if i had an ammonia reading of 8.0+....my fish would be DEAD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i am using the 2-bottle based salicyclate test kit. (aquarium pharmaceuticals).

Anywayz.
One day i tested my water for ammonia.
It had a reading of 8.0+ .
But my fish were happy, eating, swimming around
I was like WHAT THA !!!!!!!!

it didn't make any sense.
If my ammonia was 8.0+.....my fish would be DEAD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
no question!!!!

so i figured it had to be the ammo-lock.

Anywayz.
I changed to 'PRIME'.
and my ammonia is reading correctly !!!!

Yep... I've heard Ammolock messes with even salicylate ammonia tests. Thanks for posting this info!

Yes I was waiting for a reply on ammo-lock, my ammonia has been high since I started using the ammo-lock in September, how can I remove the ammo???I had a pet store tell me it was bad stuff so I haven't used it in a couple of days, can u help?
What is prime? what does it do?

u don't need to remove ammo-lock.
it will be removed every time you do a water change.

so basically, if you want to stop using it.
just use the NEW conditioner (prime or whatever) instead (each time u do a water change)..
and eventually....the ammo-lock will be removed from your system.
and the NEW conditioner will be in the water.

however..
on its own...
ammo-lock its still an effective water conditioner/ammonia detoxifier...
but it just messes up your ammonia readings (they are just not reliable)

actually i'm glad that I found out that ammo-lock was responsible for my high readings..

cuz i was doing sooooooooooooooooooooooooo many water changes.
And wasting lots of money!!!
also, i was fasting my fish..cuz i thought the ammonia was toooo high.

Man... that's sooo rude to not at least document that in the product labeling.

So how's your ammonia now?

my ammonia was reading was ZERO all along !!!!

i was soooooooo paranoid.

i checked the ammonia level.
it was 8.0+

i was like... OH DEAR !!!
the first thing i did was a 50% water change !!!!
and i kept doing this for 1 week !!!!!!!!!!!
because i thought i was cycling again!!

it was soooo weird.
my nitrates were 5.0ppm !!!
my ammonia was 8.0+
my nitrite was zero

and my fish were happy swimming around.

but what concerned me was the ammonia.
so i kept doing 50% water changes and reduced feeding !!
poor fish...i think i stressed them out !!
and all along..the water was fine !!!

I really like this forum and the replies, am glad to think that its been the ammo lock all this time and not actually my water, and yes I was stressing my fish out very much changing their water every day to every other day, but like someone said they are swimming around and not acting sick. We'll be glad when the ammo lock is out of there tho.
That was a very good post. thanks
I am going to check into the prime, is prime like Stress Coat tho?

YES, Prime is like Stress Coat.

It is a water conditioner (removes chlorines and chloramines).
AND
it is detoxifies ammonia, nitrite and nitrate!!!

it is also VERY VERY CONCENTRATED !!!

i think 1mL for every 40L of water.

thanks for the input, this really helps me out a lot, couldn't figure why my amonia was so high, its currently 8.0 but the fish are active and eating, how long was it when your test finally read 0? I stopped the ammo-lock just a couple of days ago..thanks

hrmm.

maybe 3 water changes...

i just stopped using it.
and instead of using ammo-lock for my water changes.

i just started using the PRIME.

eventually the ammo-lock was OUT of my water..
and PRIME was in.

thank u so much, I have done 1 water change since I have read this post, whats your feeling on StressZyme, I had read somewhere on this post that it could raise the ammonia too, after I applied it to my tank..since I have stopped using the ammo by ammonia went up to 8.0, my tank is also 75 degrees, but the fish meet me every morning at the top and are swimming ok, I think one has swim bladder tho.
thanks for the replies...
also, how often is too much for a water change, and with each water change do I clean the stones as well or just take water from the top, yesterday I removed 2 1/2 gallons from a 10 gallon tank, and did the stones at the same time, should I do the water changes every day? or every other? am confused on this part..thanx

So how long's your tank been set up?

