Ammonia spike after bacterial bloom.

[stharper2923]

Newbie here 75 gallon tanks 10 weeks old.
had what I think was a bacterial bloom with cloudy water. Put on a UV light cloudy water cleared in 12 hours. Not sure if coincidence or the light.
2 days later Ammonia spike .50. Fish were acting fine. Did 20% water change. Ammonia level stayed the same. Was going to do another water change but out of water until tomorrow. So added API water conditioner until I can do another water change tomorrow. Now after adding the conditioner my fish are acting stressed. I am afraid I am going to wake up to a dead aquarium in the morning.

will a bacterial bloom cause an ammonia spike?
Is conditioner harmful to fish?
Now I am thinking I would have been better off leaving them alone.

2 clown fish
3 pajama fish
Cleaner shrimp

 

[ShepherdReefer]

How old is the ammonia test kit, and what brand are you using? Just curious.

 

[blaxsun]

There's a better than even chance the UV was primarily responsible for clearing the tank up. I'd keep it running. I'm not familiar with your setup, but sometimes bacterial blooms can lead to low oxygenation in the tank - so it's advisable to reposition any wavemakers to break the surface of the tank. If you don't have any wavemakers, it's generally a good idea to have one (Sicce and Tunze make some smaller ones that are very reliable).

You can also try something like Seachem AmGuard which while not removing will detoxify the ammonia.

 

[T-J]

Water conditioner won't do anything to remove ammonia. It typically just removes chlorine from water sources.
I agree with both of the prior posts: how old and what brand ammonia test are you using? And if you did have a bacterial bloom, getting some air into the water can help.

Oh, and yes, a bacterial bloom can cause an ammonia spike.

 

[stharper2923]

How old is the ammonia test kit, and what brand are you using? Just curious.

Api test kit.. I know not thevmost dependable- but all I have at the moment. It is only a couple months old.

 

[stharper2923]

Water conditioner won't do anything to remove ammonia. It typically just removes chlorine from water sources.
I agree with both of the prior posts: how old and what brand ammonia test are you using? And if you did have a bacterial bloom, getting some air into the water can help.

Oh, and yes, a bacterial bloom can cause an ammonia spike.

I knew the conditioner wouldn't remove the water but was told it would neutralize it until I could get to the water change.

 

[T-J]

I knew the conditioner wouldn't remove the water but was told it would neutralize it until I could get to the water change.

Ok, so lesson learned. Now, here's what you could do to be prepared for other issues down the road:
Buy better test kits. Stay away from API. Many new to the hobby gravitate to API because of the price point.
Get yourself an RO/DI system. If you can't do that, then make sure you always have RO/DI water on hand. Personally, I don't know how you do this hobby without an RO/DI system.
Chemicals: Generally, stay away. If you have an RO/DI, you won't need water conditioner.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I knew the conditioner wouldn't remove the water but was told it would neutralize it until I could get to the water change.

Seachem makes such claims for Prime and other products, but actual independent testing does not seem to support their claims, and I personally would not assume it does anything useful for ammonia.