Ammonia Ammonia Ammonia

[Caro C]

Someone please HELP!!!

I have a 30gln tank
Running a red sea prizm skimmer
405 fluval filter
with poly filters and carbon

I have a torch, a clown, zoas and snails in the tank.
Unfortunitley since the ammonia spike my candy canes have died...

Wednesday my torch and candy canes were looking very unhappy and the clown was breathing rather fast.
Tested the water and Ammonia was at 8.0
(didn't bother to test anything else)
quickly did a 5gln water change

Today Friday everything was looking bad again so tested and Ammonia was back at 8 - ph was 7.8
water change of 5glns

Retested Ammonia still at 8

cleaned out my filters and did another 5 gln change

Retested Ammonia still at 8
ph 7.8
nitrite .25
nitrate 10

Had a hard time beleiving the test was correct so had someone bring their test kit over, retested and SURPRISE same results....

and one last water change - 3glns
THE END

results are still the same!!!!!!

Nothing has died recently
I haven't added anything new lately but the torch about 2 weeks ago but it was doing great...

SOMEONE HELP, PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!! :cry::cry::cry:

[mj1333]

How long has your tank been runing? Could still be cycling. Your ph is kinda low. I would try getting that up to 8.2-8.3. nitrates at 10 does not seem high enough to do any damage. I would try a bigger water change, maybe 15g and change the filter media.

[nahtanoj]

next water change i'd make 10-15g. it'll make a bigger dent in those numbers. i wish i could help more. if you want i can probably swing by tomorrow and look at the system, who knows.
good luck
jon

[mikeyfromsd]

How old is your tank? It appears as if your tank is still cycling. Add bunch of uncured liverock or was your liverock already cured? We need more info in order to fix the problem.

[nahtanoj]

it's 7 months old, if i recall correctly.

[Caro C]

THANKS for all the replies -

Yes, tank is about 6-7 months old
I have never had an ammonia spike and def not for this long

I have not added any live rock or sand everything is the same as 6-7months ago.

I had purchased a torch n candy canes they were in the tank for about 2 weeks before the ammonia sky rocketed :(

they both ended up dying, my clown is still in there struggling.
At the moment the Ammonia is at 4 -
I've continued to make water changes...but ammonia is still up!

hope some of this info helps - helps you help me! lol

[benzeeno]

Is it possible you may be getting rust in your tank? any zip ties w/ metal, light fixture, pumps or filters dripping rust into your tank.

[RussM]

Is it possible you may be getting rust in your tank? any zip ties w/ metal, light fixture, pumps or filters dripping rust into your tank.
Please explain why you think there's a connection between rust and ammonia.

[Fine Fins]

Well Russ everyone knows rust added to H20+3Rust makes=HR4+4ust+02 simple chem. HR4 is just one step to NH4. j/k

I'm wondering if the temp in the tank is/was an issue and that the die off is a result live rock being dead as well. Your surviving animals may be better off in the WC water in a bucket then sitting in that tank.

[fishtankcrazy]

Yeah seriously for starters do a full water change with scripps water, while you are trying to figure out why the ammonia is happening. Those levels are just too unhealthy for anything in the tank.

You got someone in your house pouring in half a bottle of food? Do you have enough live rock to maintain stability in the tank. If you have bio balls, you didn't "clean" them off did you? Oh and you are running a functioning skimmer correct?

In my many years reefin, even in the days I didn't know anything at all (meaning i listened to people at lfs's), I've never had an ammonia spike over .50...

[Caro C]

Hi Again -

Tank is doing A LOT better :)

Continued with the water changes. (Scripps)
Cleaned out filters and replaced carbon.
I took the remaining "surviving" torch out and let fish sit in WC water.
Cleaned the inside of tank as much as possible.
and Amm is back down to 0 :):):):):) x's 1000000
Ph is still a little low but I've continued with the buffer.

I still have Zero idea as to what caused the spike (i just hope it never happens again)

THANKS FOR ALL THE HELP though !!!!!

[fishtankcrazy]

If you are using the normal carbon stuff make sure it doesn't stay in your tank over 30 days max (though I recommend 2 weeks if you have a heavy bioload). All the "toxic waste" it collects will be re-released back into the waters when it "expires."

If you are using something like Chemipure which is a synthetic carbon you can go like 4-6 months max and it won't re-release anything, just stops absorbing....

[benzeeno]

Please explain why you think there's a connection between rust and ammonia.

Rust kills off the beneficial bacteria, which in turn causes a spike in ammonia. Being in such a small volume of water the effects will take place faster.

[RussM]

Rust kills off the beneficial bacteria, which in turn causes a spike in ammonia. Being in such a small volume of water the effects will take place faster. A myth, my friend. Common rust (the reddish-brown kind) is ferric oxide... which a) has extrmely low soluability in water, so it pretty much just stays where it develops, and b) is the very same as the active ingredient in GFO. If a bit of rust kills off bacteria, anyone running GFO would have massive constant cycling problems. In fact, bacteria can USE rust... from an Advanced Aquarist article (http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/may2003/feature.htm):

"Algae and bacteria require a relatively large amount of iron and to obtain this they excrete organic substances in the water which dissolve the iron oxide and bind the iron strongly to it."

[benzeeno]

hmmm. I still disagree. I read the article you quoted.

This happened to a tank Old Fish had. Fixture dripped rust into the tank by the time it was detected it was too late.

Google "rust drops in saltwater fish tanks"
razor left in tank.. read first
http://www.aquariumpros.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1840

The article tested for copper and zinc not iron and rust it also says,"These particles can be small enough to remain undetected by even the most powerful optical microscopes." only mention of rust is twice briefly.