# added new fish and soft coral.. Ammonia spike



## fin-nipper86 (Oct 5, 2012)

Hey guys, 

Background: acquired established tank from family member, managed to preserve the cycle, waited a week and got the water tested everyday by a well known fish store. He also gave me a black O. Clown

Everything checked out, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and nitrate, ph stays a consistent 8.2 

They said it was ok to add a couple fish and some coral so I added:
-1 six line wrasse
-1 long nose hawkfish 
-4 soft coral frags(don't know the names) 

I tested the water today, the parameters are as follows: 
-ammonia .25ppm
-nitrate 0ppm 
-nitrite 0ppm 
-ph 8.2 

I know it's normal for the ammonia to spike but my question is should I wait for it to biologically fix itself or should I do a water change?


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

I'd do a water change to knock those numbers down a bit. I don't believe they will remain that high for very long, but I'd not leave them there for your corals sake.


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## fin-nipper86 (Oct 5, 2012)

Ok I'll do that then.. How much water? Also do I add the saltwater or the ro/di?


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## fin-nipper86 (Oct 5, 2012)

Ok I did the change, tested the water, and it's back at zero! Woohoo! Thank u. I'll test it again all this week just to make sure.


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

I think you might have had a positive negative, or just a bad reading. The WC will not hurt anything, just a good precaution.
Yes, when mixing up a new batch for a WC, you need to add the salt to the RO/DI water, stir it up really well, then add.


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## fin-nipper86 (Oct 5, 2012)

Update: I tested the water again and got 0ppm for ammonia.


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)




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## fin-nipper86 (Oct 5, 2012)

Another update: 
I was very VERY wrong. Ammonia is still .25 or a little more. I've done 3 water changes and it's not moving. 

I'm keeping ph between 7.8-8.0 to lessen the toxicity of the ammonia. 

Water changes aren't helping. I don't know what to do at this point. Any advice would be helpful


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Sounde like your in a mini cycle.The tank had NO fish when you got it and you have added a few.They make way more waste than just the corals.I would (like RM said before) keep up on changes for the coral(they will not be very tolerant of ammonia).
Side note % of water changed is % ammonia will go down co with .25ppm+ 50% wc may not clearly show on test.
0 nitrates on test from LFS? Test those to see if you even have good active bacteria.
What size tank?


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

Agree with CB.
If your doing water changes and not seeing it go down, yiur kit is bad. 
In irder to brin it down on a cycling tank, ya gotta do 50% change, and monitor that number. To get it to 0, ya gotta keep doing the water changes. But tha cycles will take forever. So your going to have to be patient with this.


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## fin-nipper86 (Oct 5, 2012)

the tank size is 30 gallons. Also, I dont plan on adding anymore fish. I understand that SW fish need way more water volume. I just want to get this down before i kill them

yes there was a single fish in there that my cousin gave me when he gave me the tank.. and a coral and a clean up crew.. the clean up crew has been there for about a year and the fish has been in there for about 7 months. 

Before i added the fish i had the water tested everyday, it showed good readings for everything. 

I will take the water again today and let you guys know. Its one of the most highly regarded saltwater aquarium stores in dallas so I trust them. 

Will keep doing water changes..


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

You should consider getting a test kit for yourself so you can easily detect problems and deal with them timely.
Hope everything gets good for your tank!


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## fin-nipper86 (Oct 5, 2012)

i have an api liquid test kit.. one for my saltwater and one for my fresh water.. thats how i knew the ammonia spiked. i test it everyday


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