Medkow74 Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 So I have a bare bottom quarantine/hospital tank just like I'm sure many of you all. It's a 20 gallon long that currently is housing 10 baby and I mean baby longfin super red bushy nose plecos and 10 or so also very small blue eye forktail rainbow fry. I have a small HOB on the back which I just added thinking it would help my issue and a co-op sponge filter, I believe large size. This is not a new setup. It has been going for at least six months. Okay with that out of the way to my issue. I can not seem to keep the ammonia out. I use the seachem dot test and with in two to three days after a water change it moves from safe to alert. So I then add some ACCR and with in the tests reaction time it goes back to safe. I know this isn't really that high of an amount of ammonia but I just don't understand why this is the only tank out of three that I have this issue. My parameters are KH 2 GH 11 Ammonia (according to API liquid test kit) anywhere from 0 to .25 ppm, Nitites 0ppm, Nitrates 5ppm, and PH 6.6 or 6.8. Thank you in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KBOzzie59 Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 Anyone cleaning the glass with an ammonia based spray cleaner? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medkow74 Posted March 21, 2021 Author Share Posted March 21, 2021 Nope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhitecloudDynasty Posted March 22, 2021 Share Posted March 22, 2021 First I would check your tap water, if your tap is fine, I would do a heavy water change 80%ish and check the water again a few day later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted March 22, 2021 Share Posted March 22, 2021 So the tank has been up for around 6 months? But, how long have these 20 or so fish been in the tank? Was the tank empty before putting in these fish? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaredL Posted March 22, 2021 Share Posted March 22, 2021 20 hours ago, Medkow74 said: So I have a bare bottom quarantine/hospital tank just like I'm sure many of you all. It's a 20 gallon long that currently is housing 10 baby and I mean baby longfin super red bushy nose plecos and 10 or so also very small blue eye forktail rainbow fry. I have a small HOB on the back which I just added thinking it would help my issue and a co-op sponge filter, I believe large size. This is not a new setup. It has been going for at least six months. Okay with that out of the way to my issue. I can not seem to keep the ammonia out. I use the seachem dot test and with in two to three days after a water change it moves from safe to alert. So I then add some ACCR and with in the tests reaction time it goes back to safe. I know this isn't really that high of an amount of ammonia but I just don't understand why this is the only tank out of three that I have this issue. My parameters are KH 2 GH 11 Ammonia (according to API liquid test kit) anywhere from 0 to .25 ppm, Nitites 0ppm, Nitrates 5ppm, and PH 6.6 or 6.8. Thank you in advance. That API test kit for Ammonia is always hard for me to interpret at the low range. The yellow always seems to have a greenish tint, even if my levels are 0ppm. MY OPINION would be don't do anything drastic at this point and closely monitor your fish and ammonia levels. If the levels do increase or your fish exhibit concerning behavior, water change. Is it possible, without knowing the history of tank inhabitants, that your beneficial bacteria are having to catch up with the sudden increase in bio load? Not an expert, just throwing out suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medkow74 Posted March 22, 2021 Author Share Posted March 22, 2021 7 hours ago, WhitecloudDynasty said: First I would check your tap water, if your tap is fine, I would do a heavy water change 80%ish and check the water again a few day later. Like I said in the original post, the ammonia doesn't start showing till 2-3 days later. I do have some ammonia in my tap which is normal for most people. But an established aquarium would eat that ammount in a day. It's the same water my other tanks get and they are fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medkow74 Posted March 22, 2021 Author Share Posted March 22, 2021 12 minutes ago, JaredL said: That API test kit for Ammonia is always hard for me to interpret at the low range. The yellow always seems to have a greenish tint, even if my levels are 0ppm. MY OPINION would be don't do anything drastic at this point and closely monitor your fish and ammonia levels. If the levels do increase or your fish exhibit concerning behavior, water change. Is it possible, without knowing the history of tank inhabitants, that your beneficial bacteria are having to catch up with the sudden increase in bio load? Not an expert, just throwing out suggestions. No increase in bioload in my opinion. I removed 6 Pseudomugil furcatus and then put one Angelfish in there which is when I found about 14 baby furcatus. I had no problem when the furcatus were in there and then the Angelfish. Come to think of it,, I did use some meds with the Angelfish. I wonder if that is the issue? I've done two decent water changes since then. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medkow74 Posted March 22, 2021 Author Share Posted March 22, 2021 2 hours ago, Brian said: So the tank has been up for around 6 months? But, how long have these 20 or so fish been in the tank? Was the tank empty before putting in these fish? No, there has been something in it the whole time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaredL Posted March 22, 2021 Share Posted March 22, 2021 (edited) 5 minutes ago, Medkow74 said: No, there has been something in it the whole time. Ok, sorry I just didn't understand the level of experience you may have or the whole picture. 6 minutes ago, Medkow74 said: No increase in bioload in my opinion. I removed 6 Pseudomugil furcatus and then put one Angelfish in there which is when I found about 14 baby furcatus. I had no problem when the furcatus were in there and then the Angelfish. Come to think of it,, I did use some meds with the Angelfish. I wonder if that is the issue? I've done two decent water changes since then. The meds could definitely be something to consider. I don't have alot of experience with them, but have read alot about certain things such as antibiotics affecting beneficial bacteria. Is it possible to bring some seeded media from another tank into this one? Edited March 22, 2021 by JaredL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medkow74 Posted March 22, 2021 Author Share Posted March 22, 2021 Yes I could try that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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