Ooh, uber helpful post. I just bought ammo lock for my tank, and it was only AFTER I chucked it in that I wondered whether it would screw up my ammonia tests.

I'm not even completely sure how it works

I set up my 10 gallon the end of August, I had a slight ammonia problem, so the pet store suggested ammo lock, so I used it and my ammonia went high very quickly, I have continued to use ammo lock but at the same time have had an ammonia problem in the tank, I only have 2 small goldfish in there, the smallest being about 1" not counting his tail, and the bigger 1 1/2". There both active and rooting at the bottom of their stones. I was happy to see that the ammo lock can really mess up your readings, I use the same test kit, the two bottle liquid one myself. I've stopped using ammo lock only a couple of days ago when I saw this post, boy was I ever glad to see it, plus another pet store told me they won't even sell ammo lock in the store because it masks your readings..I'm just confused about the water changes, should I take out 2 1/2 gallons every day or every other day? and do I do the stones as well each time, or only change water from the top?am a bit confused with this one
thanks a bunch

I keep doing daily partial water changes if it were me.
You don't need to vacuum if there's not a lot of debris in the tank.

Stress Zyme is a 'good bacteria' BOOSTER. It does NOT contain good bacteria
Its an enzyme that helps speed-UP the division/multiplication of the good bacteria.
From my experience it does NOT work (or produce fantastic results
Having said that....it doesn't hurt to use it... it doesn't hurt your fish...but its a waste of money (since u ONLY need it at the beginning of cycling).



u mentioned above that u have done 1 water change sinze using ammo-lock.
The reason your ammonia went up to 8.0 again...is because there is still ammo-lock in the tank.
1 water change is not enough to remove all the ammo-lock. So the remaining ammo-lock is still messing your test results.

NOT TO WORRY...
In my opinion....if your fish look fine & eating & happy..... IGNORE the ammonia readings.
INSTEAD......do your weekly water changes as normal (and use another water conditioner e.g. stress coat, prime, amquel )
Eventually the ammo-lock will be removed from the system...
and the water will contain the NEW conditioner.

I recommend the PRIME (seachem). It does NOT mess with your results!!!!!!!
As I stated earlier.
It doesn't hurt to use ammo-lock. It is effective in detoxifying ammonia.
The only problem is that you cannot monitor your ammonia levels. Because it messes up the results.
Which (in my opinion) is POINTLESS !!!!!
what's the point of having a test kit, if you can't use it....
Better to use a conditioner that is combatible with the test kits !!!





water changes should be performed WEEKLY !!
(Unless you are having water quality problems e.g. high ammonia, high nitrite...then u perform daily water changes)
again it depends on your levels. If your tank is NOT cycled...u may have to change everyday...or every 2nd day.

how much water do u change??
Again this depends on the water quality.
It can range from 10% to 90% MAX.
But if your tank is cycled, then 10-25% is good !!!

Water change and cleaning....
With each water change you
1) vacuum the gravel
2) wash/shake/squeeze the dirty filter/sponge/filter floss in the OLD TANK WATER (the water u just removed) !!!!


hope this helps.

thank u so very much! yes they are eating and picking at the stones its just frustrating, would like to add an algae eater in there but want to make sure the tank is stabilized
I gave them a piece of orange tonight, its so cute to watch them go after it...they love it
thanks for your help I will keep u posted on my results, I am going to follow your advice.
thanks
PS: I can't seem to keep mystery snails in there, could it be from the ammonia?? or the ammo lock? do u have mystery snails? I thought they were hardy

hrrmm..
MYSTERY SNAILS...

that's odd....snails are very hardy (from what i have heard)...
i have heard people 'cycling' WITH snails !!!

hrmm..
do u have sufficient oxygen ??
snails need oxygen..
so DON'T fill the tank to the top.

have u checked your pH ???
pH should be close to 7.0 or above 7.0. and make sure its STABLE !!!

