Please Help Not Much Time

gootz

gootz

Member
Hey guys
I tested my water yesterday and everything was fine except for my ammonia. It was off the charts. My tank has been running for 8 months now and Im starting to think my live rock has died and is releasing wastes into my tank. Im not sure how to tell. The rock looks fine, (coraline algea) ect, I stopped feeding my fish now for about 5 days to reduce the amount of ammonia in there. I have a jeweled moray eel, a small 3" clown trigger, and a temporary naso about 5 inches. I need some help quick!
Thank you for your input
-Frankie
 
fishcake

fishcake

Member
what is your ammonia reading at?
If it is high add some amquel or prime to help bring it down til you figure whats causing the spike
 
gootz

gootz

Member
ok im sorry i havent answered this but my readings of ammonia are of the charts. I am using the saltwater master liquid test kit bu aquarium pharmaceuticals inc. I still cannot figure out why my ammonia is so high. I lost the naso and had to give the clown to my friend because it was showing signs of stress. I still have the eel in my tank but he is doing fine. I havent feed him for a little less than a week. I did 3 10% water changes and one 25% over the last week and a half. I was trying to get the ammonia down a natural way but i think i am going to need medicine. I'm not quite sure what to do at this point. Help please. By the wayif anyone wants to kno ... my filtiration is a 75 pro clear wet dry witha venturi skimmer built in.
 
gootz

gootz

Member
46 bow...i have a jeweled moray in there by himself and i havent feed him in a little less than a week to try and lower the ammonia..How can one eel that hasn't been eating in about 5 days max out my bioload????? ive talked to people and the jeweled moray(mexican dragon) stays under 2 feet and can be in a 50 gallon or greater.
 
gootz

gootz

Member
About the live rock ...im not to sure its about 20lbs of tonga deep lr. No i do not have a deep sand bed its only 2-3 inches. I really dont know what it can be, if been reading for hours but can't find anything.
 
gootz

gootz

Member
ok thanx ill look into, but i do not understand how i overloaded the system.Please describe in detail what you are talking about and should I empty the water and restart my tank.?????????????????????????????????????????????????:notsure: :confused:
 
redbora

redbora

Member
jmo, mind u i just started my tank, so u really don't have to listen to me, but from all the readings n research i've done this is what i think,
-you don't have enough lr and or ls, the ratio is suppose to be 1-1.5lbs per gal. lr n 1lbs per gal of ls, so in your case you should think about adding 15-20lbs more lr and some more ls, you'll b able to get away with less sand than lr
-you might have too much livestock for your tank, esp. since u have less than the recommended amount of lr n ls for filtration, with livestock it's suppse to be 1inch per 5gal
just my two cents, good luck:happy:
 
usinkit

usinkit

Member
I would do a 50% water change to get the ammonia down. With ammonia off the chart Iam suorised the eel is still alive. Did you stir up the sand bed at all. If that happened there is some nasty stuff in the sand that might contribute to the spike. The only suggestion I can come up with is to do the 50% water change and then see where your ammonia reading are. HTH
 
gootz

gootz

Member
no the amount of lr doesnt matter, i have a wet dry and in my opinion there one of the best biological filters but thanks.Usinkit. I did already 3 10% changes and one 25% change. Wouldn't doin the 50% take out to much of cycled water??? Also I would think also an ammonia spike like that would kill all my livestock but my only guess is that an eel is one of the heartiest fishes and it can take a pounding. Please anyone else with suggestions because even after all the countless hours of reading, I am personally stumped on this.
 
usinkit

usinkit

Member
If the eel is the only one in there and he has survived this then let the tank ride out the cycle or see if some one can keep him for you until the tank completes its cycle. Did you try another test kit? Have your friend test the water with his test kit just to double check. Did you clean your wet-dry filter out recently?
 
usinkit

usinkit

Member
If your tank is going through another cycle I dont think it would matter if you did a 50% water change ,because the tank is going through another cycle so the water is really not fully cycled anymore. Your best bet is to let the tank ride out the cycle and have someone hold the eel for you to cause less stress on the eel. HTH
 
dmc888

dmc888

Member
Have you cleaned the filter out lately.
I would rinse all the filters out.
And flush the balls with saltwater if they look clogged.
I clean my filter atleast twice a month.
 
gootz

gootz

Member
No i haven't cleaned out my filter. i was told never to remove the bioballs from my wet/dry and never to clean it. To you suggest I clean it out.
 
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