High Ammonia above 8

tigger2929

stress coat

never thought of that... going to do that now...

Loman

Tommy may be onto something here. Ammo-block converts ammonia into ammonium, I am sure. We can debate when ammonium becomes a problem but it is certainly less toxic than ammonia. I do not think it will be compeltely non-toxic but that is really irrelevant. I do know that some kits pick up ammonium the same as ammonia - so it could possibly be a false reading. I would read all the material with the kit and do some other research to try and figure out if it detects ammonium

tigger2929

Sorry to break the news, I did the control test and it came back with a 0 reading for the tap water and stress coat.
The kit I have for ammonia is from API

orb4me

Maybe do a water change, then test for ammonia a few minutes later. It will go down then, if only for a little bit. Check again in an hour or so and see what results you get. If its climbing, IMVHO, its the ammonia loc product.

Did you keep a log when you started cycling the tank or do you remember the nitrite levels?

What are the rest of the water test results?

The help you are getting from the mods is coming from very experienced people. I dont know ammonium from ammonia etc, but with ammonia that high, it will never let your tank cycle correctly. You will be adding chemicals to your tank as long as you have the tank. Did you read the article on cycling with fish? Its very informative.

Something is so very wrong here

tigger2929

I just did a 90% water change and tried a different water conditioner (tetra). The ammonia is in the 6 range now. The nitrate and nitrite have remained at 0 the entire time, so the tank hasn't cycled. I am just really confused at this point and concerned for the little fellas in there.
I did notice when I was doing the water change that there is now a clear slime on everything if that makes a difference (on the glass and decorations).

jimcalpin

wow, a 90% water change, probably not a good idea. but i understand your frustration with the ammonia levels but i think your geting false readings, IMHO you're puting too many chemicals in the water and your not letting nature take its course

tigger2929

I tried to let nature take it course for over the past 4 weeks and the ammonia levels haven't changed at all always reading 8.. I have to do something here, the little fellas are counting on me to provide a happy healthy home for them.
Do you think using some type of bottled water would help at this point???

orb4me

Tigger, your nitrate levels could not possibly have remained at 0, is your test kit too old? Are you using strips? maybe they got damp.

ut oh on the clear slime stuff. It does not sound good. If you wipe some of it up with a piece of cloth, is there a color?

Tigger, Ive made all the suggestions I can think of, Im so sorry I cant help you.

Maybe its a classic medieval fish tank disease that no one has heard of in hundreds of years.

Loman

Orb I understand your comment and would certainly suggest a second validation test at the LFS or a friends chemicals. I do want to stay short of saying it is an absolute that there are nitrites, I absolutely agree with Jim that there are too many chemicals being poured into the tank. With the brew that happens it is impossible to really predict what is or will happen. I have two very different thoughts regarding what is going on.

Thought 1 is basically what Jim said about too many chemicals and a false reading. It is possible that the tank has cycled and you are getting bad readings. An ammonia level of 8 would certainly show signs on the fish if not kill them outright. If this is the case you still need to sort it out because you will not be abe to tell when a real problem starts.

Thought 2 is different in that the combination of chemicals did neutralize the ammonia enough to not be lethal to the fish. At the same time if you never see ammonia in the tank the bacteria that convert it to nitrites will not develop (hence my comment to orb that maybe there are none). This is also a bad really very bad condition because you become essentially addicted to the chemicals to neutralize the ammonia which are really unneeded once a tank properly cycles.

The challenge is to figure out which one or if there is a separate option

tigger2929

The test kits are new (and not strips), got them when I set the tank up. After the water change today the ammonia is between .5 and 1. I am only using the ammonia block to protect the little guys. The only other thing I add is water conditioner when there is a water change.