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High Ammonia and Alkalinity
I have had my fish for 2 1/2 weeks now. My Ammonia is 4.0 and my alkalinity is 240. Is this going to level out or do I need to add something. If so what?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by TCLynx on
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What kind of fish, how many? How big is the system (fish tank, grow beds)? What is the temperature? Have you been feeding? What about Nitrite and nitrate. And more importantly what is the PH??????
Depending on the fish, I would probably be doing some major water changes in order to keep them alive if it isn't too late.
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Permalink Reply by Benicia Bendele on
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I have 1300 Talipia at about 1.5 - 2 grams, 2 - 10 feet in diameter tanks 75 x 8 grow beds (We have half of the Vigrine Island system), the water temterature has dropped to 68 last night but we just installed heaters, We have been feeding Aqua max 100 3 times a day, Nitrite and nitrate is 0. The ph is 7.8. Thanks for any help!
TCLynx said:What kind of fish, how many? How big is the system (fish tank, grow beds)? What is the temperature? Have you been feeding? What about Nitrite and nitrate. And more importantly what is the PH??????
Depending on the fish, I would probably be doing some major water changes in order to keep them alive if it isn't too late.
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STOP FEEDING. Sounds like you have a brand new system and feeding three times a day when your bio-filter isn't cycled up yet is why your ammonia is so high and you don't have any nitrite or nitrate yet.
During initial cycle up with fish you have to be careful in order to keep from killing the fish while you get the system cycled up. When your ammonia level starts to drop you might be able to feed them a little but at the moment you need to wait. Next step will be the nitrite spike and you might want to look into salting the system to help keep the nitrite from being too toxic to your fish. 1 part per thousand is usually enough salt to help with nitrite but tilapia can take some salt and benefit from it and most plants but strawberries and a few others can handle salt to 3 ppt no problem.
The nitrite spike is likely to be the longer lasting and harder spike to get past especially if the temperatures are cool. Once your ammonia and nitrite both get to 0 then you can increase the amount of feed your are giving slowly until you are feeding as much as you need or you start seeing ammonia or nitrite again.
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TCLynx said:STOP FEEDING. Sounds like you have a brand new system and feeding three times a day when your bio-filter isn't cycled up yet is why your ammonia is so high and you don't have any nitrite or nitrate yet.
During initial cycle up with fish you have to be careful in order to keep from killing the fish while you get the system cycled up. When your ammonia level starts to drop you might be able to feed them a little but at the moment you need to wait. Next step will be the nitrite spike and you might want to look into salting the system to help keep the nitrite from being too toxic to your fish. 1 part per thousand is usually enough salt to help with nitrite but tilapia can take some salt and benefit from it and most plants but strawberries and a few others can handle salt to 3 ppt no problem.
The nitrite spike is likely to be the longer lasting and harder spike to get past especially if the temperatures are cool. Once your ammonia and nitrite both get to 0 then you can increase the amount of feed your are giving slowly until you are feeding as much as you need or you start seeing ammonia or nitrite again.
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Ok it has been 3 days since we have fed them. We have lowered the ph to 7.2, changed about 20% of the water and I see a very small change in the ammonia, it is still 3.8. Nitrates are now persent at .5. Should I start adding salt, what kind, table salt? Our system is 15,330 gallons how much salt should I add or should I get a 5 gallon bucked and play with it. We do not have plants yet we just started seeding yesterday. Thanks so much for any help.
TCLynx said:STOP FEEDING. Sounds like you have a brand new system and feeding three times a day when your bio-filter isn't cycled up yet is why your ammonia is so high and you don't have any nitrite or nitrate yet.
During initial cycle up with fish you have to be careful in order to keep from killing the fish while you get the system cycled up. When your ammonia level starts to drop you might be able to feed them a little but at the moment you need to wait. Next step will be the nitrite spike and you might want to look into salting the system to help keep the nitrite from being too toxic to your fish. 1 part per thousand is usually enough salt to help with nitrite but tilapia can take some salt and benefit from it and most plants but strawberries and a few others can handle salt to 3 ppt no problem.
The nitrite spike is likely to be the longer lasting and harder spike to get past especially if the temperatures are cool. Once your ammonia and nitrite both get to 0 then you can increase the amount of feed your are giving slowly until you are feeding as much as you need or you start seeing ammonia or nitrite again.
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No, not table salt. You want to avoid iodine and any anticaking agents they may use in table salt.
I use the cheapest solar pool or solar water softener salt I can find (the dehydrated sea water kind) that is usually sold by the 40 lb bag at the grocery or hardware store.
http://www.aquaponiclynx.com/salt-for-fish-health
Here is a link to a blog post on the subject of salting
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We just started seeding. We have a raft system so we should be able to move the plants in about 7 days. We actually just baught 2 gallons of beneficial bacteria. It smelled aweful. We have also been putting muratic acid in to bring the ph down. Thanks for the info.
Duane Bohemier said:Your water temp should be between 80 and 88,PH low end 6 and absolute high end of 8. To help adjust and keep your ammonia levels in check is to use Zeolite-it is a natural mineral that removes ammonia. Have you seeded your media filtration sytem to get the ball rolling to introduce healthy microbes that will consume your ammonia?? While you have higher than normal ammonia levels, it is best to keep the PH down lower around the 6-6.4 mark.
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Permalink Reply by RupertofOZ on
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Bottled "bacteria" starter solutions... are basically useless... and wont speed your cycling up...
Getting some water from an existing AP system... or even an aquarium... and or sqeezings from filters... will help...
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Permalink Reply by chuck on
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but be VERY VERY VERY CARFULL that where ever you get that water that the system is HEALTHY. got some from a friends pet fish tank and lost the entire system. i picked up 3 diferent kinds of sickness at same time. but that was my fault, most ap systems that are well balaced the water should be fine. have fun!
RupertofOZ said:Bottled "bacteria" starter solutions... are basically useless... and wont speed your cycling up...
Getting some water from an existing AP system... or even an aquarium... and or sqeezings from filters... will help...
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A valid point Clay...
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The beneficial bacteria has done the job. Thanks for all the suggestions. My current issue is a reddish brown sludge like substance on the bottom of the tank. I am not sure if it is waist, alge, or left over food. Some of it floats. has anyone come across this?
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What ever it is... net it out of the tank....
And as you will no doubt stir up the stuff doing so... run your pumps continuously until the water clears... (no feeding).... and/or increase your oxygenation...
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