Ammonia problem?/FritzZyme question

[angelminx]

Over the last week my 10G tank has been getting high ammonia readings.  They have been ranging back and forth between 0.5 and 1 ppm (nitrites have remained at zero, and nitrates at 8; the other readings have ranged between pH:  7.4 -7.6, KH: 3.5 - 5 degrees, and GH: going from 15, down to a steady 8 after the series of water changes).  I have an Ammonia Alert, but can't find where I wrote down the date I put it into the tank (I was thinking it was in August or October) so I ordered another one.  I just received it and a bottle of FritzZyme this afternoon. 

I have been doing daily 2-gallon water changes because of both the ammonia and the fact that I am continuing with ParaGuard treatments for Ich (which I think is gone, but never found any signs of it on the banjo catfish--the only fish that are left in the tank--so I don't know; I was planning on continuing treatment thru the end of the month--treatment started near the end of June). Half an hour or so after placing the Ammonia Alert in the tank, it showed a reading in the yellow zone, but I went ahead and put 1/4 cup (instead of 1/2 cup) of FritzZyme into the tank any way.  5 hours later I took an ammonia reading (with API's liquid ammonia test) and the reading was down to 0.5 ppm from 0.75 before today's water change.  4 days ago I also added ~ 1/4 cup of Ammo Chips to the filter, but haven't noticed any difference from that either.  I've had the (unused, but exposed to air because it's been open) Ammo Chips for years, but didn't think they "expired".  I've never had persistent ammonia readings like this before, and as I've said, the nitrite has not budged.  Since the Ammonia Alert says safe, I am assuming it is, but am wondering if the is something wrong/going on that I should be worried about.

The other thing I have the question about is the FritzZyme:  when it arrived the bottle was warm (after I used it I put it in the refrigerator), should the bacteria still be viable (temps around here have been in the 90s)?

Thanks

Angelinx

[angelminx]

Something I forgot to mention: I add Prime to the new water I add with every change, just to be on the safe side. This month's tap water reading (after 24 hours): just over 0 ppm for ammonia and 1 ppm for nitrite, while the water in the holding tub tested 0 for both. I keep the tub topped-off when I do my (current) 2-gallon changes for the 10G, and if I use very much for tank water (evaporation)top-offs, otherwise, I replace all the water used for water changes (after the changes are complete) with water straight from the tap. I don't add anything to this water (other than using a heater, and Discard-A-Stone attached to an air pump) since it usually sits for days without being touched. I used to add Prime at the time I would refill it, but decided that would be a waste, so just add the Prime to the water being used for replacement. The city uses chloramine, although at times you can really smell chlorine when you turn on the tap, so I can't figure out why I would get reading of 0 ppm ammonia/nitrite after it sits for a few days (when readings for both can read up to 1 ppm--occasionally more--when it comes "straight" from the tap).

[Carl]

All you noted are not unexpected from my experience.

To have .5 - 1 ppm ammonia while nitrites are near 0 indicates a healthy and functioning nitrogen cycle.
While generally .25- .5 would be more the norm, your higher ammonia (but still not dangerous) while nitrites stay at near zero likely indicates a considerable amount of bio activity. This activity could be due to the treatments, water changes, fish load and feeding, or all of the above.

As for your tap water readings going to zero after two days of sitting in a container with aeration but no Prime added until ready to add to the aquarium, this likely indicates the city is either use a weak amount of chloramines or more likely just chlorine.

Further Reference/Reading:
www.aquarium-pond-answers.com/2007/01/what-should-i-know-about-tap-water-for.html

Carl

[angelminx]

What about the FritzZyme, should it still be active since the bottle was warm when I received it?

[Carl]

Jul 19, 2015 13:07:30 GMT -5 angelminx said:

What about the FritzZyme, should it still be active since the bottle was warm when I received it?

From my experience of the non concentrated forms of Fritz-Zyme (which your bottle is), the answer would be yes.

Carl

[angelminx]

As an update for the ammonia situation I am going thru, for the past few days, my ammonia levels have jumped to 4ppm (with the "a-few-weeks-old" liquid reagent API Ammonia Test Kit; also a new Ammonia Alert, which is "light" blue), and the nitrites have stayed at either 0, or Just over 0 (only a hint of difference from the blue of 0 ppm) the whole time this has been going on.  The snails (haven't seen the ghost shrimp for a while) and Banjo Catfish seem to be doing okay, but I am still worried for them. 

While I was on the phone for the last couple of hours, my shipment from AAP arrived (so haven't done anything with it yet), so I now have a new bottle of Stability (the "old" bottles of both it and FritzZyme have been empty since Sunday and Monday, so I have just been adding Prime and StressGuard to the tank).  I also ordered more Purigen and some Algone.  I will add the Satbility and Algone after I log off.  Tomorrow I am going to do water changes on both of my tanks, and will add the Purigen then.

