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**Obsidian** · 05-23-2007, 11:34 PM

Hello
I have been having problems with my tank in regards to ammonia. I have tried pretty much everything under the sun do deal with it. The tank is still cycling (I believe). I purchased a specialized insert for my Aqua Clear filter. I would like to know if anyone has any experience with these before I use it. It is called "Filter Insert: Ammonia Remover" It goes where the charcoal would normally go and is considered an "alternate chemical stage."

Tank stats:

20 gallon tank.
5 weeks and 3 days running with fish (was up and running with filter for 2 days prior to adding fish).
I have 3 Cherry Barbs and 1 rubber nosed pleco.
I had a dwarf Gourami but it died on day 5. The pleco was added 6 days ago.
Plastic plants.
Several ornaments for fish tanks specifically.
Gravel substrate.
There is a skeleton "drinking" a bottle of rum bubbler and a single airstone, on opposite ends of the tank.
I use an AquaClear filter for 20-50 gallon tanks (AC 50).
Water is at 78 degrees.
I have no information on hardness etc.
I have Brown Algae as of about 10 days ago.

Current water stats:

Ph stable 8.0 (we have naturally high Ph here)
Ammonia 1.0 Highest was about 1.5 2 weeks ago. I did water changes daily (20%) to get it back to .5. Now when I do water changes (every other day to every 3 days) the ammonia is not affected, it does not go up either. Ammonia results verified via a different test kit.
Nitrite 00. The highest this ever got was .25 and it disappeared about 7 or 8 days ago. I find it odd that it disappeared but the ammonia never went down.
Nitrate 5.0 This has been present since about day 8 of being up and has never changed, even with water changes.

The fish usually appear fine, and often appear to be attempting to breed. Every so often they will hide all day and this scares me because of the high ammonia. I have been adding Ammo Lock recently, every other day to every 3 days, which has helped considerably with the hiding behavior.

I do gravel vac when I perform water changes and I feed every other day on average to help keep ammonia down. There is usually some waste when I clean, but not very much, it has also decreased with the addition of "Plato the Pleco."

If anyone has any other ideas for how to help other than this filter I would greatly appreciate it. The only thing I really don't need anymore advice on is water changes. And I don't want to put the filter in if it's going to mess anything up.

Thanks!
Obsidian

05-23-2007, 11:34 PM	#1
Obsidian Moderator Join Date: May 2007 Location: Arizona Age: 37 Posts: 1,163	Aqua Clear Filter Q Hello I have been having problems with my tank in regards to ammonia. I have tried pretty much everything under the sun do deal with it. The tank is still cycling (I believe). I purchased a specialized insert for my Aqua Clear filter. I would like to know if anyone has any experience with these before I use it. It is called "Filter Insert: Ammonia Remover" It goes where the charcoal would normally go and is considered an "alternate chemical stage." Tank stats: 20 gallon tank. 5 weeks and 3 days running with fish (was up and running with filter for 2 days prior to adding fish). I have 3 Cherry Barbs and 1 rubber nosed pleco. I had a dwarf Gourami but it died on day 5. The pleco was added 6 days ago. Plastic plants. Several ornaments for fish tanks specifically. Gravel substrate. There is a skeleton "drinking" a bottle of rum bubbler and a single airstone, on opposite ends of the tank. I use an AquaClear filter for 20-50 gallon tanks (AC 50). Water is at 78 degrees. I have no information on hardness etc. I have Brown Algae as of about 10 days ago. Current water stats: Ph stable 8.0 (we have naturally high Ph here) Ammonia 1.0 Highest was about 1.5 2 weeks ago. I did water changes daily (20%) to get it back to .5. Now when I do water changes (every other day to every 3 days) the ammonia is not affected, it does not go up either. Ammonia results verified via a different test kit. Nitrite 00. The highest this ever got was .25 and it disappeared about 7 or 8 days ago. I find it odd that it disappeared but the ammonia never went down. Nitrate 5.0 This has been present since about day 8 of being up and has never changed, even with water changes. The fish usually appear fine, and often appear to be attempting to breed. Every so often they will hide all day and this scares me because of the high ammonia. I have been adding Ammo Lock recently, every other day to every 3 days, which has helped considerably with the hiding behavior. I do gravel vac when I perform water changes and I feed every other day on average to help keep ammonia down. There is usually some waste when I clean, but not very much, it has also decreased with the addition of "Plato the Pleco." If anyone has any other ideas for how to help other than this filter I would greatly appreciate it. The only thing I really don't need anymore advice on is water changes. And I don't want to put the filter in if it's going to mess anything up. Thanks! Obsidian