# Question for those with high ammonia in tap.



## Angie (Dec 4, 2005)

Do you remember how long before your tank was fish ready?
I used 1 inch soil and 1 inch gravel. I am also using a cycled filter. But my tap water right now has ammonia at 8.0 so the tank right now is .50. 
We had over 100 water pipes burst during the freeze and when they got it up in running again they used extra chemicals in the water. I hope it well straighten out soon but untill then I do tiny water changes on my non planted tanks and none at all on my planted ones.


----------



## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

Ammonia at 8.0 !!

Yikes! I hope you and your family are not drinking that!

If you are doing a fishless cycle then it takes about 3 weeks from a bare-tank start. 
If you are jump starting it with cycled media it will go faster. Looks like the ammonia removing bacteria are hard at work already, to get the ammonia down to .5 ppm. 
Also check the nitrites. If they go over 5 ppm do a water change. The bacteria you are growing do not do so well in high nitrite. 
With that much ammonia in the tap water, I would use it as the source of ammonia to feed the bacteria, do a 30% water change daily.


----------



## Angie (Dec 4, 2005)

Its a Walstad set up. And I added enough Prime to be able to move the fish. Now just have to watch it like a hawk.


----------



## TAB (Feb 7, 2009)

that sounds really high, did you have some one else test it? a friend LFS, etc? It would not be the 1st time there has been a prob with a test kit.


----------



## Angie (Dec 4, 2005)

Yes it is high. We had over 100 busted pipes doing the freeze and when the city turned back on the water they put in a lot of stuff so we could drink it. 
They tell me it well come down.
My test kit show it much much lower in my fish tanks. So my cycles are tring to handle it but not all of it. 
I have been thinking of taking some up to the pet shop. From tap and one of my tanks.


----------



## Red_Rose (Mar 18, 2007)

All of my tanks are Walstad tanks and the longest one ever took for me to cycle(fishless) was a month. It was when I had set up a 2.5 gallon but it was a rushed project and I didn't have time to air out the soil like I normally do.

Other then that, I normally had to wait about a week or slightly longer for my tanks to cycle. The last tank I cycled was when I tore down my betta's 10 gallon. It only took a week and the only thing that was present in the water(aside from nitrates) was a nitrite count of less then 0.25ppm.

Since you have ammonia in your tap water, it might take longer then usual to cycle. What type of floating plants do you have in that tank? Even though it's not a floating plant that part of the plant is above the surface, I've found that Hornwort is great for sucking up ammonia. When I had set up my 10g guppy tank, the ammonia was not budging from 0.25ppm and when I added hornwort, in less then two days, there was just a trace of it left. After a few more days, it was completely gone.


----------



## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

Doing water changes with this water might be a problem, too, once there are fish in the tank. With 8 ppm in the tap water any water change (even a small one) will spike the ammonia way too high in the tank. You might want to set up a plant only tank as a pre-treatment tank until the water company quits adding so much ammonia to the water. 
Fill the plant only tank and test until the ammonia is low enough to make a safe water change for the tanks with fish. Then use that water to refill the tank with fish. Top off the plant only tank with tap water. I would not depend on Prime to handle THAT much ammonia. Use a planted tank to drop the level a lot, then use Prime to lock up the remainder.


----------



## Angie (Dec 4, 2005)

I have water lettuce for floating plants. Hate hate that horn wort but guess I could go look for some. However I have not seen in at my local pet shops in a long time.


----------



## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Angie said:


> I have water lettuce for floating plants. Hate hate that hornwort but guess I could go look for some. However I have not seen in at my local pet shops in a long time.


I can't imagine ammonia being a problem in an established NPT. Plants and soil bacteria make short work of ammonia. If you stop doing water changes, that 0.5 ppm shouldn't last long.

Water lettuce, because it is a floating plant has the 'Aerial Advantage'. It probably takes up more ammonia than Hornwort-- provided that it is growing well. I would do what you can to foster its faster growth. Add more intense light? Floating plants will use all the light you give them for faster growth.

The beauty of NPTs are that you really don't need frequent water changes. My tanks have gone for 3-6 months many times without water changes. During regional drought a few years ago, they hardly ever got water changes.


----------



## Angie (Dec 4, 2005)

Cool thanks for the tip. I did add anouther light to give me 50 watts in hopes the water lettuce would take off. Ill can take off 20 watts if I get unwanted growth.
Oh and the tank is not extablished only been running for one day and still very murky.


