How to lower ammonia?

Any tips to bring down amonia? I have a strong filter oversize for my tank... weekly water changes , amonia lock ... thanks, Jana

Re: How to lower amonia?

Ammo lock is a waste. It actually inhibits cycling, rather than helping it.

The best way to lower ammonia is water changes.

Re: How to lower amonia?

Hi Critterkeeper,

Has your tank been fully cycled? Is the tank overstocked?

A good filter, regular water changes and regular siphoning up of detritus and uneaten food will go a long way to counter high ammonia levels. Use of live plants can also help buffer against ammonia spikes.

http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml

http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/waterquality.shtml

I agree with kaysie that things like ammo lock makes it worse.

Cheers.

Re: How to lower amonia?

How high is the ammonia? If it's only 0.5 ppm, then just do extra-large partial water changes daily until it comes down. If it's higher, you need to take the animal(s) out until the tank is cycled. Be sure to feed them minimally and clean up 100% of any uneaten food, as this is what often causes ammonia to spike.

Re: How to lower amonia?

a stocking full of activated carbon in your filter can help add additional ammonia removal,

but it shouldnt be relied on, water changes are the only way

Hmm aaron,

Were you referring to zeolite? Zeolite is commonly sold together with activated carbon granules. From my understanding zeolite absorb ammonia whereas activated carbon mainly detoxifies and removes organic debris. Nonetheless it is a good point to have good chemical filtration.

Cheers.

I would echo Rayson's point, carbon is really there for removing inorganic pollutants and for the benefit of axolotl keepers as it makes your water look clear. Zeolite is a resin that absorbs ammonia and can be recharged in saltwater. Both are useless if allowed to mature and become sealed with bacterial film or clogged with organic debris. This is why a tiny amount of carbon changed regularly is more effective then a large amount left in the filter for weeks.

It could be that you are cleaning your filter too much (if it's cycled) and rinsing away your beneficial bacteria. The other factor is to try and get your waste levels consistent. By feeding your axie little and often you will have less extreme spikes of ammonia which are easier for your filter bacteria to cope with.

If you have less frequent large feeds then waste levels and bacterial populations will drop at the same rates, causing problems when a large amount of pollution is added to the system and bacteria have to reproduce massively to control it. No matter how mature your system, you only have enough bacteria to exploit the nutrients present - when waste levels drop, so do populations of filter fauna.

Hi!
I have new activated carbon, ceramic pieces and 2 filter pads (one fine one rough) in my filter. I have 2 axies, some plants and some feeder fish in my 30 gal. tank I have a fluval 205 (40-200 gal). Chemicals in my tank include: Stress coat, ammo lock, stress zyme,biozyme and a ph regulator (that was high when we last tested). I do have quite a bit of debris in the bottom (I have tiles and large rocks, as well as clear smaller stones) I think I enjoy feeding them and bloodworms make quite a mess! I am ordering some blackworms to help this...

We went through a bio-bloom? 3 mo. ago things were really foggy but healthy... Now things look crystal clear!

Why is ammonia lock bad?

I was told that water changes too frequently can actually raise the ammonia???? What and how??? This was pet-store-guy info!

Thank you everyone for you input! Much prefer acurate info to what pet-store-guy says.

Hi Jana!

you could try to feed your axies in a separate container, so there is no left overs in your main tank.

I think too much water changes raises amonia because you take away the good bacteria that makes your biological filter, so the bacterial process starts all over again.

I dont know about your chemicals, but I have read Ph regulators do more harm than good, I dont know why, but probably someone can tell you why.

Hope this helps

It all has to do with the biological filtration.

When a tank is first set up it is a nasty chemical mess. Once live animals are introduced, their wastes build up. If the water pH is below 7, the ionized form of ammonia NH4 is formed. I will mention here that this form is not really all that toxic to aquatics. Now if the pH is higher than 7, you end up with the un-ionized form of ammonia NH3. NH3 is the toxic critter killer. Anything above about 2 parts per million of NH3 is bad news for you animals. The problem with ammonia tests for aquarists is that they are unable to differentiate between these two forms. Your test may say "HOLY BACON of the JAMAICAN! AMMONIA!" but it may not be NH3.

Now, in a properly cycled tank with an established filter, there are some bacteria that help us out. Nitrosomonas bacteria combine the ammonia with oxygen as their "food". This effectively neutralizes the ammonia into nitrites. This is great as now the ammonia is not an issue. Problem is nitrites at levels as low as 1 mg/l are toxic to a lot of aquatic animals...

Good news though, there is another type of bacterias known as Nitrobacter that "eat" nitrites! these guys also are introduced to the tank when live animals are. Nitors convert the nitrites and excrete nitrates as waste. Nitrates are not harmful to aquatics at low levels. The best way to control nitate is to do regularly schedueld water changes of about 20% or so.


