Quarantine ammonia levels

superslinky911

superslinky911

New member
Hello guys, I have recently had a QT set up for my a couple of my fishs (clown goby, cleaner wrasse, midas blenny, 2 clowns fish) that has been running for about 2 weeks now in a 10 gal. My ammonia levels on my ammonia alert are in the alert color (0.05) and I have been attempting to get it to zero with no luck. I have a hang over filter, heater, and a tunze running the system. I have been using ammo lock which throws my ammonia test kit readings off and water changes about 50-80% but it doesnt seem to budge. After every water change the water gets slightly clowdy and the ammonia doesnt go higher or lower. The fish are breathing correctly and dont seemed stressed at all but that ammonia alert gauge has me flippen. Any suggestions would be much appreciated google isnt helping me on this one haha, I dont know if im not doing enough of the waterchanges or what but ive been doing them about every 2-3 days. Thank you much in advanced! :tinfoil3:
 
superslinky911 said:
Hello guys, I have recently had a QT set up for my a couple of my fishs (clown goby, cleaner wrasse, midas blenny, 2 clowns fish) that has been running for about 2 weeks now in a 10 gal. My ammonia levels on my ammonia alert are in the alert color (0.05) and I have been attempting to get it to zero with no luck. I have a hang over filter, heater, and a tunze running the system. I have been using ammo lock which throws my ammonia test kit readings off and water changes about 50-80% but it doesnt seem to budge. After every water change the water gets slightly clowdy and the ammonia doesnt go higher or lower. The fish are breathing correctly and dont seemed stressed at all but that ammonia alert gauge has me flippen. Any suggestions would be much appreciated google isnt helping me on this one haha, I dont know if im not doing enough of the waterchanges or what but ive been doing them about every 2-3 days. Thank you much in advanced! :tinfoil3:
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1. Did u cycle the qt?
2. If not did u put in established rock/sponge/filter from a cycled tank?
3. It's possible ur to over stocked for that 10g and ur filtration just cant keep up.

Without getting ur ammonia down to zero ur slowly killing ur fish. What are u using to test ammonia levels?
 
Im using the api ammonia test kit but from what i understand the ammo lock converts it to a different type of ammonia that isnt harmful but is picked up on the test kit so i get false readings. I have been going off of my ammonia alert to see amount of threating ammonia. I couldnt use rock or a bio filtration system cause the copper kills all the bacteria i would be trying to grow.
 
superslinky911 said:
Im using the api ammonia test kit but from what i understand the ammo lock converts it to a different type of ammonia that isnt harmful but is picked up on the test kit so i get false readings. I have been going off of my ammonia alert to see amount of threating ammonia. I couldnt use rock or a bio filtration system cause the copper kills all the bacteria i would be trying to grow.
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Thats false. I keep a sponge in my DT at all times so i can just toss it into my 20g qt and get an instant cycle. I treat all new fish in copper for a month before they go into my DT. Copper doesn't kill the bacteria. Sounds like ur going through a cycle now and unless u get something from an established tank there is a good chance u may loose all ur fish. And stop using ammo lock lol. If ur close to me come get the sponge out of my sump and throw it into ur tank. It's one of the few options u have to prevent the fish from dieing.
 
First I almost lost 2 clowns in QT because the ammonia alert badges didn't read anything when my levels were toxic, you on the other hand sound like you are having the opposite problem. You will notice heavy breathing as the first sign that you are at toxic levels of ammonia. Trust your test kit over those badges and take a sample to your LFS to have the double check and make sure your tests kits are good. I used Prime to prevent toxic levels of ammonia while I did my tank transfer method for 14 days and then I used an established piece of LR or sponge for filtration after that in my QT. If you are feeding heavily you are going to have a hard time with ammonia. If all your fish are already eating (for some fish QT is all about getting them to eat and for others it is make sure they aren't carrying something nasty) then try feeding a little less. With those 5 fish I would feed maybe 1/2 a cube a day and a few pellets if they eat them. My only other thought on ammonia levels is with your water changes, how long does your saltwater sit after mixing? I believe freshly made saltwater is known to have elevated levels of ammonia, that is why they recommend to let it sit for 24 hrs (no clue if this is true or not, but I have read it a few places). GL as long as your fish are breathing and acting normally you haven't hit toxic levels of ammonia yet.
 
Joe5688 said:
Thats false. I keep a sponge in my DT at all times so i can just toss it into my 20g qt and get an instant cycle. I treat all new fish in copper for a month before they go into my DT. Copper doesn't kill the bacteria. Sounds like ur going through a cycle now and unless u get something from an established tank there is a good chance u may loose all ur fish. And stop using ammo lock lol. If ur close to me come get the sponge out of my sump and throw it into ur tank. It's one of the few options u have to prevent the fish from dieing.
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Certain fish do not do well in copper, just make sure you know which ones. I believe all of the ones you have in QT should do fine, besides perhaps the cleaning wrasse, which has dismal survival rates already. I relied heavily on Prime without any losses linked to that, but a sponge is much preferred.
 
Prime and i use copper power not regular copper. Treated eels puffers u name it no ill effects even had a crab in tank that didnt die. But all the fish were clean in three days most were good in 2 days
 
DEEEERRR ok I got ya I feel like a turd lol, I was under the impression you couldnt have the bacteria. Well im on the way to come get that rock and slam dunk it in her.
So once its in there stop using ammo lock and just do normal water changes? Thanks for the feed back dudes much needed.
 
Yes after u put the rock in i would do a major water change and then a small change every day after until your levels are normal.
 
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