Please Help Not Much Time
- Thread starter gootz
- Start date
ophiura
Active Member
#1: Try with a different test kit. Test kits "go bad" and give false readings.
#2: It is OK to rinse the bioballs in salt water with dechlorinator, of course. But if they don't look like they've got a bunch of waste in it, it is not the issue.
#3: I can't really imagine why your LR would die. I don't think this is really possible...and with a wet dry it wouldn't really matter...but it wouldn't die.
#4: What recent changes have you done - new livestock, different feeding??
Any sign of behavioral changes in the fish? What is your normal water change schedule. Do you use tap water or RO.
My first thought though - especially if you don't see an increase in nitrites - is that the test kit is bad. Have you been testing your water all along and everything has been fine? Do you use some of the products mentioned (eg Amquel, ammo-lock?) some will give false reactions with certain test kits and will result in high - but somewhat "false"- ammonia readings that may not go down.
You have a lot of fish in there, all considering, at least with adding the naso. But, IMO, that is not the issue at this time.
#2: It is OK to rinse the bioballs in salt water with dechlorinator, of course. But if they don't look like they've got a bunch of waste in it, it is not the issue.
#3: I can't really imagine why your LR would die. I don't think this is really possible...and with a wet dry it wouldn't really matter...but it wouldn't die.
#4: What recent changes have you done - new livestock, different feeding??
Any sign of behavioral changes in the fish? What is your normal water change schedule. Do you use tap water or RO.
My first thought though - especially if you don't see an increase in nitrites - is that the test kit is bad. Have you been testing your water all along and everything has been fine? Do you use some of the products mentioned (eg Amquel, ammo-lock?) some will give false reactions with certain test kits and will result in high - but somewhat "false"- ammonia readings that may not go down.
You have a lot of fish in there, all considering, at least with adding the naso. But, IMO, that is not the issue at this time.
gootz
Member
Abou the test kits. They are not bad. All my readings are perfectly normal except for ammonia so of course after the water changes i made i thought it was possibly the test kit. However i was proven wrong when my friend tested his water with the same kit and his readings were fine.
I do a 25% water change monthly and since the ammonia problem i probaly took out somewhere around 50% of the water in the tank(not in one change)
I did not recently add fish. Right now i got the eel in there. I lost the naso but he was a mistake to buy anyway, he just wasn't meant for my tank but thats another story.
Actually that you mentioned it my clown trigger, possible known as a highly bold and aggressive trigger is very mild. Since I got him he wouldn't bother anything. He never nipped or attacked any one of my fish even when i had a damsel in there. Even though he is currently in one of my friends tanks and doing fine when the ammonia problem started he became very inactive. His respiration was perfectly normal and he was eating fine but he would rest with his horn locked up in my live rock.
I do a 25% water change monthly and since the ammonia problem i probaly took out somewhere around 50% of the water in the tank(not in one change)
I did not recently add fish. Right now i got the eel in there. I lost the naso but he was a mistake to buy anyway, he just wasn't meant for my tank but thats another story.
Actually that you mentioned it my clown trigger, possible known as a highly bold and aggressive trigger is very mild. Since I got him he wouldn't bother anything. He never nipped or attacked any one of my fish even when i had a damsel in there. Even though he is currently in one of my friends tanks and doing fine when the ammonia problem started he became very inactive. His respiration was perfectly normal and he was eating fine but he would rest with his horn locked up in my live rock.
ophiura
Active Member
This is wacky. So no nitrite and no nitrates (well, not NO nitrates I assume but a reasonable amount and no sudden increase)?
PH, alk, salinity are all good?
Hmmm, definitely would give the appearance...since nothing is dead and wedged somewhere....that the tank is recycling. But I do wonder why without something obvious (big increase in bioload, something..)
When was your most recent "good" testing...and how often do you test?
Can you think of anything you did or noticed in the days leading up to the ammonia spike - water change, any cloudiness, temp spike or drop?
Do you use tap water and if so have you tested it for ammonia? What sort of dechlorinator do you use?
PH, alk, salinity are all good?
Hmmm, definitely would give the appearance...since nothing is dead and wedged somewhere....that the tank is recycling. But I do wonder why without something obvious (big increase in bioload, something..)
When was your most recent "good" testing...and how often do you test?
Can you think of anything you did or noticed in the days leading up to the ammonia spike - water change, any cloudiness, temp spike or drop?
Do you use tap water and if so have you tested it for ammonia? What sort of dechlorinator do you use?
gootz
Member
ph,alk,salinity are all fine. Did really 2 fish (my clown trigger and my mexican dragon) max out my bioload. I just can't come to sense how they could do that
The last good testing I had was a month or a little more. since then the ammonia went crazy.
i can't think of nothing that I did to spark it or in the coming days before it.
I do use tap water and i am going to invest in an RO system. I was advised by my uncle to leave the water in about a 10-20 gallon bucket with the salinty already around normal. Then I use a basic pump to keep it airrated. I do this for a couple days to a week.
The last good testing I had was a month or a little more. since then the ammonia went crazy.
i can't think of nothing that I did to spark it or in the coming days before it.
I do use tap water and i am going to invest in an RO system. I was advised by my uncle to leave the water in about a 10-20 gallon bucket with the salinty already around normal. Then I use a basic pump to keep it airrated. I do this for a couple days to a week.
ophiura
Active Member
No, I really don't think it did max it out. It is close with those big messy eaters, but it doesn't seem right, I agree with you...wet dry filters can handle a lot of ammonia all considering. What I am not getting is why it appears to be "stuck" with ammonia and not progressing. This is when we look at things like pH or something to see if it "tanked" low enough to potentially impact the bacteria...but that is not all that typical, IMO, it tanks that get water changes pretty regularly. Definitely good at this time to go with one of the bacterial additives...I think people like bio-spira most of all (and compared to some of the "on the shelf" types it may very well be better).
Make sure you don't have a "sink" in there for food and waste where it may become trapped. Do your bioballs seem to have any accumulation of debris? I still think that would be pretty obvious if it was an issue...still tends to be more of a nitrate one than an ammonia one.
Make sure you don't have a "sink" in there for food and waste where it may become trapped. Do your bioballs seem to have any accumulation of debris? I still think that would be pretty obvious if it was an issue...still tends to be more of a nitrate one than an ammonia one.
ophiura
Active Member
No medication....
As for "sink" no, I mean a place in the tank (under rocks?) where excess food and waste is accumulating and rotting.
You can use any of the Cycle type products...Bio-spira I think is also a popular one. Just an extra boost of bacteria to see if there is just something "stuck" biologically.
As for "sink" no, I mean a place in the tank (under rocks?) where excess food and waste is accumulating and rotting.
You can use any of the Cycle type products...Bio-spira I think is also a popular one. Just an extra boost of bacteria to see if there is just something "stuck" biologically.
rubberduck
Active Member
what do u feed the moray? and how often do u check the tank