----------



## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

Water lettuce ought to be a great nitrogen sink, if there is enough light. If it is growing so fast you need to remove some every week or two, and if it is allowed to grow up taller, not just float flat on the surface it will keep on removing nitrogen and turning it into leaf mass. 

Some soils also add ammonia to the tank when the tank is first set up. With ammonia in the tap and potentially ammonia from the substrate, I would not add fish for a while. Let all the microorganisms sort themselves out, let the plants get going before going fish shopping. Perhaps by then the water company will quit adding so much ammonia to the tap, and water changes will be safer.


----------



## Angie (Dec 4, 2005)

Well I have good new. My water is fine. 
I finally talked my husband into taking some water up to the pet shop to test it and it is perfert. No ammonia. So going to do a water change later today to help clear up the tank. At least I hope it well.
Other then being cloudy for way to long the fish and plants are doing great.
Oh I also bought a new ammonia kit. And had the tank water tested too and it is perfect.


----------



## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

That is really good news! Yes a water change or two to clear it out will be a good idea. 
High ammonia can indeed cause cloudy water, and several other issues. Doing a water change, or a couple of them will get rid of the ammonia and other things. 

Then sit back and let the tank settle down, and re-establish the microorganisms that are helpful to keep the tank running smoothly. Test, just to be sure no other problems crop up, still be ready to do water changes, but things may very well work themselves out, now that you have the major problem under control.


----------



## Angie (Dec 4, 2005)

I tested the water before I did that change. Ammonia 0 but the other stuff Nitrite and Nitrates were also both 0. I know I need one of those but can't remember which. lol 
Almost clear now.








Not sure what I am going to do with the clump of moss yet. I have a piece of drift wood I am thinking of attaching it too. But not sure.
Oh sorry just left the saucer in there since I may do anouther change tomorrow afternoon. NM you can not see it in that picture. lol


----------



## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

Ammonia and nitrite are toxic to fish and ought to be 0 ppm. Plants can use these as fertilizer, a nitrogen source, but do not add nitrogen this way if you have fish in the tank. Nitrifying bacteria will turn these into nitrate.

In a healthy tank the nitrifying bacteria will turn ammonia and nitrite into nitrate. Plants can use nitrate as a fertilizer, too. If a tank shows 0 nitrate I would worry about nitrogen deficiency. I add KNO3 to tanks with NO3 under 5 ppm. Opinions vary, but I have found plants do well with the NO3 between 5-20 ppm, and this is not too much for the fish. My fish are not too happy when the NO3 gets too high. 

Since your tank is still recovering from the extremely high ammonia, give it several days. The fish will add more ammonia to the water (much less than the water company did!), and the nitrifying bacteria will get to work on whatever the plants do not use. I think you will see a trace of nitrate in a few days.


----------



## Angie (Dec 4, 2005)

*Sounds like great advice. I dont have anyway of getting KNO3 that is affordable so will have to skip that. 
I already have new plant growth so something much be right. lol
And my fish are doing great. Hungry and active.*


----------



## Angie (Dec 4, 2005)

My tank has cleared up nicely. The water lettuce is spreading like wild fire and some of my other plant are growing in nicley. Some of the red/bronze crypts have melted. Hopefully they well come back. I dropped in one of those lilly bulbs and going to drop in some Hardy Aponogeton Bulbs today.
Here is a picture from two days ago.








Not liking the moss at all. It looks dirty/dusty. Anyways leaving it for now. Needed all the hiding places for the female bettas. Once more plants get in there and it fills in some I think I can remove the pots.


----------



## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

That is looking a lot better! 
Here is a hint about the moss:
Spread it out more over the surface of the pot, not so clumpy, then use a hair net to hold it there while it roots. A little sewing thread might be needed to tie it down a bit tighter, or even some superglue. Moss does not actually have real roots, but it will cling to the pot, and grow very evenly on the upper half and down the sides (where the light is enough). It will grow up through the hair net, and you probably won't even see the hair net. 
Once the moss is anchored down you can run a gravel vacuum over it to clean off a lot of the dust.


----------



## Angie (Dec 4, 2005)

No hair nets in my house. But I did use some fishing line. And the plan is to not have to do water changes that means no running a vacuum over it. Maybe Ill just take it out.


----------



## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

With no water changes just make sure whatever water flow there is blows over the moss enough to keep the dust cleared away. Otherwise fan it with your hand every once in a while. This may raise a cloud of dust, but it will settle quickly and hopefully not right back onto the moss.


----------

