# Will daily water changes reduce ammonia levels?



## johnstypoo (Jan 24, 2011)

My fish's ammonia levels are kind of high, and I was wondering if doing daily partial water changes + adding Stress Zyme daily will help reduce the ammonia? 

These are his water test results:
Ammonia- .25-.50 (somewhere in between, but closer to .50)
pH- 7.2
Alkalinity- 80
Hardness- 120
Nitrite- 0
Nitrate- 0
The tank is 5 gallons with a filter, and it's heated to 78-80 degrees. There are no live plants, and my fish is the only fish in the tank. 

He's been in his tank for several months, but recently I had to move his tank, so I had to drain the water and start over. This is the tank's second week being set back up. Could the tank just be cycling?


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## chargers505 (Dec 27, 2010)

Water changes should reduce ammonia levels. You should have Seachem's Prime on hand just in case there is a major ammonia spike. How long was your tank drained for when you had it moved? Your nitrate reading is an indication that there is no cultivation. You will need to go through the cycling process again. Good luck!


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## Tomsk (Mar 4, 2010)

If the filter etc was left out of water for a while or washed with tap water then the benifical bacteria would die.
With ammonia showing but no nitrates then I would say that it has to cycle again.So you will have to do partial w/c to keep the ammonia down.

Tomsk


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## johnstypoo (Jan 24, 2011)

My tank was only drained for a few hours. Around 6-8 at the most. I tried to leave a little water in the gravel, and I put the filter in a bag of aquarium water. I've done 2 partial water changes and added some live bacteria, and it's still high. What should I do now?


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## DragonFish (Mar 31, 2009)

What are you using to test exactly? If strips, then head out and get a liquid test kit for those strips are notorious for giving inaccurate readings. If Liquid, then test your tap and see if you've got any ammonia there.
Picking up a bottle of Seachem's Prime is a good idea either way. Awesome stuff.


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## johnstypoo (Jan 24, 2011)

DragonFish said:


> What are you using to test exactly? If strips, then head out and get a liquid test kit for those strips are notorious for giving inaccurate readings. If Liquid, then test your tap and see if you've got any ammonia there.
> Picking up a bottle of Seachem's Prime is a good idea either way. Awesome stuff.


They're strips. How expensive are the liquid test kits? I'm a broke college student lol.


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## DragonFish (Mar 31, 2009)

Depends on where you go to buy it, but usully around $25 for the full kit. It's a definite nessessity though, much cheaper in the long run then those strips, and with 800 tests your set for a while. Your not going to get accurate readings with the strips, so it's kind of a waste of money to buy them anyway. Save up for a Liquid kit if you don't have the funds now and in the meantime see if your local store willl test your water for free, just make sue they use a liquid kit and ask for actual levels instead of just 'fine' or 'safe' or 'unsafe'.


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## johnstypoo (Jan 24, 2011)

My parents will be up in 2 weeks, so maybe they can help me out. Also, the only pet store around here is HORRIBLE. I've taken water there for tests before and they don't know what they're doing at all. I think they probably use the strips, I don't really remember. I guess for now, I'll just make sure the water is clean. Maybe I can go pick up some Seachem's Prime like you suggested. Thanks!


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## DragonFish (Mar 31, 2009)

Yup, sounds like a good plan, just keep things nice and clean with some smaller, more frequent water changes if your really nervious about water quality until you can get your hands on a proper test kit, though it does sound like you did everything right in the move so your probably okay. Those stips are just unrelible, I wouldn't trust them at all ;P


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## johnstypoo (Jan 24, 2011)

Thanks! I'll definitely do some regular water changes! How often and how much water would you recommend? He's acting normal, so I'm hoping those strips are just wrong.


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## DragonFish (Mar 31, 2009)

I would just go back to your regular weekly 40% with gravel vacuuming if I were you. If your really paranoid, it definitely wouldn't hurt to take about 20% or so off the top a couple times a week or so until you can properly check your levels.
Definitely go for the Prime though and start using that as soon as you can.


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