Question about ammonia

fantails · 01-04-2010, 11:56 AM

Hi. I just wanted to know a tank with a temp of 68 and a PH of 7.8 what is the highest ammonia that I can have without a water change. Thanks Mike

bje · 01-04-2010, 12:03 PM

if you're not in the middle of setting up a new aquarium (first nitrogen cycle) you should have 0/ppm of ammonia (NH3) present. iirc with goldfish i think they can tolerate 10-20/ppm nitrate. years ago when i had a goldfish tank i gave it new water bi-weekly. params never were over 10ppm nitrate. though at the time i was a total newbie and using the test strips still which are not totally accurate from what ive come to learn.

bje · 01-04-2010, 12:05 PM

if they're producing enough ammonia for it to be present in the water and the bacterial colonies cant keep up then you're probably overstocked, overfeeding, and have lack of filtration or a combination of things.

what kind of filtration setup do you have, tank size, established for how long, substrate type/depth, and how many fish?

fantails · 01-04-2010, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bje

if you're not in the middle of setting up a new aquarium (first nitrogen cycle) you should have 0/ppm of ammonia (NH3) present. iirc with goldfish i think they can tolerate 10-20/ppm nitrate. years ago when i had a goldfish tank i gave it new water bi-weekly. params never were over 10ppm nitrate. though at the time i was a total newbie and using the test strips still which are not totally accurate from what ive come to learn.

I had to use antibiotics in my gel food for my fish that were in my main tank. I did not have a hospital tank setup at the time I am in the process of cycling a 10 gal for a hospital tank. so i was told that it would compromise my cycle a little. I think my PH is about 7.8 - 8.0 and I know that I don't have much lead way I just was not sure how much lead way that I had. I am at about .12 or less. Mike

bje · 01-04-2010, 12:14 PM

if you have sick fish that you're putting into this 10gal id wait for the ammonia to be 0 before you put them in.

goldfish thrive in 7.2-7.6 PH. if its 7.8-8.0 you're going to stress them and potentially kill them during acclimation to the 10gal.

whats the PH they're in now?

bje · 01-04-2010, 12:41 PM

another thing, make sure the tanks well oxygenated. as for tank temp i always kept them in 72degree water. but i know they have a crazy temperature range of like 50-100 degrees so long as you dont change it drastically at any one given time they can survive.

the main tank should be well oxygenated, and have a very very good filtration system. goldfish are messy eaters and leave alot of debris. it was always in the filtration that killed my goldfish....

bje · 01-04-2010, 12:44 PM

yer making me want to bust out an unused tank and set it up for some fantails lol

fantails · 01-12-2010, 05:06 AM

I use 2 aqua clear 50's but I am going to change that to one aquaclear 50 and one aqua clear 70 the 70's have more room for the media.

I will be running 500 gph. I baffle my filters for current reasons. I leave about 5/8 inch on each filter so that the water does not over flow.

I have to sponge filters that create bubbles and a round air stone and I keep the tank about 70. Is that enough oxygen?? I use a 40g breeder tank 36 long X 18 wide and 16 high.

bje · 01-14-2010, 01:50 AM

just make sure the air pump is rated for a 40gal tank. and you're fine as long as you have some air exchange in the water going on. in my tanks i always just used one airstone with a air pump rated for the tank size. now, my freshwater tanks get air from the same pump because i was trying to cut down on overall power consumption.

01-04-2010, 11:56 AM	#1
fantails Plankton Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Ontario, Canada Age: 49 Posts: 21 Skin: Mint Karma: 277	Question about ammonia Hi. I just wanted to know a tank with a temp of 68 and a PH of 7.8 what is the highest ammonia that I can have without a water change. Thanks Mike

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01-04-2010, 12:03 PM	#2
bje Long-fin Bannerfish Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Illinois Age: 31 Posts: 1,631 Skin: Dark Karma: 129670	if you're not in the middle of setting up a new aquarium (first nitrogen cycle) you should have 0/ppm of ammonia (NH3) present. iirc with goldfish i think they can tolerate 10-20/ppm nitrate. years ago when i had a goldfish tank i gave it new water bi-weekly. params never were over 10ppm nitrate. though at the time i was a total newbie and using the test strips still which are not totally accurate from what ive come to learn.

01-04-2010, 12:05 PM	#3
bje Long-fin Bannerfish Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Illinois Age: 31 Posts: 1,631 Skin: Dark Karma: 129670	if they're producing enough ammonia for it to be present in the water and the bacterial colonies cant keep up then you're probably overstocked, overfeeding, and have lack of filtration or a combination of things. what kind of filtration setup do you have, tank size, established for how long, substrate type/depth, and how many fish?

01-04-2010, 12:14 PM	#5
bje Long-fin Bannerfish Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Illinois Age: 31 Posts: 1,631 Skin: Dark Karma: 129670	if you have sick fish that you're putting into this 10gal id wait for the ammonia to be 0 before you put them in. goldfish thrive in 7.2-7.6 PH. if its 7.8-8.0 you're going to stress them and potentially kill them during acclimation to the 10gal. whats the PH they're in now?

01-04-2010, 12:41 PM	#6
bje Long-fin Bannerfish Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Illinois Age: 31 Posts: 1,631 Skin: Dark Karma: 129670	another thing, make sure the tanks well oxygenated. as for tank temp i always kept them in 72degree water. but i know they have a crazy temperature range of like 50-100 degrees so long as you dont change it drastically at any one given time they can survive. the main tank should be well oxygenated, and have a very very good filtration system. goldfish are messy eaters and leave alot of debris. it was always in the filtration that killed my goldfish....

01-04-2010, 12:44 PM	#7
bje Long-fin Bannerfish Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Illinois Age: 31 Posts: 1,631 Skin: Dark Karma: 129670	yer making me want to bust out an unused tank and set it up for some fantails lol

01-12-2010, 05:06 AM	#8
fantails Plankton Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Ontario, Canada Age: 49 Posts: 21 Skin: Mint Karma: 277	I use 2 aqua clear 50's but I am going to change that to one aquaclear 50 and one aqua clear 70 the 70's have more room for the media. I will be running 500 gph. I baffle my filters for current reasons. I leave about 5/8 inch on each filter so that the water does not over flow. I have to sponge filters that create bubbles and a round air stone and I keep the tank about 70. Is that enough oxygen?? I use a 40g breeder tank 36 long X 18 wide and 16 high.

01-14-2010, 01:50 AM	#9
bje Long-fin Bannerfish Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Illinois Age: 31 Posts: 1,631 Skin: Dark Karma: 129670	just make sure the air pump is rated for a 40gal tank. and you're fine as long as you have some air exchange in the water going on. in my tanks i always just used one airstone with a air pump rated for the tank size. now, my freshwater tanks get air from the same pump because i was trying to cut down on overall power consumption.