Kanaplex crashing cycle OR false ammonia reading?

[jules]

Mr. Fish has an early case of dropsy. 
Using only a bit of epsom salt and kanaplex as directed. 
Have had tank cycled with ZERO issues for a year.
(ie ammonia always has been 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 20 - 40 (only around 40 a few times), PH always 8.2 (high I know but stable) with same values as recent as 3 days ago. Nitrates were a bit higher (30). 
I just did first dose of Kanaplex yesterday. 
I tested the water tonight (as I have been every few days lately due to his initial inactivity) and for the first time ever Ammonia is reading 0.25-0.35 ish.
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 20. 
PH 8.2
All parameters are the same except Ammonia. 
I changed 25% of water a couple of hours prior to yesterday's Kanaplex dose. 

Same filter media in place as has been (sponges - several). No carbon. No UV. 
Temp at 70-72. 
I found a forum online with a fella that had an immediate 1.0 ammonia reading after kanaplex and he emailed seachem. (using API master as well)
He copied their reply several days later stating that lab folks confirmed kanaplex CAN give a false reading for ammonia. 

I'm wondering if it simply killed off my good bacteria or do I trust this may be a false reading. 
So - next dose due tomorrow after a 25% water change, and I'm wondering this:
1. Do I risk another dose or stop? 
2. Can I add some 'safe start' BB or will the meds simply go to work on that vs the issue at hand??
3. And would safe start help fast enough IF ammonia spikes again or higher?
4. Is it possible or has anyone experienced kanaplex giving a false reading? 
5. Is there any thoughts or ways to confirm false reading vs an actual cycle crash?

Also, I am in Canada so access to most of what I'd like to have on hand is slow or impossible. API has an ammo-lock but haven't read reviews or details to know much about how helpful that will be. Plus I dislike adding much more. 
For water treatment, I use API Stress Coat +, but thankfully our well water shows 0 for anything concerning. I compare my tap water to my tank often and not a lot of difference shows. 

Appreciate any ideas or thoughts. I'm on NO sleep (fish watch) so could be missing something super obvious. 



 

[StephenP2003]

On 11/21/2020 at 9:04 PM, jules said:

Mr. Fish has an early case of dropsy. 
Using only a bit of epsom salt and kanaplex as directed. 
Have had tank cycled with ZERO issues for a year.
(ie ammonia always has been 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 20 - 40 (only around 40 a few times), PH always 8.2 (high I know but stable) with same values as recent as 3 days ago. Nitrates were a bit higher (30). 
I just did first dose of Kanaplex yesterday. 
I tested the water tonight (as I have been every few days lately due to his initial inactivity) and for the first time ever Ammonia is reading 0.25-0.35 ish.
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 20. 
PH 8.2
All parameters are the same except Ammonia. 
I changed 25% of water a couple of hours prior to yesterday's Kanaplex dose. 

Same filter media in place as has been (sponges - several). No carbon. No UV. 
Temp at 70-72. 
I found a forum online with a fella that had an immediate 1.0 ammonia reading after kanaplex and he emailed seachem. (using API master as well)
He copied their reply several days later stating that lab folks confirmed kanaplex CAN give a false reading for ammonia. 

I'm wondering if it simply killed off my good bacteria or do I trust this may be a false reading. 
So - next dose due tomorrow after a 25% water change, and I'm wondering this:
1. Do I risk another dose or stop? 
2. Can I add some 'safe start' BB or will the meds simply go to work on that vs the issue at hand??
3. And would safe start help fast enough IF ammonia spikes again or higher?
4. Is it possible or has anyone experienced kanaplex giving a false reading? 
5. Is there any thoughts or ways to confirm false reading vs an actual cycle crash?

Also, I am in Canada so access to most of what I'd like to have on hand is slow or impossible. API has an ammo-lock but haven't read reviews or details to know much about how helpful that will be. Plus I dislike adding much more. 
For water treatment, I use API Stress Coat +, but thankfully our well water shows 0 for anything concerning. I compare my tap water to my tank often and not a lot of difference shows. 

Appreciate any ideas or thoughts. I'm on NO sleep (fish watch) so could be missing something super obvious. 



 

I will say the kanaplex harmed my cycle, and I had nitrites for a few days and small amount of ammonia. I did not add beneficial bacteria during the treatment, I instead used Prime every day to make the ammonia and nitrite less toxic. After the treatment cycle, I did some 50% water changes every other day.

I was advised by my LFS to next time consider feeding the kanaplex to fish -- you can use far less of the product and it is supposedly more effective. You feed it to the fish by mixing it in a 1:1 ratio with Seachem Focus, some fish food, and garlic guard to make it more palatable.  I treated some fish for bacterial infection successfully in my 90-gallon using this method -- I mixed frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp (both thawed) with kanaplex, focus, and some garlic guard. I poured the mixture on wax paper and froze it. I made enough to feed daily for a full week.

[jules]

Thanks Stephen - I actually did an experiment. 
Tested using API Master Kit Ammonia results:
tank water (48 hours after sm water change, treated with Stress Coat +, Epsom, Kanaplex) : 0.25
tap water only ammonia: 0.0
treated (stress coat +) tap water : 0.0
treated (stress coat +) tap water with Epsom AND Kanaplex: 0.25
treated tap water with epsom: 0.0 (actually cloudy white)
treated tap water with Kanaplex: 0.25 

So the only common denominator here seems to be kanaplex (even in tap water). 
I did add a bit of ammo lock to be safe (realizing it won't alter the readings but will protect my guy). 
But ultimately tap water with kanaplex also shows ammonia and my tap water alone shows none, so I'm confident the kanaplex is affecting the reading. 
Ironically the tetra ammonia strips don't pick up ammonia when I compare with master kit (something I do periodically to make sure they do read 'similar' to my master kit for quick checks). 

Nitrites remaining at 0
PH steady at the usual 8.2 
Nitrates a bit lower at 5-10 but I'm doing frequent small changes and also cleaning out ANY debris/food/poo daily. 

Hopefully I'm not missing anything else, and very much appreciate your response. I do plan to keep a close eye just in case it does switch from a 'false reading' to a cycle interruption or ammonia spike.