Ammonia levels

mariewiltshire · 04/20/2015, 01:06 PM

I'm advanced fish keeper but fairly new to marine
We set up our Marine tank in December 2014.
Since then slowly added a few fish 2 damsels, 1 dwarf fussy lion fish, 1 macaroon clown (large) & a sand sifting goby. Total 5 fish.
Tank 200 Litres
PH 8.2
Alkalinity 8
Nitrite 0.02
Nitrate 5ppm
Phosphate 0
Ammonia 0.2
I am having a problem with Ammonia & not sure why. Never had that before. We only feed every other day, no fish death. We do a 10% water change weekly. Second problem is we are now getting green hairy algae! Not sure if this is linked or could this be the sun? Any suggestions to help please.

scooter31707 · 04/20/2015, 01:13 PM

I cannot help out on the ammonia issue, but the your aquarium does not need any direct sunlight which will cause algae problems. You can hook-up a GFO reactor and half the recommend dosage. I notice you said that you feed every other day, how much do you feed? Maybe try and feed once a day. So take the amount you feed every other day and split that in half and feed every day.

mariewiltshire · 04/20/2015, 01:20 PM

I only feed a small amount. They do eat it & once a week a frozen block. The tank does get a bit of sun light & since the weather has got brighter I think it's effecting the algae
Thank you

erndog1001 · 04/21/2015, 08:53 PM

First Im curious what test kit you're using to get that precise of a reading?
Second. Is the Ammonia & Nitrite in ppm?
Bc if it is. That is so low that its certainly noting to worry about.

Jonesrd1 · 04/22/2015, 08:23 AM

Measure your ammonium and nitrite first thing in the morning before the lights go on. Ammonium and nitrite oxidizers are completely inhibited by even low level fluorescent lighting, thus most nitrification occurs during the night or inside the live rock and sand bed.

I agree that your ammonium and nitrite levels are nothing to worry about.

mariewiltshire · 04/25/2015, 12:00 PM

Thank you for the replay. We do tend to test in the afternoons so will do in the morning. My concern is because some of my hammer corals have declined but I now think my flow has been a bit to strong from the wave maker.

Dan_P · 04/26/2015, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mariewiltshire

I'm advanced fish keeper but fairly new to marine
We set up our Marine tank in December 2014.
Since then slowly added a few fish 2 damsels, 1 dwarf fussy lion fish, 1 macaroon clown (large) & a sand sifting goby. Total 5 fish.
Tank 200 Litres
PH 8.2
Alkalinity 8
Nitrite 0.02
Nitrate 5ppm
Phosphate 0
Ammonia 0.2
I am having a problem with Ammonia & not sure why. Never had that before. We only feed every other day, no fish death. We do a 10% water change weekly. Second problem is we are now getting green hairy algae! Not sure if this is linked or could this be the sun? Any suggestions to help please.

Algae growth happens and is not likely related to ammonia and nitrite test results. You can grow nuisance algae very well with perfect water chemistry.

I have tested Salifert, API, and Seachem ammonia test kits against an ammonia standard and they underestimate ammonia levels. Colorimetric test results can be difficult to judge. API test result color for 0 ppm can look like 0.2 ppm to some people. To tell for sure run side by side tests, one for tank water and one for new salt water and compare the test solutions side by side against a white background. Do the same for the nitrite test. If you still seem to be detecting ammonia and nitrite, I will have a few more questions for you.

mariewiltshire · 04/29/2015, 01:06 PM

This is my tank two days ago
I've now bought another test kit. Not had one fish death all doing really well. Finding corals harder to keep that's why I'm concerned about the slight ammonia.

mariewiltshire · 04/29/2015, 01:08 PM

Kenpo guy · 04/29/2015, 02:08 PM

looks like you already got some great advice on water chemistry so here's my input on the algae problem if it is a problem. As Dan mentioned algae can grow even with great water conditions so invest in a good clean up crew. I have a pretty diverse one but the best member is an emerald crab I just picked up last weekend. I was beginning to get hair algae myself and this guy went nuts. Cleaned all my rocks within 48 hours. He had help but I didn't see these results until I added him to the tank. He has far out performed my hermits and snails. I agree that .25 ammonia isn't cause for great concern but if your results are off due to error either by test kit or test method then you might have a bigger issue than you think. No ammonia is always better. Since you have live stock in the tank I would go buy a bottle of Seachem Prime which will detoxify your ammonia without hurting your cycle. This can prevent fish death until you get this under control. I don't believe you mentioned how much live rock or sand you have or what type of biological filtration you're relying on. This info could be helpful to the forum in helping you. Good luck.

