Ammonia spike 😩

[Dmcx3xx]

I have a cycled tank. Yesterday I checked ammonia,nitrite,nitrate and pH

Ammonia was 2ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate in the orange can't remember what one exactly
Ph in the 7s

I took everything out the tank and found a large ball of worms in the back of a hide. I put the ammonia down to this..

I done a 70% water change added prime

I have just checked again now as it's worrying me

Using API test kit these two look exactly the same at first glance one is my tap water one is tank water

When I look down into the tube it looks like ammonia is 0.25 tap water is 0ppm

What do I do next

 

[AMurry24537]

I'm not 100% sure I fully understand everything, so I'll try to cover as much as I can based on what I see. The two test tubes look different to me for sure; as I understand it, your tap water has 0 and your tank has a little bit of ammonia? If so, you are right on track with adding SeaChem Prime and doing water changes. The SeaChem Prime will detoxify the ammonia that's there, and the water changes will help to get it out. I would recommend doing a few more water changes until either the ammonia spike goes away or until the tank is recycled (as this may be the result of a crash); the frequency and amount is up to your discretion. I would probably do about 40% every 12 hours if it were me. Test right before doing a change. Increase the amount/frequency if it's still similar after doing the next water change. It should be back to normal within a day or two.

Okay, new situation: now I don't think this is the case from what you've said? But if there is already ammonia in your tap water straight out of the tap (which I believe is a common side effect of recently-all-too-common heat waves, though I could be wrong) you can still definitely use Prime to temporarily detoxify the ammonia, but you may be better off using something like spring water for a bit.

If it is an instance of a crashed cycle, you'll have to start over again with that (sorry), but the treatments remain the same; SeaChem Prime + water changes.

Lmk if you have any questions, but hopefully that helped!

 

[Dmcx3xx]

I'm not 100% sure I fully understand everything, so I'll try to cover as much as I can based on what I see. The two test tubes look different to me for sure; as I understand it, your tap water has 0 and your tank has a little bit of ammonia? If so, you are right on track with adding SeaChem Prime and doing water changes. The SeaChem Prime will detoxify the ammonia that's there, and the water changes will help to get it out. I would recommend doing a few more water changes until either the ammonia spike goes away or until the tank is recycled (as this may be the result of a crash); the frequency and amount is up to your discretion. I would probably do about 40% every 12 hours if it were me. Test right before doing a change. Increase the amount/frequency if it's still similar after doing the next water change. It should be back to normal within a day or two.

Okay, new situation: now I don't think this is the case from what you've said? But if there is already ammonia in your tap water straight out of the tap (which I believe is a common side effect of recently-all-too-common heat waves, though I could be wrong) you can still definitely use Prime to temporarily detoxify the ammonia, but you may be better off using something like spring water for a bit.

If it is an instance of a crashed cycle, you'll have to start over again with that (sorry), but the treatments remain the same; SeaChem Prime + water changes.

Lmk if you have any questions, but hopefully that helped!

Thank you very much for your reply .

Yeah it's the tap water that has 0 however I have just tested them all again tap water, and tank water I used two different test kits both API. And they are showing all 0ppm. Which has certainly made me a but puzzled lol. It wasn't just one test earlier that was showing ammonia it was about 3 as I triple checked . I hate API at times. So unsure to just take that as a 0ppm ammonia.

How likely would it be for some sort of ammonia to build up and show after the water change about 15hrs ago? I hope my cycle hasn't crashed.

 

[AMurry24537]

Thank you very much for your reply .

Yeah it's the tap water that has 0 however I have just tested them all again tap water, and tank water I used two different test kits both API. And they are showing all 0ppm. Which has certainly made me a but puzzled lol. It wasn't just one test earlier that was showing ammonia it was about 3 as I triple checked . I hate API at times. So unsure to just take that as a 0ppm ammonia.

How likely would it be for some sort of ammonia to build up and show after the water change about 15hrs ago? I hope my cycle hasn't crashed

If your tests are reading 0 ammonia, you should be fine. It's possible that you were previously picking up remaining ammonia from the worms that you cleaned out. I would recommend doing a few more ammonia tests just to double-check things. Wait at least 12 hours after a water change and test it. If it's 0 for 2 or 3 tests, you should be good to go, but if it's above 0, it's possible that your cycle crashed.

 

[MnGuy]

How long had your tank been cycled before you got the ammonia reading?

How big is the tank?

How many animals live in there?

How much do you feed? A ball of blackworms would indicate overfeeding.

If it's a newly cycled tank ammonia can quickly build up again if there are too many animals in the tank or there is insufficient filtration or water changes, or, overfeeding in combination with filtration and water change issues.

Good luck.

 

[Dmcx3xx]

If your tests are reading 0 ammonia, you should be fine. It's possible that you were previously picking up remaining ammonia from the worms that you cleaned out. I would recommend doing a few more ammonia tests just to double-check things. Wait at least 12 hours after a water change and test it. If it's 0 for 2 or 3 tests, you should be good to go, but if it's above 0, it's possible that your cycle crashed.

Perfect I have just tested again 5mins ago and yesterday 2/3x and all the ammonia is 0. I took the worms out put them in s tub with some tank water and a few hours later tested that water it was 8ppm ! I will be feeding them and taking them right out from now on lol

How long had your tank been cycled before you got the ammonia reading?

How big is the tank?

How many animals live in there?

How much do you feed? A ball of blackworms would indicate overfeeding.

If it's a newly cycled tank ammonia can quickly build up again if there are too many animals in the tank or there is insufficient filtration or water changes, or, overfeeding in combination with filtration and water change issues.

Good luck.

Hey I have been cycled for about 4 months it's 200L I have 3 axolols in there right now (another tank is cycling right now for the male)

I do a water change once a week. I feed every day but I always leave a couple of worms in the tank I have thought they had been eating them however it wasn't the case

Since I have taken them out done a water change the ammonia is still 0ppm x

 

[SunnyAxies]

Perfect I have just tested again 5mins ago and yesterday 2/3x and all the ammonia is 0. I took the worms out put them in s tub with some tank water and a few hours later tested that water it was 8ppm ! I will be feeding them and taking them right out from now on lol

Hey I have been cycled for about 4 months it's 200L I have 3 axolols in there right now (another tank is cycling right now for the male)

I do a water change once a week. I feed every day but I always leave a couple of worms in the tank I have thought they had been eating them however it wasn't the case

Since I have taken them out done a water change the ammonia is still 0ppm x

Guessing the other two are female and that's why they share a tank? Unless... Anyway, no idea why I made this comment but glad your water doesn't have ammonia(?)

 

[Dmcx3xx]

Guessing the other two are female and that's why they share a tank? Unless... Anyway, no idea why I made this comment but glad your water doesn't have ammonia(?)

Yes 2 females I also have a male in there to but a divider is up just until his own tank is cycled