System is going good but Ammonia is starting to rise

[Joe Bifano]

2 days ago one of my 1000 gallon tanks was at .25 and yesterday .5 and today almost 1.0.  I did not feed that tank and will take a reading a little latter on.  Nitrites are 0. Ph is 6.6 and has not crashed. No dead fish now that I can see.

What causes higher ammonia?

Is it possible that I have a few dead fish but can't see them?

Or does anaerobic pockets cause this?

[Jonathan Kadish NYC AA Chair]

Besides being a byproduct of decomposition, ammonia is a byproduct of fish metabolism, so even if you aren't feeding them they are excreting it through their gills. I am guessing this system was not cycled before adding the fish? If so you may need to do partial water changes until your bacteria are established.

[Joe Bifano]

No the system was cycled for 10 weeks and doing real good. I have 2 tanks and the other one was started and cycled at the same time and is doing good.  I have usually seen about .25 and then found dead fish but it is higher.  I will add new water to it that is from my well and also look at the bottom real good for a dead fish. The temp is about 71.

[TCLynx]

You say you have more than one tank, are they two separate systems?  Or two tanks attached to the same system?

Almost anything that decomposes will produce some ammonia.  Check for dead fish of course, any uneaten feed, buildup of solids, dead critters in the sump tank?.  Is there some one else who might be feeding the fish?  Does some one not realize you are no longer fishless cycling and is still peeing in your tank for you? (crazier things have happened.)

Double check your water flows too, a lost of circulation will result in the water in a tank having water quality issues, make sure the pumps are not clogged.

As to your pH 6.6 is not crashed but has the pH dropped lately?  Or is it in the process of dropping?  See if your system cycled up at a higher pH, the bacteria will slow down as the pH drops, this is why it is very important to make sure pH doesn't drop too fast and to make sure that if you are running a low pH system that you are keeping the pH rather stable.  It might be time to add a little alkalinity or buffer the system a little bit to keep the pH from dropping too much or too fast.

[Joe Bifano]

2 separate systems. I feed the fish. no on the pee. It is in the process of dropping and pretty much staying there on the system that has they higher ammonia. The PH has been staying at 6.6 to 6.4. It started out at 8.2 but that was about1-1/2 months ago. Ever since I cycled and added the fish it has slowly gone down. What is a good buffer?

[Joe Bifano]

I have a top trough that is sloped and is 4'x8'x7" deep that I am growing watercress in it. It is way to full with plants and has a lot of solid build up in it. I sold the cress and on Monday I will be getting it all out of that trough and not growing anything up there for a while. I will leave the worms in it and start the cleanup process of this. Because it is slopped I am sure that some waters are never getting to places they need to. This may have a lot of anaerobic pockets and wonder if this could be the problem?

I am considering moving my pump outlet from this top trough to the 2 4x4'x18" media beds that are gravity feed below that feed my rafts. If this is enough filtration I will eliminate the top trough but I am considering making that top trough level and adding more height and making it 12" deep. I would then add 2 more auto siphons and feed the 2 4x4x18 bio-filters below it again and also send some of the waters to a nursery raft setup I would like to make.

I could also add a swirl filter up at the top trough and then feed the new 12" high rafts.

What are your thoughts?

[Jonathan Kadish NYC AA Chair]

If you have a lot of solids build up in the trough you probably are seeing some anaerobic zones. Does it smell? How well aerated is the trough?

[Joe Bifano]

I would say yes it smells if I lift up the roots on the watercress. The trough is just running water down a slope so there is no extra aeration. It is just like Growing powers upper trough and I think I need to change this out for sure.

[Jonathan Kadish NYC AA Chair]

I have been at growing power when they are cleaning those beds out, lets just say I am not a fan of that design because it requires regular maintenance (although for water cress it seems to do quite well) as opposed to a flood and drain set up with composting worms which can go years (from what I hear) with no maintenance.

[Joe Bifano]

I did not know this about the cleaning so they are looking like they will be gone and so I am pretty sure that I will make it a flood and drain bed 12" high next.

[George]

maybe add aeration - can't have too much, as they say