ammonia at 4.0 -- why?

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Marimo

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I just did a test and found the ammonia reading was at 4.0 (this is a pretty dangerous level, right?) but I don't know what would cause it to go so high. The tank is fully cycled, I have a Marineland Eclipse bio-wheel filter, and I had done a 20% water change a week before. There was a bit of waste in the tank that I hadn't sucked up yet, but is that enough to cause the ammonia to shoot up like that? Would warm water temperatures cause the waste to disintegrate faster? Nitrites were close to 0 and pH was a little low - 6.

I took my axie out and put him in a container with new treated water, until I can get the ammonia down.
 
There is something rotting that you're missing.

Your 20% water changes aren't adequate.

Your ammonia test is expired/bad.

You have chloramines in your tank, and are treating with dechlorinator (the chlorine dissipates, but the amine (ammonia) is left behind).

Those are the usual culprits. How long did you cycle your tank? What size is your tank?
 
Don't think there's anything rotting that I'm missing, unless there's enough material mixed in with the substrate (sand) to cause a problem.

Not using dechlorinator, and I would think that the filter combined with a 20% change would be adequate?

I have a 20 gallon long tank, been using it for 2.5 years now, although I started with the new bio-wheel filter about 8 months ago.
 
Wait, you didn't use dechlorinator? That could simply be your problem. The tap could contain chloramine, which contains ammonia. Test your tap to see the amount of ammonia in it.
 
Ammonia coming from your tap water is certainly a good possibility for being the source. But if you were testing a week after the most recent 20% change, I have a feeling that the ammonia from the tap water would have been broken down by then if the tank were cycling normally.

What kind of sand do you have exactly, and how thick is the layer? How do you clean it? Do you have live plants in the tank?
 
To clarify, I did use dechlorinator on the tap water I used in the last water change, but I tested the tap water just to be sure and it's only at about .25.

I use fine sand, only about .5", it's been the same sand for about 3 years. I do have a few moss balls in the tank, but they seem healthy (not rotting, certainly).
 
I suggest taking a sample of your water to the pet shop and have them test it. Your test kit may have gone bad.
 
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