Ammonia in water at .5

[dlucia]

I just changed tanks over the weekend from a 55 gal to a 90 gal.
I added 40 lbs of new live sand and used the old sand from my 55. I also used the 75lbs rock from my 55. I am now seeing a slight ammonia spike of about .5 max and less. Will this go away quickly or am i doing something wrong? Will this amount be bad for my fish and corals? Should i add anything new to the tank?
?????????

[jeffbrig]

0.5ppm is not a small amount of ammonia, and it can have a severe detrimental effect on both fish and corals. How quickly it goes away will depend on what's fueling it. I would not add a thing until it returns to 0.

Furthermore, I would strongly recommend an immediate 50% water change, and repeat again tonight or tomorrow. I would also consider pulling your corals into a smaller container and doing multiple water changes to eliminate the ammonia they are exposed to.

[dlucia]

AMAZING!.. I WENT HOME TODAY AND RETESTED THE TANK AND ALL SIGNS OF AMMONIA WAS GONE............ THE ONLY THING I CAN THINK OF IS THE TANK UNDERWENT A MINI CYCLE AFTER EVERYTHING BEING TRANSFERED TO A NEW TANK. ANY COMMENTS?

[jeffbrig]

Great news, most likely some minor die off or stuff that was stirred up from the move. Since your biofilter also moved, it was able to take care of it relatively quickly.

[kfowler]

That was my thought. Something must have gotten stirred up in the move and died. I'd keep a close eye on it.