Urgent pH and Ammonia

i raised the ph of my year old 125g reef tank a week ago with water changes, guess it was too fast and now i have an ammonia problem. CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME! I read it could be caused by bacterial colonies dying off due to the use of medications or sudden change in water conditions. so i think it is that, nothing died and rotted away in there or anything. I have been using Amquel Plus but i heard that it doesnt remove ammonia just makes it less toxic.so far i have only lost my NICE emcrusting horn coral, my pulsing zenias and an anthais and ALL my corals look like crap right now. Please help me before my tank is destroyed. anyone a pro in the ammonia/pH department.

What should i do now?? A little advice is needed.

my ph is at 8.2 and ammonia is .25 -.50 all other levels are right on.

Should i lower the pH so the ammonia isnt as toxic?? will lowering the pH back down again put the fish into pH shock?

Is there anything that removes ammonia (not just makes it less toxic) I want it out of my tank for good.

I have a protien skimmer and a refugium in the sump. Mangroves and macro algae to remove ammonia and nitrates and nitrites, i thought. last night i hooked up a canister filter with carbon and pads in it, to help get some ammonia... I also did another water change and got all the **** outta the nooks and crannys of the live rock.
I checked the pH just before and the ammonia levels havent moved. I dont know what to do....

Please help

Has anyone ever had this problem and solved it??
any advice is apprciated...

 

I think I would do another water change. But before I added the water to my system I would test it.

Id wait for someone a little more advanced than myself to chime in, I just wanted to give my two cents.

 

Leave the pH where it is at, it's at an ideal level. Tinkering with it even more will only cause more stress. Sounds like you have done the right things so far. How often were you doing water changes and by how much? You wouldn't think a year old tank would be prone to crashes like that.

 

I wouldnt go messing with ph for now. as already suggested, I think a water change is in order. Prime is a product that detoxifies ammonia. I have some on hand pretty much at all times and so do many others.

Aquarium Water Quality & Conditioners: Seachem Prime Water Conditioner

 

Carbon will not remove ammonia , a product like GFO will. Trying to do anything too fast in this hobby frequently ends in disaster!! It sounds as if your tank may be going through a cycle again while the nitrifying bacteria gets back in balance. I would do frequent 10% water changes with RODI water and test frequently. I would think that as long as your biologic load is not too heavy thn your levels will stabilize over the next 2 weeks or so. Good luck!!!!

 

I don't know if doing anymore water changes right now will be beneficial. I would let things sit idle, allowing your bacteria to build up and convert your ammonia to nitrite and nitrate. I would then do a 10% water change to remove the nitrate.

 

The nitrifying bacteria are in the rocks and the sand mostly very little is in the water column so the water changes are a good thing as long as the OP aerates the salt vigorously for at least an hour before using the new water so the ammonia is gassed off from chemical reactions from mixing the salt and water.

 

Correct. My comment stemmed from the "food source" for the bacteria. Removing the ammonia won't help build the colonies back up to a desired population. I think of it as a cycle. Water changes during a cycle defeats the purpose of said cycle.

 

If the mini cycle is due to a loss of bacteria for some reason I agree. My thoughts are a 1 year old tank crashing is something has died and needs to be found.

 

That was my first reaction too. The OP said nothing died though.