Reducing Ammonia in QT...

[maro1]

My bio wheel that I have on my QT seems to have taken a hit after I started copper treatment. My reading in The QT is 1.0 ammonia

WHat is the best way to handle an amonia spike in the QT?

Just water change and then bring the copper level back up to treatment level?

will the bio wheel come back up?

What er your experiances?

Mar

[o2zen]

I have the same question myself. Should I be using a bio-wheel over another filter media type hang on. I am also using a fluval with 2 canisters of carbon and 2 filter media which is for wet/dry type of bacteria I am told.

I am using mine as a holding tank not for QT but I noticed a small spike in ammonia tonight and want to find out if there is a good way to handle it. I have 3 small chunks of LR in the tank also in holding for now. I am getting more but I do not expect this to be used to balance the system.

Thanks.

[maro1]

I removed the floss pad type media from my Skilter and my ammonia went down immedatly. So I am just going to rely on Water changes and the bio wheel while the fish are in QT.

Mar

[bchristie]

It could very well be the case that the floss had a good accumulation of organics that were decomposing, sustaining higher levels of ionic ammonia in the water. Water quality has to be watched carefully, especially in quarantine tanks because they tend to be less biologically established with lesser amounts of surface area for nitrifying bacteria (i.e. no/less gravel live rock), making them easier for maintenance, but less forgiving in terms of water quality. The best way to handle a spike is to do routine maintenance, vacuum the bottom of the tank, clean or replace any physical filtration media, clean the skimmer and make sure it is fractionating well (i.e good air input), and do a water change if need be. One thing I've found with water changes on quarantine tanks...unless your ammonia/nitrite levels are in the lethal ranges, don't get overzealous and do a huge water change, a series of 50% or 33% changes will prove more effective in the long run than a massive water change. Hope this helps,

[bchristie]

Oh...and in those lethal emergency situations, a bit of AmQuel can be a life saver...in general I don't use it as it is just a "band-aid" that covers up problems, but in quarantine or fish transport situations it can come in handy to get past that initial spike.

[maro1]

bchristie,

Thank you. Your information of your experiances is much appreciated.

Mar

[frugalreef]

do some water changes as suggested and don't use carbon(will get rid of copper,meds)if you are treating

[luke33]

The answer to your question is that the copper destroy's the beneficial bacteria which breaks down ammonia, nitrite...etc. So when copper is present the only way to rid ammonia is through water changes. If you are running carbon, it will take the copper out and make the treatments unaffective.