other than that....the snails should be fine..

its great to hear your fish are happy !!!
like i said...if they are swimming & eating.. they should be fine
also fish picking at the stones is a GREAT GREAT sign !!!

so i wouldn't worry about your water.
chances are the ammonia is zero or very very close to zero

I am so excited but yet paranoid! I did another water change tonight, my ammonia came down to 4.0 from 8.0. I just hope it doesn't go back up again and that this is a sign that the ammo is finally coming out, I have a bubbler in my tank to help with the oxygen, my ph is 8, my water temp is 74...yeah have lost quite a few snails, I really like them but don't seem to have any luck with them, the longest was 2 weeks, cycle with snails! too funny, when I can't even keep them alive..we'll continue to keep u informed thanks

My ammonia came down to 0.2! I think the ammo-lock was giving me false readings, thank you so much for your post, it really helped me a lot. I change the water every other day and it comes down, am hopeful that it will be almost 0 in a few more changes. Changing the water every day doesn't make a difference, every other day is better for me..
thanks for your help

It just had to be given the tank was set up in Sept!

i was wondering...

are you using "AMMO-LOCK" or "AMMO-LOCK 2" ??????????

because there is a NEW ammo-lock....called "ammo-lock 2"

i'm not sure if they are the same..
but the OLD one stuff-up the test kits !!

i'm not sure if the new one has the same effect..

u said you stopped using ammo-lock.

what conditioner are u using now?

sorry I haven't gotten back, but the tank cycled within two weeks of stopping the ammo-lock, and I was using the regular ammo-lock, I also found out that the reason I couldn't keep the snails was because of the salt and ammo-lock I was using, I have now had success in keeping snails since the tank has cycled, I faithfully do water changes every week, I don't mind it at all, they are like my babies.
thanks again for your valuable info, couldn't have done it without this post, I have since added a bristlenose pleco too

its me again, I use the Stress Coat conditioner with each water change

I don't like stress coat. it contain aloe very which can coat their gills.

I don't apply stress coat directly to the water, I put it in my filter and it gets mixed up in there, any other suggestions? is Prime better? don't have too many stores that sell it here..am very open to any suggestions thanks
oh yeah, how does it coat the gills? I was told by a pet store to add it to the filter because of that, does it make it hard for them to breathe or something?? please advise, thanks again

I think it's because it's thicker than water, almost a syrupy consistency. I suppose for the fish it would be like us trying to breathe in a smoky room. I'm not sure whether putting it straight in the filter is a good idea either. I doubt it would have the same effectiveness, and I don't think it would be very good for the bio bugs

TBH, if you are keeping the tank nice and clean, and looking after your fish, you shouldn't really need stress coat. Mind you, my brother uses it for his cichlids. His method is to dissolve it into a pint of warm water first- so when he adds it it is less gooey.

thank u so much! I have called around to see if anyone carries the Prime that everyone talks about and theres like one place that carries it around here, so I am going to pick some up, whats your feeling on Prime, I have heard a lot of good reviews on this forum about it
thanks again! here I thought I was doing something good, boy, what you don't know about the products you buy at times, this forum has been a godsend to me being I am new in the field of keeping goldfish

So do you know if they use chlorine or chloramine to disinfect your tap water? Do you have ammonia in your tap water?

There's some very good threads on water conditioners linked from here.

I am not sure if we have chlorine or chloramine in our tap water, however, when we fill the tub with water, it does have a chlorine smell as in a pool. I do not have ammonia in my tap, I checked that with my ammonia test kit, was happy about that. The water conditioner thread was very helpful, thank you..
am just wondering if Prime is ok with my snails now then I'd be all set

I use Prime and have ramshorn snails, pond snails and MTS that are doing fine.

thank u again dataguru, really like this forum , was lost without it when someone hacked it :angry:
am going to start on the prime tomorrow..I also found my syringe