# new Walstad tank, test kit shows high ammonia levels, fish are fine



## realokun (Feb 26, 2008)

Hi all,

I've started a 50G tank as per Walstad method about a week ago. I used a 1.5" of generic top soil that contains some compost, no chemical fertilizers added. As I bought it in the bag, I have aired it by placing the soil on the bottom of the dry tank and letting it lay there overnight. It didn't dry completely though. I noticed some small wood particles in it. I mixed in a handful of crushed clam shells and covered the soil with 1.5" layer of natural Dowell Texas Grit Aquarium Gravel, 2-3 mm in size. Planted a lot of crypts, swords, ludwigia, vals, ferns, echinodoruses, anubia, and placed a generous amount of duckweed to the surface. The lighting is 1x39 Watt 10K Daylight + 1x39 Watt Freshwater T5HO. The tank has no natural light exposure though. I also use Eheim Pro 3, 2071 filter for mechanical filtration and the water movement.

Initially I had some severe water discolouration which I attributed to the tannins in the soil. The visibility was 10" at the most. A gradual 50% water change over a couple of days has pretty much solved that problem. Now the water just has a brownish tint which actually looks very natural. The pH is 7.0, both the nitrate and the nitrite levels are 0, the temperature is 77F.

I stocked the tank right away with a dozen of tiger barbs who looked extremely happy from the first minute in the tank. They swim all over, have very vivid colours and enormous appetite for their favourite frozen brine shrimps. An old-timer otto cat looks very happy as well.

A few ramshorn and trumpet snails are busy doing their job. 

The plants seem to be very happy too. The Echninodorus "Red Special" has produced a large new leaf, the crypts and the swords have some new shoots.

All in all I was pretty happy with my results... until two days ago I've tested the ammonia level using Aquarium Pharmaceuticals kit with two-bottle ammonia test. My jaw has dropped to the floor when the test turned dark green indicating 8ppm+ of ammonia. I immediately jumped back to the fish tank to see if any of my fish are still alive. Well, they were and still are as happy as they can be. Later on I found out that this test would also indicate the presence of ammonium that is supposedly is not as harmful for the fish. That would explain why they are not dead, because 8ppm of ammonia would kill them within a few hours. I have triple-verified the test to exclude any possible test equipment contamination, but I am getting the same results consistently. The same test for my tap water shows zero levels of ammonia and ammonium. I have now realized that I had to perform this test on the newly setup tank right away, but I guess I wasn't expecting any bad results on a fresh tank based on my previous years of experience with a soilless setups.

I have performed about 30% water change using Prime water conditioner. Now the test shows 2-4ppm of ammonium which is still a lot.

Basically I am seeking the forum's advise: should I be concerned with this situation if the fish look happy? What should I do (if any) to reduce this hyper level of ammonium and what could be a possible cause for it? Have I missed something important in my setup? Your help is highly appreciated!


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## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

The ammonia will decrease as your biological filter matures. I recommend you do a 50% water change 3 x per week for the next week. Gradually the soil will stop releasing so much tannins and ammonia, adn the ammonia that is released will be taken up by the plants, or converted to nitrates by your bio-filter and then taken up by the plants.

Sounds like you are off to a great start!


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## vicky (Feb 18, 2010)

The balance between ammonia and ammonium is largely determined by pH. There is a decent description of the process here: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/CropNews/2008/0421JohnSawyer.htm

My understanding is that at a pH of 7, only 1% of the total NH3/NH4 is actually ammonia, but don't quote me on that. If your pH rises, the amount of ammonia will rise, so water changes, as already suggested, are in order.

Your tank sounds like it is off to a great start.


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## Franco (Jun 25, 2010)

If you are using a lot of water conditioner, the ammonia could be bound up and not harmful to the fish yet. Most water conditioners neutralize the ammonia but it will still show up on the test kit. I've dosed amquel+ and prime daily to new tanks to keep the ammonia locked up with no problems.


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

Keep up the water changes, but make sure the new water is acidic, or it may make the pH rise in the tank.

Newly submerged soil does seem to release a lot of ammonia for a couple of weeks to a month.

You can also go buy the proper species of nitrifying bacteria. Look for _Nitrospiros_ species on the label. All other 'bacteria in a bottle' products do not have the right bacteria. Adding even the smallest bottle of these bacteria will help a lot, but not instantly take the ammonia down to 0. But I would sure go get some.


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## realokun (Feb 26, 2008)

Thank you everyone for your advices!

I have noticed that the Nitrite levels are rising, reaching 2.00ppm. I guess this problem should go away once the plants are well established. Meanwhile I am changing the water, about 1/5 daily. The ammonia/ammonium is on the steady decline, about 1ppm at the moment.

I have noticed that the GH level in the tank is pretty low, about 3dH (60mg/L). I am gradually adding CaribSea crushed corals to my Eheim filter media to raise the GH.


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## Marconis (Mar 17, 2011)

Nevermind, gonna create my own thread.


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## vicky (Feb 18, 2010)

Yes, you will get some ammonia from the dirt, particularly if you didn't air it out well before using it. You NEED plants. Even floaters that you plan to remove later. An established filter just isn't enough. Your water changes are appropriate and helping your fish but please get more plants in there. They are absolutely essential to NPT. 

You will learn more from her book than you thought possible. Plan or reading it a few times - the info is very dense. Welcome and good luck, you're actually off to a good start.


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## Marconis (Mar 17, 2011)

vicky said:


> Yes, you will get some ammonia from the dirt, particularly if you didn't air it out well before using it. You NEED plants. Even floaters that you plan to remove later. An established filter just isn't enough. Your water changes are appropriate and helping your fish but please get more plants in there. They are absolutely essential to NPT.
> 
> You will learn more from her book than you thought possible. Plan or reading it a few times - the info is very dense. Welcome and good luck, you're actually off to a good start.


Yeah, I definitely need to get more plants. My shipment has been delayed. Check out my thread that I made! I edited that post while you were probably in the process of replying.

Thanks


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