The hardest part of the ammonia cycle is that in order for it to work, you have to have a steady supply of waste in the tank for the bacteria to do their thing with. While I am sure some folks will scoff at this, I have goldfish I keep for just this purpose. Yes, goldfish. I have a colony of breeding feeder goldfish and I use the main pair to cycle my tanks before adding caudates. Goldfish are nasty filthy animals that seem to excrete more than the consume. This comes in handy around my home for jump starting a new tank. Apple snails and a bit flaked fish food work really well too, they just take longer. You mentioned you have some feeder fish, so you are already one step ahaead of the game.

In your case it appears you have over chemicaled your tank. "Stress coat, ammo lock, stress zyme, biozyme and a ph regulator" I would eliminate use of the stress coat, the stresszyme and the ammo lock immediately.As for pH regulators, I would avoid those too if at all possible. All of those chemicals in addition to your water treatment (which I hope you are using) are counter productive to getting the cycle going in your tank.

I would do as the others have suggested and start doing water changes using aged, treated water. I would also change out your filter media so that you have about a quarter cup of activated carbon and a quarter cup of zeolite for the first two weeks. Test your aged treated water for pH before you treat it and 24 hours after you treat it but before you add it to the tank. If the pH is still to low or too high, adjust it then and wait 24 more hours before adding it to the tank. I am not sure what you are using, but a sodium thiosulfate treatment like Amquel is best for removing chlorine and chloramine in my experience. After the first two weeks, I would slowly lessen the amount of zeolite. The zeolite is a short term fix, and you will need to remove it all together to get your tank cycling properly. I agree with the previous posters, when it comes to carbon, a little bit changed more frequently is better than a lot changed monthly.

Some OTC water treatments can shift pH, especially if they contains aloe, as this breaks down while the stuff sits on the shelf, and can help cause pH drops, which kills off your helpful bacteria, which destroys your cycle before it gets a chance to start.

One last factor I would like to mention is carbonate hardness. Carbonate Hardness can affect not only your oxygen levels, but also affect your helpful bacteria needed for biological filtration. Water temperature can also be a factor here. Warm soft water (72F and low KH) tends to be harder to get cycling than cooler hard water (55-65F a high KH). If you find your tap water is too soft, or if in fact you have a water softener installed in your home, It may be advantageous to use bottled spring water to get you tank started, or if possible, collect your tank water before it goes through the softener.

Hi Critterkeeper,

I think there is two main areas in your tank that might be contributing to the current problem.

1 - I believe your tank is midway through cycling rather than fully cycled. What are your tank parameters? - Ammonia, nitrite and nitrates? A fully cycled tank should have 0 ammonia and nitrites and less than 60 nitrates.

A bacteria bloom (which gives somewhat turbid looking water), normally occurs when there is a spike in bacteria growth due to adjustment to a huge supply of nitrogenous waste products to break down. So i would not be suprised if your tank went through this phase.

2 - Among the list of chemicals you used - Stress coat, ammo lock, stress zyme,biozyme and a ph regulator, the only one which is necessary and not harmful is stress coat. There are a few reasons why the other chemicals are not recommended.

- Ammo lock and pH up and down regulators temporarily mask a problem. They do not target the underlying problems causing the tank fluctuations or suboptimal parameters. The only way to maintain water parameters well over the long run are regular water testing, changes, a good filter and regular siphoning up of detritus.

- Masked problems and thus 'artificially' altered tank conditions mean that it is harder to monitor the true water chemistry with accuracy.

- Unlike fish which the products were designed mainly in mind for, axolotls have different biological responses and adaptations which means some of the products which are safe to use in fish, are potentially irritant or harmful to axies. This is in particular to the gills and delicate skin. In my own experiences, i found that when i added stress zyme in the past, my axies tend to all start shedding skin almost immediately. The skin is the biggest organ to reflect adverse states of health.

- A lot of these products do not have any safety trials etc. for use in conjunction with axolotls.

- They can potentially add more waste products to your tank water. For eg. stress zyme.

- They might not be effective at all - stress zyme.

- I believe ammo lock act by converting the more toxic form of unionised ammonia to the less toxic form by chelation. That doesnt' mean the ammonia is not there. Its still present and though 'less' toxic, any amount of ammonia is STILL toxic.

- It interferes with the normal cycling process.

- Some products may have negative impact on the healthy bacteria population. Although axies can tolerate a wide range of pH from 6.5-8, bacteria are much more sensitive to pH changes. Use of pH up and down chemicals quickly alters the pH (fluctuate) unlike normal gradual progression. Thus bacteria populations can be wiped out.

Cheers.

Wow! Thanks, I thought I was doing good by purchaisng all of these and adding them to my tank!
Lots of input thank you guys for all of the details!

I totally forgot that there is some outstanding articles on this topic on Caudata culture. Check them out!

http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/articles.shtml

very informative Thanks! My tank is doing much better now and a whole lot less chemicals which makes me happy. Thank you all for all of your help! My axies are lazing about happily! And as a side note while feeding them less they have decided to get off their rears and hunt! About 4 guppies a week but I am happy they are finding stimuli in the tank!