Ammonia stuck at .25?

Crispie · 04/07/2015, 07:41 PM

Hello,as you can see im new to thr hobby and reefcenter.comI have a 30 gallon tank that has been cycling for the past 4 weeks. Here's my problem i did a water test and i got .25ppm ammonia> nitrite .50 ppm > nitrate 160ppm,looks like i can't get my ammonia down.

-i started with raw shrimp,but my tank started to smell so i ended up taking out and using fish food,i was getting ammonia readings think 2ppm. Couple days later i bouth these bacteria booster? I ended up getting nitrite and nitrate readings couple days later,so i kept checking for ammonia and i was getting .25 ammonia . So i decided it to go to ace and got my self some ammonia,I get home in dose it intill i got 3ppm ammonia reading. But i got a huge nitrate and nitrite spike it went off my chart coudn't read it. So i decided it to dose it every other day but today looks like my nitrite went down to .50ppm.

i'm using my own ro di water i checked it today and came out with 0ppm ammonia.i still have fish food in my sand bed not sure if the food is causing the 25ppm ammonia.

-i'm using marcos dry rock 30 lbs.
-"live sand" that i got from petco 25 lbs.
-im not using sump since it wont fit where i live,so im using a hob filter.
-im using api test kit.
-temp about 77°
-lights off
-i started dosing about 1ppm-2ppm of ammonia.

Thank you and sorry for grammer and spelling!

Captain smoke · 04/07/2015, 07:50 PM

Why are you adding more ammonia after you got 2ppm the first time? Stop adding ammonia and do a water change wait and check again then do more water changes till you have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and close to 0 nitrates and you are ready for a fish

Crispie · 04/07/2015, 07:56 PM

Only reason i was adding ammonia was to keep the bacteria alive. Thank you,i'll stop adding it.

thegrun · 04/07/2015, 09:17 PM

Bacteria can live a year without ammonia.

stingeragent · 04/07/2015, 09:20 PM

+12
Just leave it. You don't gotta keep adding things. Forget the bacteria boosters and all the other hoopla. If you have ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates , your cycle is going. Just wait it out.

thegrun · 04/07/2015, 09:23 PM

What are you using to measure ammonia? The API test kits are notorious for showing 0.25 ammonia when none is present. If you are using API tests, see if your LFS will test the ammonia for you.

Crispie · 04/07/2015, 10:15 PM

I din't know it can live that long. Thank you

Yes,i'm using API saltwater kit.

Should i still do a water change?

nmotz · 04/07/2015, 11:19 PM

You can do a small water change if you want, but honestly I think the best thing to do during a cycle seems to be to just forget about the tank. Just let it sit and give the biological game to play out on its own, no intervention on your part required. That patience will serve you well as you progress in this hobby, trust me. Good luck!

04/07/2015, 07:41 PM	#1
Crispie Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Posts: 63	Ammonia stuck at .25? Hello,as you can see im new to thr hobby and reefcenter.comI have a 30 gallon tank that has been cycling for the past 4 weeks. Here's my problem i did a water test and i got .25ppm ammonia> nitrite .50 ppm > nitrate 160ppm,looks like i can't get my ammonia down. -i started with raw shrimp,but my tank started to smell so i ended up taking out and using fish food,i was getting ammonia readings think 2ppm. Couple days later i bouth these bacteria booster? I ended up getting nitrite and nitrate readings couple days later,so i kept checking for ammonia and i was getting .25 ammonia . So i decided it to go to ace and got my self some ammonia,I get home in dose it intill i got 3ppm ammonia reading. But i got a huge nitrate and nitrite spike it went off my chart coudn't read it. So i decided it to dose it every other day but today looks like my nitrite went down to .50ppm. i'm using my own ro di water i checked it today and came out with 0ppm ammonia.i still have fish food in my sand bed not sure if the food is causing the 25ppm ammonia. -i'm using marcos dry rock 30 lbs. -"live sand" that i got from petco 25 lbs. -im not using sump since it wont fit where i live,so im using a hob filter. -im using api test kit. -temp about 77° -lights off -i started dosing about 1ppm-2ppm of ammonia. Thank you and sorry for grammer and spelling!

04/07/2015, 11:19 PM	#8
nmotz Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: FL, USA Posts: 1,433	You can do a small water change if you want, but honestly I think the best thing to do during a cycle seems to be to just forget about the tank. Just let it sit and give the biological game to play out on its own, no intervention on your part required. That patience will serve you well as you progress in this hobby, trust me. Good luck! __________________ Mantis shrimp are the best! Current Tank Info: 20L Peacock mantis shrimp tank

04/07/2015, 07:50 PM	#2
Captain smoke Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: somewhere in the midwest Posts: 227	Why are you adding more ammonia after you got 2ppm the first time? Stop adding ammonia and do a water change wait and check again then do more water changes till you have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and close to 0 nitrates and you are ready for a fish

04/07/2015, 07:56 PM	#3
Crispie Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Posts: 63	Only reason i was adding ammonia was to keep the bacteria alive. Thank you,i'll stop adding it.

04/07/2015, 09:17 PM	#4
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 17,023	Bacteria can live a year without ammonia.

04/07/2015, 09:20 PM	#5
stingeragent Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Posts: 1,032	+12 Just leave it. You don't gotta keep adding things. Forget the bacteria boosters and all the other hoopla. If you have ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates , your cycle is going. Just wait it out.

04/07/2015, 09:23 PM	#6
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 17,023	What are you using to measure ammonia? The API test kits are notorious for showing 0.25 ammonia when none is present. If you are using API tests, see if your LFS will test the ammonia for you.

04/07/2015, 10:15 PM	#7
Crispie Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Posts: 63	I din't know it can live that long. Thank you Yes,i'm using API saltwater kit. Should i still do a water change?