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I have noticed after my water changes I get a small ammonia spike to about 0.2 ppm that goes in about 1 -2 days?
I use the python to change the water and vacuum only approx 1/4 the gravel? and 50% water change?
Am I doing something wrong.?

Hi,
NO, I very much doubt that you are doing anything really
wrong. There are two possible problems and I'd say that
both have to do with the quantity of water you are changing
out.

THE main problem is probably with your tap water. Try
drawing a glass full and testing it for ammonia, and the
again test the same water 24 hours later. I suspect that
like many of us, you have a small amount of ammonia in
your tap water. OR, you are adding a conditioner to the
water that converts the chloramine and gives a false
ammonia reading.

Lastly, unless you are trying to get rid of (dilute)
some really bad tank water, or trying to induce
spawning in a specific fish, 50% is really quite
a large amount of water to change out.
10-20% is generally the norm and by changing out
that large an amount of water and using a water conditioner,
you would probably get that small amount of ammonia
in your after maintenance testing.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

I change 50% of all my tanks water
once per week too.
I know many people who do this, its pretty
much a normal occurrence in my aquarium club
members.
Some people do 50% twice a week,
and one guy in my club has an auto drip water
chance system that changes 100% of the water
in the tanks twice daily.


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I wouldn't say 50% is too much provided it's done regularly and not just to avoid doing more frequent changes. I could actually name off a few dozen people that do such large water changes even when it's not needed. I used to do 2 water changes a week on my 55 with one being 50% and the 2nd 25% but I had to give it up because of the co2 level in the tapwater. I don't have space to degas enough of it overnight to do such a large water change except on my smallest tank. Our tapwater is quite high in chlorine and I've never tested ammonia even on a large water change(up to 75%). Some dechlorinators do give a false reading but I don't see that as a reason to stop large water changes if you prefer them. You may not have to change that much but it's rarely harmful. Another possibility though is are you cleaning out your filter with every water change? If your replacing or rinsing in tapwater all the media along with a gravel vac it could be removing just enough bacteria to give a tiny spike. I'd change the filter at least 2-3days before or after a gravel vac and not on the same day. It might make just enough difference. If that isn't the problem and it still concerns you I'd try a different dechlorinator to see if that's causing it.

yep, did the tap water test, got 0.5 ppm maybe a fraction more. So, should I do a twice weekly 25% change? hmmm.

Should I drink my tap water!!!!

Hi,
Somehow I knew that my comment would bring some responses.
Obviously, how much water you change out is set by no hard,
fast guideline. It should be determined by the bio load of
the tank. If you have a bunch of fish in a small(sh) tank
then they will be eliminating waste at a much higher rate
than a few fish in the same tank. If you are trying to
keep rare/sensitive fish, that live in a body of water
where the flow is such that the water is always "fresh"
then increased frequency, or quantities might be necessary
to promote good health. Or, if you are keeping fish whose
breeding urge is controlled by the seasons (rainy season)
then massive water changes are necessary.

If you are an average fish keeper, with a sensible bio load,
then it is not always a good idea. If your tank is
normally at a higher, or lower pH or GH than what comes
out of the faucet and you change 50% or more of the water
then the pH and, or GH will shift with the diluted water.
That shift could be enough to stress the fish and could
weaken them or even cause an outbreak of Ich. 10% of
a 30G tank is just 3 gallons while 50% would be 15. The
chances of exactly matching all the water parameters with
the replacement water are very low and those changes could
cause a problem.

Just something to think about.

Frank
PS. Yes, the water is safe to drink. But, you could ask
your water company for an explanation.


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

thanks for the advice. At the moment i have a small bio load for my 55 gal. tank.
6 danios, 4 emerald corys, 2 SAE.
I will be increasing the corys and will add another school of something.

A friend of mine had issues with his tap water, I can't remember exactly, but every water change introduced Nitrites and/or Ammonia into his tank. He bought a piece of kit that fixed that problem, I'll try and get him to post a reply to this that may help. PurestDJ are you reading????

Ive seen such things crop up time and again, and the answer is simple, even though people refuse to believe it because they love their pythons so.

If you dont want ammonia spikes, dont do anything to affect the filter bacteria. Heres the situation, chlorine, and chloramines kill bacteria on contact IMMEDIATELY. Chlorine is one of the deadlier poisons in the world today, and even though in tapwater its in extremely low concentration, this gas gets to work on small organisms immediately. A seconds exposure can be enough, and even if you put water conditioner in the tank before you start there is about ZERO chance that the conditioner will mix with the water either well enough or for long enough to neutralise the chlorine befoe it does at least some damage to the bacteria in the gravel or in the filter.

Unless pre-treating water with antichlorine agents, the fact is that pythons will cause minor bacterial death (usually recovered in no time), and this risk increases in direct proportion to the amount of water you change in a small period of time.

Its one of the reasons I prefer the old gravel cleaner and siphon method, and only pretreated water allowed to rest for several minutes is ever allowed to go into my aquaria. I officially have zero bacterial deaths due to cleaning , ever!

Pythons are fine, but for those smaller water changes only. Anthing bigger and you need to pre-treat water thoroughly. Untreated tapwater and cycled tanks with fragile bacterial cultures dont mix. More haste, less speed. Sometimes the most conveinient method isnt the best method.

Personally I have never had a problem with
the python and chlorine, and I change 32 gallons
of 75 weekly.
Add your Prime at the beginning right when you turn the water on and you shouldnt have a problem.


Come Play Yahtzee With Me!
http://games.atari.com
Http://www.myleague.com/yahtgames

currently I have been using stress coat, should I switch to ammo block or its equivalent?
Note I did do a change using buckets, thus pretreating the water before adding, and still got the ammonia spike.

I wouldnt use Stress Coat, it has aloe vera in it.
If youve ever used aloe vera on yourself,
it goes like a gluey bandage. Its hard to get off.
Aloe can clog fishes gills and make it hard from them
to breathe.
I wouldnt use ammolock either, it can mess up your
readings on tests.
Prime is the best water conditioner on the market.
Its also vastly cheaper than all the rest, with 1 bottle treating 1000 gallons.
If you can, you could consider adding more live plants,
or more biomedia to your filter. This should help with
any ammonia spikes.


Come Play Yahtzee With Me!
http://games.atari.com
Http://www.myleague.com/yahtgames

I did a 30% water change this week, used prime to treat the water. The ammonia spike was only half the previous level after water changes.

So with this new approach I am hoping to have happy and healthy fish. If they would stay still long enough I would take photos and post them.
6 zebra danios, 6 emerald cory cats, 2 SAE , 3 dwarf Rainbows (To become 6) 55 gal tank