Ammonia in Broodstock setup

[ddwatson]

I have set up a 12 tank broodstock system to start a clownfish breeding venture. (I will post a thread soon). I can't seem to get my ammonia to stay at 0. It keeps wanting to creep up to 0.25 between water changes. Any suggestions on what I can do to get it to hold at zero. The fish do not seem stressed but it stresses me . It has been running about 3 weeks. It is all plumbed and drained together with a 40 gallon sump containing live rock, socks, and a protein skimmer.

 

[JustinGr]

What are you testing with? Have you tried other test kits? Also, some setup's take time to level out, 3 weeks is a short period of time. Another issue is the 40B sump may not be large enough depending on the size of the tanks that house the breeders.

While .25 is not off the charts, anything that can "stress" a normal life for a clown will disrupt breeding. Messing with lights, intensity, pot location, substrate, temp, feeding schedule, water quality, SG levels, etc.

So, while it won't kill them, it more than likely will prohibit spawning.

Looking forward to pics. I am getting ready to build my integrated system out of 40B's. I have 6 40B that each house a clown pair now that are on HOB Fuges (CPR). I will drill 6 new 40B and create a setup and then slowly move them over. Looking for ideas on setup.

Thanks

 

[ddwatson]

Any suggestions on test kits? It is API which I seen most on here are not found of. It is a 40 gallon rubbermaid trough so it has pretty much the entire 40 gallons of water in live rock in it so better than a 40b tank as a sump. I will get pics up this weekend.

I am thinking about adding a bioball tower to the setup like I have on my grow out to ensure I won't have ammonia problems. What are your thoughts?

 

[Jaypilot]

I think your test kit is probably fine. If you want most of the local fish stores will test for free. I think the problem is just that you have a young tank. Keep on feeding and keep changing water and over the next few weeks you should see the bio load catch up to your tank. If that doesn't work a tower may help or you can use another type of media like ceramic.

 

[JustinGr]

I'd also get the inexpensive Seachem Ammonia disk alert meter that sits in the tank. While not a perfect tool, it will alert you to any spikes. I use them in my tanks!

Justin

 

[ddwatson]

Thanks. I have a ton of that ceramic media I threw in the sump with LR so hopefully it will catch up soon.

 

[SantaMonica]

A real simple ammonia remover, tie-wrap a rough screen to an airstone, and shine a 9 watt "warm" light on it. As algae grow on the screen, it will consume ammonia, and even give food to the juvi's.

 

[billsreef]

I wouldn't be overly worried about .25 on a test kit. Most test kits high, and API I've found to typically run .25ppm over the real level when compared to results run on an autoanalyzer in a lab. (many kits read even higher). Also at SW pH, .25 isn't a problem.