Water Condition & Ammonia Cleaner

rsteph · 01-21-2008, 03:20 PM

I've got a relatively new tank, roughly 16 gallons of water and 16 lbs. live rock, with only 1 fish right now (a clownfish) in a 20 gallon tank. I added the fish about a week ago; I know that the chemical levels will spike some, but I've been noticing a spike in the ammonia level over the last 3-4 days. It's at roughly .125 ppm right now, and (presumably) still on the rise. I bought some Ammonia Clear tablets in case the level gets too high.

I was curious if these Ammonia removing tablets are safe for fish, or not? I'm assuming they are, but I thought I'd double check. Also I was curious if it would potentially mess with the cycle of my tank? I've had the live rock in the tank for about 2.5 weeks now, and the fish in the tank for almost a week.

Any advice would be greatly apprecaited. Thank you.

gm333 · 01-21-2008, 05:00 PM

I am not sure as to whether that product will harm fish or not. I would keep doing the waterchanges till the ammonia level and nitrite level is safe for the fish. This is why most people choose to do a fishless cycle, it is less stressful on the fish, especially saltwater fish. Read over this article to get a better understanding of how the cycling process works. http://www.fishtankforums.com/fishtank/saltcycle

Nereaga · 01-21-2008, 05:02 PM

Hello Steph,

Instead of adding in chemical to your tank, I refrain from doing that as much as possible. If the Ammonia level gets up too high as in maybe like 1.0, I would just do a 20% water change to dilute the situation. You might find you have to do this until the bacteria in your tank can catch up with your bio-load.

Keep an eye on the ammonia readings....

Brad

Gary, you beat me to the punch!

rsteph · 01-21-2008, 05:27 PM

I'll keep an eye on things and see what happens. So far everything seems to be staying within the safe range. I'm trying to avoid water changes right now since I'm just starting the tank and getting it through the initial cycle. I was told by one of the people at a fish store in town that I shouldn't do a water change for the first 30 days of a new tank, because it'll mess up the natural initial cycle of the tank. I'm not sure if that's exactly right or not, but since this is my first try at a saltwater tank, a lot of what I'm doing is based off of the majority opinions I'm getting; and some of my own thoughts on things.

Thank you both for the info.

Nereaga · 01-21-2008, 06:01 PM

Steph,

In THEORY you should NOT perform water changes until the Nitrogen Cycle has completed. That is also going the fishless cycle way. In order to keep your fish alive, you will have to do water changes if these levels get too high.

By doing water changes you will prolong your cycle. But since you already have livestock in the tank, its best to do water changes in the event of a water parameter crisis...lol

Your tank may never rise over 1 ppm, if so, I would not do any water changes, instead just ride the cycle out with your fish.

I agree with your local fish store clerk, he is giving you good advice...

Brad