Dkuhlmann · 04/29/2015, 03:01 PM

Seems to me that your tank is now cycling, as it may not have done previously if you never put anything in to start the cycle process. Can you confirm that it did in fact cycle about a month after you set it up?

04/20/2015, 01:06 PM	#1
mariewiltshire Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 7	Ammonia levels I'm advanced fish keeper but fairly new to marine We set up our Marine tank in December 2014. Since then slowly added a few fish 2 damsels, 1 dwarf fussy lion fish, 1 macaroon clown (large) & a sand sifting goby. Total 5 fish. Tank 200 Litres PH 8.2 Alkalinity 8 Nitrite 0.02 Nitrate 5ppm Phosphate 0 Ammonia 0.2 I am having a problem with Ammonia & not sure why. Never had that before. We only feed every other day, no fish death. We do a 10% water change weekly. Second problem is we are now getting green hairy algae! Not sure if this is linked or could this be the sun? Any suggestions to help please.

04/21/2015, 08:53 PM	#4
erndog1001 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Syracuse/Camillus Posts: 829	First Im curious what test kit you're using to get that precise of a reading? Second. Is the Ammonia & Nitrite in ppm? Bc if it is. That is so low that its certainly noting to worry about. __________________ The heck with the grandkids Ask me about my reef tank!

04/22/2015, 08:23 AM	#5
Jonesrd1 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Oregon Posts: 81	Measure your ammonium and nitrite first thing in the morning before the lights go on. Ammonium and nitrite oxidizers are completely inhibited by even low level fluorescent lighting, thus most nitrification occurs during the night or inside the live rock and sand bed. I agree that your ammonium and nitrite levels are nothing to worry about. __________________ Ron Jones Current Tank Info: 55g mixed reef

04/29/2015, 03:01 PM	#11
Dkuhlmann Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: NW Iowa Posts: 8,823	Seems to me that your tank is now cycling, as it may not have done previously if you never put anything in to start the cycle process. Can you confirm that it did in fact cycle about a month after you set it up? __________________ Previous tanks: 200 gal fowlr 9" Emperor Angel and many different butterfly fish 4" maroon clown and several other fish, 50 gal sump, 40 gal mixed reef/fish mostly softies and LPS. Current Tank Info: 40b 750 gph 45 lbs lr, 2"-3" sand, 165w full spectrum dimable LED, 20 gal sump/refugium 30 lbs lr, Bak Pak 2 skimmer, 4" sock temp 79-80, sg 1.026, NH3 0, NO2 0, NO3 <10, ph 8.2, calc 400, mag 1300

04/20/2015, 01:13 PM	#2
scooter31707 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Virginia Posts: 4,971	I cannot help out on the ammonia issue, but the your aquarium does not need any direct sunlight which will cause algae problems. You can hook-up a GFO reactor and half the recommend dosage. I notice you said that you feed every other day, how much do you feed? Maybe try and feed once a day. So take the amount you feed every other day and split that in half and feed every day.

04/20/2015, 01:20 PM	#3
mariewiltshire Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 7	I only feed a small amount. They do eat it & once a week a frozen block. The tank does get a bit of sun light & since the weather has got brighter I think it's effecting the algae Thank you

04/25/2015, 12:00 PM	#6
mariewiltshire Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 7	Thank you for the replay. We do tend to test in the afternoons so will do in the morning. My concern is because some of my hammer corals have declined but I now think my flow has been a bit to strong from the wave maker.

04/29/2015, 01:06 PM	#8
mariewiltshire Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 7	This is my tank two days ago I've now bought another test kit. Not had one fish death all doing really well. Finding corals harder to keep that's why I'm concerned about the slight ammonia.

04/29/2015, 01:08 PM	#9
mariewiltshire Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 7

04/29/2015, 02:08 PM	#10
Kenpo guy Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 107	looks like you already got some great advice on water chemistry so here's my input on the algae problem if it is a problem. As Dan mentioned algae can grow even with great water conditions so invest in a good clean up crew. I have a pretty diverse one but the best member is an emerald crab I just picked up last weekend. I was beginning to get hair algae myself and this guy went nuts. Cleaned all my rocks within 48 hours. He had help but I didn't see these results until I added him to the tank. He has far out performed my hermits and snails. I agree that .25 ammonia isn't cause for great concern but if your results are off due to error either by test kit or test method then you might have a bigger issue than you think. No ammonia is always better. Since you have live stock in the tank I would go buy a bottle of Seachem Prime which will detoxify your ammonia without hurting your cycle. This can prevent fish death until you get this under control. I don't believe you mentioned how much live rock or sand you have or what type of biological filtration you're relying on. This info could be helpful to the forum in helping you. Good luck.