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Thread: Ammonia Problems...

  1. #1
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    Richie

    Unhappy Ammonia Problems...

    Hey all,
    I'm having a bit of an ammonia problem...
    Fishless cycled my 55g, but my sump cracked the night before I was going to pick up the fish, so I threw what bio media I could into my backup HOB filter (300gph). I also used Seachem Stability for the week before adding the fish, and I'm continuing to use it because of my problems.
    My 6 discus were put into the tank Saturday (yesterday) at about 15:00, and they ate on the first day, to which I was happy to see.
    I woke up in the morning and saw some heavy breathing, did some testing and found my ammonia to be .5 ppm. Did a 75% water change at 10:00 and they became very happy and active.
    7 hours and 3 micro feedings later, the heavy breathing is starting again, and I retested ammonia and found it close to .5 again...
    What are my options going forward here? I want to default to 50% water change every day until it stabilizes, but that's proving to be unsatisfactory...
    They are still very active and eating, but I'm very nervous about that ammonia and the breathing.
    I checked my city's water reports and there is no use of chloramines, so I know I'm not being victim of the chloramine/ammonia relationship...
    I use Prime for my water changes, and I'm aware I could 5x dose to detoxify it whatever ammonia is in the tank, but I'd like to explore other options first, in case I'm missing anything...
    This HOB will not be my final solution, as I'm aware discus are not a fan of strong currents. I'll be running 2 sponge filters when I get my next paycheck.
    0 Nitrites, tap water defaults to 5-10 nitrates.

    Any advice will be appreciated.
    Last edited by Tribblo; 11-12-2017 at 07:02 PM.

  2. #2
    Registered Member White Worm's Avatar
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    Default Re: Ammonia Problems...

    I'd keep up the large daily water changes with prime. Discus not preferring strong current has never been a proven fact. There are many that have the opposite opinion including myself. I'm sure they wouldn't do well in rushing rapids but some good current in the aquarium is not a problem from what I have experienced.

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Ammonia Problems...

    Quote Originally Posted by White Worm View Post
    I'd keep up the large daily water changes with prime. Discus not preferring strong current has never been a proven fact. There are many that have the opposite opinion including myself. I'm sure they wouldn't do well in rushing rapids but some good current in the aquarium is not a problem from what I have experienced.
    Is there anything else you'd recommend, or just the water changes?
    Is there a cap of ppm that I should look out for?

    And gotcha, I've heard from both sides of the fence. The breeder had them in a tank with sponge filters, so I'd prefer to give them water characeristics they are used to

  4. #4
    Registered Member Ryan925's Avatar
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    Default Re: Ammonia Problems...

    Quote Originally Posted by Tribblo View Post
    Is there anything else you'd recommend, or just the water changes?
    Is there a cap of ppm that I should look out for?

    And gotcha, I've heard from both sides of the fence. The breeder had them in a tank with sponge filters, so I'd prefer to give them water characeristics they are used to
    Many add fish to an uncyled tank with the understanding they will need to do large daily wcs until the bio establishes. Also it is quite common to have a mini cycle with the addition of these fish.

    Large daily changes and using prime should be safe. The prime should detoxify the ammonia and/or nitrite for 24 hours between changes but be sure to not miss your daily wcs. I would do more than 50% in the meantime. I have also had great results with stability.
    Im not illiterate...only my phone's auto correct is

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Ammonia Problems...

    Quote Originally Posted by Ryan925 View Post
    Many add fish to an uncyled tank with the understanding they will need to do large daily wcs until the bio establishes. Also it is quite common to have a mini cycle with the addition of these fish.

    Large daily changes and using prime should be safe. The prime should detoxify the ammonia and/or nitrite for 24 hours between changes but be sure to not miss your daily wcs. I would do more than 50% in the meantime. I have also had great results with stability.
    Cool! I'll probably bump it up to 75% daily until it stabilizes, and maybe do a little overdosing on the prime. I'll keep using the stability as well. I'm worried about it's potency though, it was delivered to my house on a cold day and iirc, the cold can kill the BB in the bottle...

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