Any advice?

[devonjohnsgard]

No change to bio-load? Decaying plants somewhere?

Why would your filter lose it's cycle? What filter again and how it's cleaned?

The stability should do the trick. If you have a week filter, you may have to add it adder water changes. You should have a better filter than that though.

[angelminx]

The only bio-load change was (after the fish loss--and removal--from Ich) the loss of one nerite snail (the one that kept getting into the HOB recently) and the disappearance within the last week or so of my Ghost Shrimp (I had 2), and the fact that I removed the gravel afterwards.  I keep an eye on the few plants that are in there and remove the dead floating pieces, and trim them, as necessary, with each (weekly) water change.  I just finished treatment with MWS, which followed the treatment with ParaGuard.   {I posted info about what was going on in the thread "Ich-Yuk!" on the board "Fish Illness Help".} 

The filters are a Whisper HOB (rated for 10G) with a pre-filter from Carl, and the Hydro-Sponge Filter 2.  I rinse them in used aquarium water when I do water changes.  In the HOB's cartridge compartment I have a filter bag with Matrix, the filter insert "blank" (ie: I have been running it without carbon inside the insert because of the medication process I had been going thru--I will be putting in a new insert with carbon in the next day or 2), and the Algone packet I just added last night.  I did a 2-gallon water change today, and emptied the HOB, wiping out any gunk that might have been sticking to its walls (I only do that once in a while) and cleaning out the impeller well (which I do anytime I remove the intake tube to clean it).  I test parameters before each water change (and test again the next day), and today the Ammonia was (still) 4ppm, Nitrite was 0 (yesterday it had been just over 0), and Nitrite is 5ppm (the same as my source water).  I add Prime to the new water with each bucket.  After I was done working on the tank today I also added 2 more ml Prime, 1 capfull of Stability, and 2 caps of StressGuard directly to the tank.  I also made a couple of changes today:  I trimmed (and weighted) the plants (4 water wisteria, 4 Crypt Wendti, the 2 Anubias afzelli, I didn't do anything to the Java Fern, and left part of one stem of the wisteria (it had multiple tiny new shoots starting to show) floating on the surface; the other thing I did was to add ~ 1" or so of (rinsed, no bacteria packet) CaribSea's Torpedo Beach sand--I removed the sandbox (with its 1/2" layer of the fine black sand).

Tomorrow (and for the next 7 days) I will be adding 1/2 cap of Stability (as per directions on the bottle), unless you think I should add more (given my situation). Should I continue with the StressGuard, as well as the Prime?

Here is the most recent pic I have of the tank (pre-Ich):
 

[angelminx]

I tried to add a tag after the photo, but every time I did, the picture disappeared. I've never had that happen before. Anyway, what I was going to say, is that I have a couple of new pics of the tank (I only just got a replacement camera,--that I am still figuring out) that I hope to eventually post. They show the tank without the gravel, and I took one today after I put the new substrate in (and re-did the plants.

[devonjohnsgard]

Your tank is going through a new cycle for sure. Just keep dosing Stability per the instructions. Use Prime during water changes per the instructions.

I'm not sure what happened to the cycle other that it was lost from the medication maybe? The sponge sounds like it would be the only filter right now and will seed up pretty quick with the stability. That matrix will take like 2 months to be seeded if there's no issues.

Dont think it was the addition of any bio-load.

[angelminx]

I just tested water parameters a little while ago, and Nitrites have finally jumped up to 0.125 ppm, and ammonia is ~ 3 ppm; the Ammonia Alert has gone down so that it now "matches" the green color instead of the light-to-darker blue !  Let's just hope it continues.

BTW:  I prefer the darker colored substrates (and I know most fish do, too), but the Torpedo Beach sand looks great!  The Banjos seem to like it as well .

[devonjohnsgard]

Glad to read it.

[angelminx]

?  Saturday (8/15) the test results were again/still ~ 3ppm ammonia, and 0.125ppm nitrite..."today" (Sunday) the ammonia was still ~ 3ppm, but nitrites had dropped back to just over 0ppm {for the last few days nitrAtes have been ~ 6ppm}.  I have been adding 1/2 cap each Stability and Prime, and one cap StressGuard to the 10G each day since the initial 1 cap of Stability.

Later Monday (I usually don't consider it a new day until I've gone to bed and woken up again), after I get back from the doctor's with my Mom, I will take full tests on both tanks (except GH--to preserve my reagent ).  I am going to replace my UV bulb (I only have one unit--on the 55G; I was going to do it Friday, but my "arm-strength" for removing the hoses had to reschedule), so I will be removing some tank water from that tank for cleaning the XP2's "insides" and the pre-filter on the Rio (which is the beginning of the UV system--since my XP2's motor died).  I always test beforehand (for H2O changes, or "major" H2O replacement) so I can make any changes to the tank's water if necessary.

