High Ammonia/ Help !

[johanna13]

These are the cat fish I bought I have no idea what type they are.
There very hard to see.. and they run and hide at the site of me.. lol

[Hallyx]

I'll let LBF tackle the explanation of KH and it relationship to pH, but I can help answer your filter question.

Originally Posted by johanna13

This is where I get very confused about the filter media. I was told to not replace the filter cartridges because that's where all the good bacteria is. but the cartridges are falling apart ..

Filter media is anything like foam, charcoal, cartridge, filter floss that you put in your filter to filter particles and to be colonized with nitrifying bacteria which cycle your tank. Your's is falling apart.

I assume, from having it in a cycled tank for months, that it's full of bacteria. Don't throw it out. Instead, install a new cartridge right on top of the old one. There ought to be enough room. After a couple of weeks the bacteria will be transferred to the new media. Then you can throw the old one away.

[johanna13]

Thank you for that !! you just answered my question so simply that I finally GET IT ! now it all makes perfect sense. OK Ill put in the new cartridges and keep the old one with it for a few weeks..

I use to change the cartridge every month because the instructions that come with all these filters tell you to change them monthly.
Thanks again.

[LittleBettaFish]

Is your media a very fine filter wool? If so, this is really only for polishing water and they do tend to fall apart after a period of time.

It is best to use either filter sponge or ceramic bio-media, as these will last a very long time, and the ceramic bio-media in particular has lots of surface area to maximise colonisation by beneficial bacteria.

When washing filter media, always gently swish around in water taken from your aquarium and never use straight out tap water. It is not something you need to do daily. I usually only rinse my filter media when I notice the flow on my filter start to drop off. You never change out more than 1/3 of your filter media at a time in fully cycled tank. I would personally do less if my tank was only newly established.

KH stands for carbonate hardness, and basically it is the buffering capacity of your water. If you have a very high KH, your pH will be very stable and difficult to alter. However, with a low KH, your pH will often fluctuate and while it may come out of the tap with a particular reading, this reading will often change quite dramatically once the water has been left to sit for a day or so.

With our water here in Melbourne, it comes out of the tap with a pH at around 7. However, the KH of our water is very low. I think it was like 0° last time I measured it. Therefore, after 24 hours, the pH of our water drops to around 6.

While my softwater fish thrive, it makes establishing and maintaining a cycle more difficult as I have to ensure the pH of my water remains at least neutral. The bacteria you want to cultivate, do not like acidic conditions. This could be why your Nitrosomonas bacterium (the bacteria that converts ammonia into nitrite) does not seem to be doing its job properly.

I cannot properly see that catfish. Have you got a better shot. It kind of does look like a species of corydoras but I can't be sure.

[Pogthefish]

Just a sugestion, adding some seashells (after boiling them) will raise the Ph and KH, but if you have a VT, this won't work because it will cause their fins to cur because they make the water hard. If you don't miond fin curling, you can still do it.

KH- Pretty much means the higher this is, the harder it is to change the Ph. If you get the Ph where you want it, it is safe to raise the KH to keep it there.

[johanna13]

What I dont understand is I have three other tanks.. one is a 55 gal one is a 10 gal and another one is another 29 gal.
On each of those other tanks the PH is good and I use the same tap water I am using in this 29 gal tank that Ii'm having issues with.

Tonight I did another water change in this tank... I did a 75% water change because the ammonia was such a dark green it also had a touch of blue in it.
I just checked the ammonia in the water only 20 minutes after putting in the new water and although the ammonia is much lower its still high??
I just dont understand whats happening here...

[Pogthefish]

That is still WAY too high. It should be yellow-yellowish green.

[Hallyx]

I've never seen that much ammonia from an unoccupied tank. I'm willing to bet you have something rotting in your gravel. I would dump everything, then clean and restart that tank.

[johanna13]

I think your right... I'm going to get rid of everything in that tank ... get new gravel and start over !
Thanks.

[Pogthefish]

Well I woul just rinse everything really well and boil the non-plastics like gravel and silk plants.