ammonia issue

[Reefermike]

riddle me this. my tank has been up 2 years. i have lost many fish over that time. About 12 weeks ago i decided to remove the last fish a wrasse. i have had it about 3 years, this was due to advice that perhaps i need to go fallow. i have snails ,crabs , shrimp and coral they are all fine. i tested today and ammonia is at .4 maybe more and nitrate are at 0 . that aint good. How do i fix it looks like a cyle issue although it has been running a long time.

 

[SeahorseKeeper]

How old is the test kit? It could be a bad test kit. Did you disrupt the sand bed or rock work when removing the fish? This could have caused a spike in the ammonia.

 

[Reefermike]

i dont think any more than normal maintence . i vac some when doing water change. i did have a bubble tip go missing a couple days ago.

 

[SeahorseKeeper]

i dont think any more than normal maintence . i vac some when doing water change. i did have a bubble tip go missing a couple days ago.

If the bubble tipped died, it could most certainly cause the spike.

 

[Reefermike]

yea , I have not seen it in a few days. I started my carbon reactor this evening and making more water . I only have about 30 gallons of salt water ready.

 

[Sea_Me]

I know I situations like this is why I find it good to keep extra water. I keep mine in a brute trash can with a heater & power head. I know people say that you shouldn't do that, but I've never had an issue. It is there when I need it. Check your test kit. They have decently priced Red Sea test kits on amazon & eBay.


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[Reefermike]

I am going to get an ammonia test kit, if it was a spike it should get processed. I did fill the carbon reactor and have the skimmer running. will do a 30 gallon change tomorrow and we will see.