I'll let you know if there is anything of note with the 10G's ammonia saga....

Angelminx

[devonjohnsgard]

Should take a week-two to cycle. That's what are experiment showed.

www.brokenaquarium.com/2015/02/25/experiment-1-cycle-aids-fritz-vs-seachem/

[angelminx]

....and the saga continues....

I just got home (and performed the daily Am/Nitrite test).  On our way home my Mom's car got a flat  , and we had to wait nearly an hour for the tow truck to arrive (was it ever hot ), then had to go to their garage.... So the UV work had to be rescheduled for (?)Thursday.

Today's readings: Nitrate:  5ppm, Ammonia:  4 ppm, Nitrite: 0.125 ppm.

[angelminx]

I looked at the Broken Aquarium experiment back when it came out, I'll have to look at it again, now, with an eye to what's going on for me...Thanks, Dev !

[devonjohnsgard]

Aug 17, 2015 16:34:54 GMT -5 angelminx said:

....and the saga continues....

I just got home (and performed the daily Am/Nitrite test).  On our way home my Mom's car got a flat  , and we had to wait nearly an hour for the tow truck to arrive (was it ever hot ), then had to go to their garage.... So the UV work had to be rescheduled for (?)Thursday.

Today's readings: Nitrate:  5ppm, Ammonia:  4 ppm, Nitrite: 0.125 ppm.

Need a dislike button :/

Sorry for the trouble. Still cycling.

[angelminx]

!!!

It's "done"!   I'll take one more set of tests tomorrow, then back to the regular testing schedule of the day of, and the day after a water change.

Daily test results (starting July 11th--I hadn't tested for a couple days prior to this--both had been 0 ppm the last time I tested) for Ammonia and Nitrite (Nitrate would range between 5 and 10ppm) are:

Ammonia/Nitrite: 
1/0 
1.5/0  (later in the day, after a 2-gallon--unless stated otherwise--H2O change:  0.75/0)
0.75/0  (0.5/0)
0.75/0  (0.5/just over 0)
1/0
1/0  (H2O change was yesterday)
0.75/0  (")
0.75/0  (later in the day, after today's H2O change:  0.5/didn't test)
1/0 (no H20 change)
1/0 (1/0 after change; also, got new Am Alert last night: it showed "green")
1/0
[7/22:  out of town]
1.5/jo 0
0.75/jo 0 (3-gallon H2O change yesterday)
0.75/jo 0
[7/26 - 7/28:  out of town]
1.5/0
jo 1/jo 0 (3-gallon change yesterday)
---{don't remember why I didn't test 7/31 - 8/5; I forgot to record it, but somewhere within the next few days the Am Alert was "halfway" between the 2 blues, and going up to the darker shade for a while--however, the Banjos never seemed to show any adverse affects that I saw}---
4/jo 0
2/0 (after 4-gallon H2) change yesterday)
3/0
[8/9 and 8/10 I was unable to do tests]
4/jo 0
4/jo 0
4/0
3/0.125 (2-gallon change yesterday, 8/13--no more H2O changes till regular ones the 19th and 27th; Am Alert blue, but much closer to green in color)
3/0.125
3/0\jo 0  (Am Alert now more green than blue)
4/0.125
4/0
4/0.125
2/above 0.125 (H2O change yesterday, 8/19)
2/jo 0.125
2/0.375
3/0.75
2/1  (Am Alert: green)
1.75/1.25  (Am Alert: green w/ a little bit of yellow)
1/3  (Am Alert: yellow/green)
0.375/2  (Am Alert: yellow w/ a bit of green)
today, 8/28:
0/jo 0 (did weekly 2-gallon H2O change yesterday; Am Alert: "yellow")

 






 

[angelminx]

Update:

For the following days the Nitrite went back up to 0.125 ppm, yesterday it was a little under this (I still have to get today's readings) and Ammonia was just over 0 ppm...Nitrates had gone up to 10 ppm, but have gone down 1 ppm at a time after that reading...yesterday it was 8 ppm.

[Edit:  today's readings are just over 0 ppm Nitrite, 0 ppm Ammonia, and 9 ppm Nitrate]

[2nd Edit:  I just noticed that the number I had listed for Nitrates was 1...it should have been 10]

[Carl]

Sept 2, 2015 12:45:06 GMT -5 angelminx said:

Update:

For the following days the Nitrite went back up to 0.125 ppm, yesterday it was a little under this (I still have to get today's readings) and Ammonia was just over 0 ppm...Nitrates had gone up to 10 ppm, but have gone down 1 ppm at a time after that reading...yesterday it was 8 ppm.

[Edit:  today's readings are just over 0 ppm Nitrite, 0 ppm Ammonia, and 9 ppm Nitrate]

These are excellent numbers!

Carl