moved 4 months ago
 
triga22

triga22

Active Member
Ammonia is caused by dieng or decomposing of things in the tank.. Something is causing this and we needa find out..
 
fishcurse

fishcurse

Member
well so far the lfs said that because i went so long without anything cleaning my sand its probably build up (i had a niger for over 2 yrs i recently lost that ate any crabs i put in there within 2-3 days) but i read awhile somewhere that every few months you should clean 1/3 of your bioballs and i have never done that, but i clean and change my filters once a week
 
triga22

triga22

Active Member
Whenever your hand is in the tank swing at the rock to take care of anything that settles. Doing this evertime makes sure that it stays clean. I woudl clean the bioballs. Also clean anything that has any signs of buildup.
 
fishcurse

fishcurse

Member
right - i told was saying in my other thread that i was vacuuming the sand and using my net to get off any build up cause i was getting white slime on my sand, and they told me not to stir up the sand and what not
 
fishcurse

fishcurse

Member
should i clean the bioballs now? should i buy some biospire? should i medicate with anything to help my fish cope? i dont know what to do.
 
larryndana

larryndana

Active Member
what kind of sand do you have, crushed coral?
did you take any liverock out for any time period for the move?
doing a water change doesn't get rid of bacteria. your bacteria is living on a surface....like rock or sand and such.
are all animals accounted for....any new additions?
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Your substrate will not cause a cycle. It will cause high nitrates if it is disturbed. Ammonia is the first bioproduct to be broken down. I asked you this before. How did you move the tank? It seems to me a though your biological fltration was some how destroyed by some means. Have you added any chemicals to this tank?
 
larryndana

larryndana

Active Member
Originally Posted by sepulatian
Your substrate will not cause a cycle. It will cause high nitrates if it is disturbed. Ammonia is the first bioproduct to be broken down. I asked you this before. How did you move the tank? It seems to me a though your biological fltration was some how destroyed by some means. Have you added any chemicals to this tank?
with disturbing the sand will it cause just a nitrate spike or ammonia and trites as well?
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by larryndana
with disturbing the sand will it cause just a nitrate spike or ammonia and trites as well?
Ammonia is the first thing to be broken down. Ammonia and nitrites don't linger. Nitrates are the lingering factor. They are usually removed via water changes, but if a person has a substrate that they used for biological filtration, such as CC, then the final product of the nitrogen cycle can get built up in the crevices. This is the reason that CC needs to be cleaned thoroughly.
 
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