# Huge Ammonia Spike



## amazonjungle

Hey guys,

so, i come back from fishing today and I find that my ammonia level is OFF THE CHARTS. im talking DARK green on the api kits.

heres what I did: 50% water change, aquasafe in each bucket and salt to help them out (1 tbs)

heres what I thought was the culprit: 1) I have a pile of stacked rocks in my tank that I did not clean under for a few weeks because I THOUGHT my crayfish would keep that area clean (yes, I cleaned under it vigorously.) 2) I fed them a whole mouse and didn't clean it for a few days after.

heres the vid: 




you can see my rocks in the vid too.

PLEASE tell me what else I need to do!!

should I take out my media tomorrow and wash it in tank water?
should I purchase something I need?
should I CHANGE a filter cartridge?

anything helpful will be greatly appreciated

thanks!


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## MPG

Why would you feed a mouse and not clean immediately after? lmao

Water changes daily until it levels out...


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## amazonjungle

MPG said:


> Why would you feed a mouse and not clean immediately after? lmao
> 
> Water changes daily until it levels out...


LOL

thanks dude. at how much of a percentage? 25?


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## Guest

25% to start, retest after water change, if levels are still to high increase the amount of water being changed.

You need a big old facepalm for not cleaning up after a messy mouse!!! Hopefully this is another lesson learned


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## XiDiS

Not that i plan on feeding a mouse to my Piranha... but what would be the best way to clean the tank after a meal like this?


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## Guest

Remove all debris with a net, gravel vac and perform a water change. Make sure no pieces get trapped in plants or under decor.


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## amazonjungle

thanks guys im going to do another in a bit. just need food im starving


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## amazonjungle

I just did the water change.

the ammonia is still extremely high. no difference.

should I do anything else to speed it up?

would washing my media be a good idea?


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## e46markus

Washing your media probably wont do all that much but its a good idea anyways, just make sure its with tank water.

Its no problem feeding a mouse like you did every now and then; but its a good idea to do it on a day you know your doing a water change next time.

As for the ammonia spike it seems you've done all you can, all you can do is wait now.


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## amazonjungle

e46markus said:


> Washing your media probably wont do all that much but its a good idea anyways, just make sure its with tank water.
> 
> Its no problem feeding a mouse like you did every now and then; but its a good idea to do it on a day you know your doing a water change next time.
> 
> As for the ammonia spike it seems you've done all you can, all you can do is wait now.


I hope so dude, its day3 from where I CHECKED it first so it could have been a week.

should I buy an ammonia remover from petsmart?

I don't trust that crap, but is there any brand that you know would help?

anyone???


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## Guest

whoa whoa whoa, after a water change your ammonia levels didnt drop??? Ok, so have you checked your filters to see if any mouse parts got stuck in there or under logs, rocks etc If the ammonia levels didnt change, that usually means the ammonia source is still in your tank or filters.

And dont use any stupid products to remove the ammonia. They dont work and will through your tank right off balance. Get in there, clean it thoroughly and do daily water changes until the ammonia levels go down.


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## amazonjungle

ksls said:


> whoa whoa whoa, after a water change your ammonia levels didnt drop??? Ok, so have you checked your filters to see if any mouse parts got stuck in there or under logs, rocks etc If the ammonia levels didnt change, that usually means the ammonia source is still in your tank or filters.
> 
> And dont use any stupid products to remove the ammonia. They dont work and will through your tank right off balance. Get in there, clean it thoroughly and do daily water changes until the ammonia levels go down.


thanks dude. I figured cleaning the filter media in tank water would be a good idea.

ill do it after work.

thanks a bunch.


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## amazonjungle

okay.... I did the water change today AND washed ALL my media.

the ammonia levels were still the same.

ill check again before I go to bed when everything settles.

I hope my P's aren't suffering


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## amazonjungle

how long do you think this will take?


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## Guest

amazonjungle said:


> okay.... I did the water change today AND washed ALL my media.
> 
> the ammonia levels were still the same.
> 
> ill check again before I go to bed when everything settles.
> 
> I hope my P's aren't suffering


How did you clean your filter media? What are your ammonia levels testing at after a water change?


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## amazonjungle

ksls said:


> okay.... I did the water change today AND washed ALL my media.
> 
> the ammonia levels were still the same.
> 
> ill check again before I go to bed when everything settles.
> 
> I hope my P's aren't suffering


How did you clean your filter media? What are your ammonia levels testing at after a water change?
[/quote]

I washed them in a bucket of tank water. I squeezed my spoonge out too. i madee sure not to let it touch the air for too long.

I did test the levels right after

and then hours after that.

its always the same

dark dark greeen


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## Guest

Have you tested your tap water right out of the tap?


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## amazonjungle

ksls said:


> Have you tested your tap water right out of the tap?


I've never had the problem before and I have other aquariums also using the tap water and no prob.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2754142

should I grab this?

maybe just one for the 50 or the 70?

I heard it can take out too much.

I ALSO have had great success with big als multi purpose bio support. think I should grab another bottle? introducing the bacteria may reduce the ammonia levels because there's more bacteria for them to feed on it.

I DID wash my media after all. some bacteria may have died. my water is crystal clear, but the ammoniuas the same (it was cloudy before).

so two options I see..... that ammonia remover biomax or........the bio support bacteria


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## cduuuub

I use stability by seachem. I use it to start a tank when I do a water change (if I've missed a w/c, yes I will admit I don't alway get to do a w/c once a week.) Or add new fish And the stuff is awesome man I tell you. Sconce I've been using never one spike in parameters. Give the bacteria a try I recommend stability. I'm not sure if it will improve your condition though its not gonna hurt. you really gotta sit an ammonia spike out and do daily w/c.


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## Johnny_Zanni

Test your tap water...


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## Piranha-Freak101

ksls said:


> Have you tested your tap water right out of the tap?


x2


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## cduuuub

amazonjungle said:


> Have you tested your tap water right out of the tap?


I've never had the problem before and I have other aquariums also using the tap water and no prob.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2754142

should I grab this?

maybe just one for the 50 or the 70?

I heard it can take out too much.

I ALSO have had great success with big als multi purpose bio support. think I should grab another bottle? introducing the bacteria may reduce the ammonia levels because there's more bacteria for them to feed on it.

I DID wash my media after all. some bacteria may have died. my water is crystal clear, but the ammoniuas the same (it was cloudy before).

so two options I see..... that ammonia remover biomax or........the bio support bacteria
[/quote]
Just cause you got other aquariums that are fine dosent mean there isn't a problem with your tap now.


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## amazonjungle

Johnny_Zanni said:


> Test your tap water...


guys, I checked the tap water and the ammonia was .50

I guess by putting in tonnes of that water day after day did not help.

what do I do!


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## amazonjungle

do I use distilled or what?


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## Guest

lol, 0.5 isn't that bad to the point where you have to use distilled water







Your filtration should be able to deal with 0.5ppm ammonia coming in.

You know what you can do, test your test kit using distilled water (make sure it gives you a 0 reading). Check the expiration date on the test kit to make sure it isn't expired.

Next just do small daily water changes around 15% or less and rinse out your canister with tank water. You've most probably just got mouse parts stuck in the canister which is decomposing and giving you the ammonia reading (if the test is right). Check under all your decor again, and vac your substrate.

Large water changes aren't necessary IMO, it'll just prolong whatever is going on in the tank. If the ammonia reading is due to BB die off large water changes won't allow BB to catch up and it'll take longer for the BB to colonise again. If its due to decomposing mouse parts, every time you change a large amount of water, the ammonia will return until you remove the decomposing mouse parts.


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