ammonia problem

[ralph]

Hi group
i have a problem with ammonia.
my tank is about 3months old now...
about 5 weeks ago i lost about6 fish very suddenly
i took a sample of water to my lfs and they said my
ammomia levels were very high and thats what caused the
fish to die.
since then i have done a 25% water change every other day
and added ammo lock. i have had no futher deaths.
why is it then that after 5 weeks my ammonia levels according to my
lfs is still at life threating levels???
they say that it is only the ammo lock thats keeping the fish alive.
the nitrate and nitrite levels are zero, ph is 7.5.
the tank is 3' x 12" x 12" with a bio-life internal filter.
a few live plants and some aquatic imitation wood ornaments
with a lot of plastic and silk plants.

what must i do to get this sorted please?

[Justin Boucher]

A high ammonia level is typically the result of a large amount of waste
decomposing in the tank and not enough nitrifying bacteria to convert it.

How is your water flow rate through the filter? I target my pumps to turn
over the entire tank about once every 10 minutes. (i.e.: A 20 gallon tank
would have a minimum of 120 gallons per hour.)

What abou the filter media in your filter? Do you rinse it out? If so, how
well and how often? A complete rinsing would shock the benefitial bacteria
in the filter and your tank would need to re-cycle.

Are you missing any fish? Take a quick headcount and if you're missing one,
it could be decomposing in the corner or somewhere. This with a hig
bio-load can really wreak havoc. Just a high bio-load may do it. Too much
fish for your filter?

Most ammonia treatments convert the ammonia into less toxic form of ammonia
without actually solving the ammonia problem.

Did you have any new additions that may have stressed the bio filtration?
Over feeding or double feeding?

Just some thoughts,
Justin

"ralph" > wrote in message
...
> Hi group
> i have a problem with ammonia.
> my tank is about 3months old now...
> about 5 weeks ago i lost about6 fish very suddenly
> i took a sample of water to my lfs and they said my
> ammomia levels were very high and thats what caused the
> fish to die.
> since then i have done a 25% water change every other day
> and added ammo lock. i have had no futher deaths.
> why is it then that after 5 weeks my ammonia levels according to my
> lfs is still at life threating levels???
> they say that it is only the ammo lock thats keeping the fish alive.
> the nitrate and nitrite levels are zero, ph is 7.5.
> the tank is 3' x 12" x 12" with a bio-life internal filter.
> a few live plants and some aquatic imitation wood ornaments
> with a lot of plastic and silk plants.
>
> what must i do to get this sorted please?
>