triskel1 Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 I have a 24G JBJ with 20+ lbs of LR and the same in LS. The tank has been running since the end of December. All my Parameters have been good except the Nitrates. they were high according to my tests. I have the Kardon Powder Reagents and they were indicating high nitrates and everything else was at 0... I brought a sample of water to my LFS and they said that my nitrates were 0 but i had a slight amount of ammonia. I bought a different test with drops and the readings match the LFS. I have 5.0 of nitrates and .25 of ammonia... I currently have a clean up crew in the tank with a damsel, two small gobies and a firefish. Is my ammonia up b/c of a too high bio-load. Is that too many fish? How can i fix this? Would a water change fix the ammonia at all? Or does the bacteria have to build up again? I'm new to this so i want to be sure. I don;t want to be irresponible and have anything dieing on me. By the way all the fish and cleaning crew including a cleaner shrimp seem to be thriving in the tank!!! Nothing seems stressed.... Adding inverts put stress on the bio-load? can anyone confirm that or enlighten me on that? Link to comment
Mr. Fosi Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 What brand test kit says you have ammonia? Link to comment
Sea_Of_Treachery Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 your not over your bioload, 4 fish is about the max. id do a big water change, that should help, how often are you doing w/c's? adding inverts can take up some space, not much but they do, i mean they do produce waste Link to comment
triskel1 Posted February 7, 2006 Author Share Posted February 7, 2006 What brand test kit says you have ammonia? [/quot Kardon and API show that i have ammonia Link to comment
triskel1 Posted February 7, 2006 Author Share Posted February 7, 2006 your not over your bioload, 4 fish is about the max. id do a big water change, that should help, how often are you doing w/c's? adding inverts can take up some space, not much but they do, i mean they do produce waste I do about 5 gallons everyweek and since i had a problem with Nitrates i bought the premixed nutri-seawater from the LFS and i have done about 6 gallons using that water hopefully that will lower my nitrates and Ammonia..... I have checked under my LR and have nothing dead there, every water change i clean the gravel.... How long after a water change should i wait to test the water? I appreciate you getting back to me!! Link to comment
Mr. Fosi Posted February 8, 2006 Share Posted February 8, 2006 Kardon and API show that i have ammonia Origionally, you said that only one test kit was showing NH3... If only one is still showing NH3, it makes me think that the testing kit is funky or just REALLy sensitive. I do about 5 gallons everyweek and since i had a problem with Nitrates i bought the premixed nutri-seawater from the LFS and i have done about 6 gallons using that water hopefully... That's kind'a weird then. I agree that you are not over your bioload especially if nothing is stressed... I wouldn't worry about it, but I would keep up the regular routine and just make sure that everyone in the tank looks like they are ok. If you really do have NH3 in the tank, it'll come down in a week or so, once the bacteria population catches up. After that, you might see an NO2 spike followed my an NO3 spike. Keep watch and steady on. Link to comment
triskel1 Posted February 8, 2006 Author Share Posted February 8, 2006 Origionally, you said that only one test kit was showing NH3... If only one is still showing NH3, it makes me think that the testing kit is funky or just REALLy sensitive.That's kind'a weird then. I agree that you are not over your bioload especially if nothing is stressed... I wouldn't worry about it, but I would keep up the regular routine and just make sure that everyone in the tank looks like they are ok. If you really do have NH3 in the tank, it'll come down in a week or so, once the bacteria population catches up. After that, you might see an NO2 spike followed my an NO3 spike. Keep watch and steady on. I hope that it will all check itself out..... I was wondering if i wanted to add another large peice of live rock will it cause anything to spike if it was properly cured? Will adding a refugium in one of the back compartments of my jbj be beneficial when dealing with ammonia and nitrates? Link to comment
Mr. Fosi Posted February 8, 2006 Share Posted February 8, 2006 I was wondering if i wanted to add another large peice of live rock will it cause anything to spike if it was properly cured? Nope. You should be good to go. Will adding a refugium in one of the back compartments of my jbj be beneficial when dealing with ammonia and nitrates? I would think so. It would also be cheaper than using chemical media like purigen or carbon, in the long run. Link to comment
triskel1 Posted February 8, 2006 Author Share Posted February 8, 2006 Nope. You should be good to go.I would think so. It would also be cheaper than using chemical media like purigen or carbon, in the long run. thanks and what water test kit do u recommend Link to comment
Mr. Fosi Posted February 8, 2006 Share Posted February 8, 2006 and what water test kit do u recommend That's a hard one. I have found that they all have pros & cons. I have always gone with the inexpensive ones (such as Aquarium Pharmaceuticals' SW Master Test Kit) and I have never had a problem. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.