Ammonia, HELP!!!

[StayPuft]

I have a 38gal QT setup, cycled with a biowheel filter, a bag of LS and a piece of LR. I also have a 4-5" Powder Blue Tang in the tank. He's been in QT for 9 days so far. I've been testing the water every day and no problems. Except yesterday there was 0.25 ammonia. Don't know how it got there because the tang eats everything, there's no food left over. So I added some Ammoquil + and did a 20% water change. This morning there is still 0.25 ammonia. I did another 20% water change.

The Powder Blue looks fine. Doesn't seem distressed, still eats like a pig and swims around. I really don't want something to happen to him. I like the little guy, my wife even named him Peanut. So what are my options here? I can just add him to the DT, but he's only been in QT for 9 days. No ich, no visible signs of anything wrong with him. Or I can leave him in QT but what about the ammonia? My original plan was to keep him in QT for 3-4 weeks.

 

[Chibils]

Maybe there's a conflict with your test kit? Try testing it against the lfs. I can't really speak for why the ammonia keeps rising except that tangs are poop machines.

 

[StayPuft]

I have 2 different test kits made by different companies and both give me identical results, 0.25. I also tested my DT water and that gives me 0 ammonia result. It could be the QT wasn't cycled properly, it's possible I guess. My concern now is what to do about the tang in there.

 

[meschaefer]

It doesn't matter that your tang eats everything, what goes in will partially come out and foul the water. It might be as simple as overfeeding yesterday that caused a spike in ammonia.

Do a water change to knock down the ammonia level, then test again tomorrow. It may be a one time blip due to overfeeding, or who knows what.

You could also add another piece of live rock to the QT, or you could just due a daily water change for the next few days. I have to admit I don't always QT (depends on the fish), but when I do I usually only hold them for about two weeks.