Ammonia in tank

[t5Nitro]

Is there a safe way to reduce ammonia in the tank while it's up and running with fish, corals, and inverts? I have a kole tang not doing well and I think he's going to be gone soon. At the moment I can't find him in the tank. Could be hiding behind some rocks or laying there dead, which I hope not. I'm about to do an ammonia test. I have gotten some stuff in a gift bag at LAs and Foster and Smith's frag swap called ClorAm-X.

Says for fresh and saltwater use. Eliminates ammonia. Anyone know if this stuff is harmful for any corals, fish, or inverts?

 

[robot2222]

water change

 

[robot2222]

I suggest doing a partial ater change. If it were me I would be more likely to use those ammo chips then putting something in the tank .

 

[t5Nitro]

I would do a water change, but I'm thinking of the future here where I have none made up and my other fish get to sit in the ammonia for that long while. Going to test right now and I'll post results.

Whew, nevermind I found the tang in there. Hope he pulls through!

In that case though, what do you all recommend? Just letting the fish sit in the ammonia for a day while you mix the water? How soon would 4ppm of ammonia kill them? Or even make it go to 8 if it stayed back there and decayed.

 

[cdness]

water change....

I have used Ammo-Lock before in my QT tank when I came back from vacation and the ammonia was at 4. It doesn't remove it but it will at least make it non-toxic to fish (according to the label). I didn't lose a fish so I think it worked. But after that was a daily 10 - 20% water change until the ammonia had dropped back to a manageable range.

I know there are other products as well that I have seen for ammonia including some fizzing tabs I have used with my turtle tank. The Amquel treatment stuff is also said to control ammonia and that isn't toxic to fish. I don't know how well these additives play with corals though...

Best bet though is water change. If needed, use the water you have to set up a QT. Then at least the fish are out of the ammonia. I am new to the hobby but couldn't the high ammonia cause another cycle in the tank??

 

[Billybeau1]

I would run to the store and get some Amquel or Ammo-lock or Prime.

This will get you through the next 24 hrs. I'd do a water change ASAP as others said.

You'll have to find out why your ammonia level spiked. Ammonia is very lethal to fish. This should not be allowed to happen.

Too many fish too fast and inadequate biological filtration is certainly a recipe for disaster.

 

[otrlynn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13053182#post13053182 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Billybeau1
I would run to the store and get some Amquel or Ammo-lock or Prime.

This will get you through the next 24 hrs. I'd do a water change ASAP as others said.

You'll have to find out why your ammonia level spiked. Ammonia is very lethal to fish. This should not be allowed to happen.

Too many fish too fast and inadequate biological filtration is certainly a recipe for disaster.

I agree on an immediate trip to the LFS for Ammo-Lock or Amquel. Before you leave, put a powerhead or airstone in whatever you are mixing the new salt water in. It's not the best policy, but I have used saltwater that had been mixed for only an hour or two with an airstone or powerhead--no negative side effects that I could see. I believe it has got to be better than sitting in water with ammonia that high. Also, when you do your water change, I'd try to make it a significant percentage of your tank. I'm not an expert, but I'd be trying to change at least 25-30%. If you don't have enough water for this, bring the level of your tank down significantly, even if you don't have enough new water to bring the water level back to the top. As long as you have any coral covered, it really won't matter if the top quarter of your tank is empty. Just keep making water and get it filled up when you can, which will dilute the ammonia even further--and plan to do it again tomorrow and the next day. I went through this with a QT and you really have to stay on top of it.

 

[billdogg]

+1 on the water change - i would do at least 15 - 20% every day until it is at 0. is this a new tank that has not cycled? what are you using as biological filtration? most importantly - what caused the ammonia spike in the first place? you have to treat the symptoms (high ammonia) but you also must cure the disease!

 

[Toddrtrex]

To add what the others have said.

Would like to think that if your tank isn't overstocked, and has enough live rock that it would be able to handle a fish dying without getting an ammonia spike (( now if all the fish die, that would be a different story )). Also, if you have a clean up crew, they should take care of most of a dead fish before it becomes an issu.

In addition, I like to always have 5 gallons of saltwater ready, and 10 gallons of RO/DI water --- just in case, you never know what is going to happen at 1 in the morning when you can't get to the LFS.

 

[t5Nitro]

By the way, I don't think most of you read my last post :lol: I stated that I've found the tang still swimming around. Just he hasn't been eating, which Paul B has been a great help on answering a few questions for me a few days back. I was saying otherwise since I found the tang, if he ends up not making it and is behind a rock and starts to decay, what should I do in this situation. Don't get me wrong, what your posts have done are good information if anything like that did happen though

Thanks for the help.

My 1st post was the tang wasn't doing well (not eating) and thinned out and I couldn't find him this morning. I thought he was possibly gone already, but I found him swimming around still. He is still in there.

Paul B was helping me earlier and giving me some tips on maybe what I could do. Think I am going to isolate the tang in a section of the tank with an algae clip in at all times so he has a source of food at all times. The yellow tang doesn't do anything to him, but I think at feeding time he intimidates him, so he now stays behind the rock most of the time and face has thinned out quite a bit.

 

[Toddrtrex]

I did read your last post, and I think mine still applies, so there.

One fish dying in a 125 ( with 40 sump ) shouldn't gave you much ( if any ) of a spike, if you aren't currently overstocked. Though like Billy said, having some "Amquel or Ammo-lock or Prime" on hand surely wouldn't hurt.

 

[otrlynn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13054254#post13054254 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by t5Nitro
By the way, I don't think most of you read my last post :lol: I stated that I've found the tang still swimming around. Just he hasn't been eating, which Paul B has been a great help on answering a few questions for me a few days back. I was saying otherwise since I found the tang, if he ends up not making it and is behind a rock and starts to decay, what should I do in this situation. Don't get me wrong, what your posts have done are good information if anything like that did happen though

Thanks for the help.

My 1st post was the tang wasn't doing well (not eating) and thinned out and I couldn't find him this morning. I thought he was possibly gone already, but I found him swimming around still. He is still in there.

Paul B was helping me earlier and giving me some tips on maybe what I could do. Think I am going to isolate the tang in a section of the tank with an algae clip in at all times so he has a source of food at all times. The yellow tang doesn't do anything to him, but I think at feeding time he intimidates him, so he now stays behind the rock most of the time and face has thinned out quite a bit.

Sorry, I did read all your posts but I interpreted your question about "how soon would ammonia of 4 ppm kill them?" to mean that you had at least 4 ppm of ammonia in your tank right now. Regarding feeding the Kole Tang, I was able to get mine to eat Nori by attaching it with a rubberband to a small piece of rock, rather than placing it in a clip, though he will eat it anywhere now including out of my hand. I notice that he goes for it even faster when it is soaked in Garlic Guard. My understanding is that the bulk of this fish's diet should be vegetable matter. At this point he eats pretty much everything but when I feed mysis to the rest of the tank, I soak it in Zoe (spirulina).

 

[snorvich]

I agree with Todd and otrlynn. I too thought you were currently experiencing levels of ammonia. My size tanks dictate a slightly different strategy as I always have at least a couple 100 gallons of water ready to go. You never know when there will be an unexpected problem.