How to Get Rid of Ammonia in your Aquarium

[@TheBudgetAquarist]

I was so happy...recently met a guy who had given up on the hobby. He told me he lost too many fish. This guy is in his 50's and wasn't an internet guy nor the type to ask 16 year old kids at the local Petsmart for advice...so after a year, he gave up. He finally moved from a flip phone to a smart phone and I immediately turned him on to great videos, just liked this one. He now has 3 tanks running with healthy and happy fish. Good education is always a great idea for a video....as there are ALWAYS new people getting into the hobby who need solid advice. Best regards, -Bruce

[@brianp6180]

Hi Rochelle great video as usual. All good advice. Once the cycle is cranking the water will stay very clean and clear. I started keeping fish 25 years ago. I got a 55 gallon tank, 1 hang on back filter air pump and stone and a heater., gravel etc. Bought the tank, set it up the day I got it. Filled with water and was at the store when they opened in the am and proceeded to buy 55 fish. You know the old 1 per gallon of water. Needless to say it didn’t go so well! The people in the store said nothing about the cycle. I learned on my own. It’s great to see people like you who spend their time making videos so the “newbies” Don’t kill a bunch of helpless fish! Thanks

[@kylejenkins9389]

Wanted them fish sooo bad lol

[@Idealist1906]

This is the best video on Ammonia I've found on KZbin. I have just one new aquarium and although I tested before adding fish, I didn't text for ammonia. Of course it was high and killed 3 shrimp already. I'm following your instructions now and ordered some of your recommen products.

[@Remsterdam]

Glad to see you release videos again. Thank you I enjoy them very much and learn a lot while I am setting up a 190g, 6,5 ft. mixed Malawi all male tank. Greetings from the Netherlands :)

[@N00dl3G0d]

You deserve more subs you even explained the nitro cycle 😩💖

[@QuebecCichlides]

Aww you're too kind!

[@johncheetham7789]

Nitrogen I believe helps plant's. Having a good filtration system. Water change irradicates the ammonia.

[@reinaldodiaz5732]

La mejor explicación que he encontrado ! Muchas gracias!!!!!

[@Vazzzz]

Wow this actually worked thx better video then other vids I’ve seen

[@jonchan8354]

Thanks so much for your super practical content. Your first step is always "don't panic" which is awesome, as a panicker, then I follow your steps and things usually work out. Always good to see Canadian content too! 🇨🇦

[@jerrymiddleton5541]

I just love your accent. Thank you for the show and tell, and the next advice of this video for me. Would love to visit your store.

[@hansols1727]

No she likes your accent

[@jerrymiddleton5541]

@@hansols1727 no i like hers

[@hansols1727]

@@jerrymiddleton5541 She likes yours better

[@jerrymiddleton5541]

@@hansols1727 well i wish she would ship to the u.s.a also.

[@hansols1727]

@@jerrymiddleton5541 or you can ship yourself to her

[@abdulwarithzaki]

the best video on explaining how to get rid of ammonia.very detailed and straight to the point unlike others

[@QuebecCichlides]

Thank you 😊

[@leepeezy]

I love your split leaf plants I have them all over my house also have some monstera albo as well

[@MatthewHewitt1984]

Hiya really love your channel and explanations. Can I ask the products you mentioned I don’t need them all do I? I have Prime, I have Microbelift but I don’t need all of them do I can I just use one product or did you mean use all of the ones you mentioned?

[@johnjwedrall4290]

Subscribed to your channel today 😊

[@andriusantanaitis9922]

Amazing description. Love the explanations, everything is very logical and very well explained. Thank you!

[@QuebecCichlides]

Thank you :)

[@diencai1812]

Thank you and so well explained ❤️🙏

[@haroonkhan5852]

Thx, very best. Can i have bare bottom aquarium for pecock, hapm, parrot and acara'P I like it this way. I have pvc pipes for hiding with driftwood and use rock salt in water. If not which substrate is better Gravel or Sand'P Kindly advise. Best wishes for new year.

[@AGB_the_don]

Hello from Montreal

[@QuebecCichlides]

Hello from Terrebonne

[@AGB_the_don]

@@QuebecCichlides love your channel

[@QuebecCichlides]

Thank you 😁

[@desskill-2264]

Gonna get my axolots soon! Thank you for this my amp is test things are coming soon so i’ll hopefully be able to sort it out depending how bad it is :)

[@adubon3]

Hi :-) Thank you so much! One of my fish died and I brought a sample of my water to the pet store and they told me my ammonia was high but didn’t tell me how high. I did buy the first two products that you were talking about and the second one definitely does not smell good! LOL However, I can’t seem to find an ammonia resin. Would you be able to recommend one on Amazon.ca? I’m desperate! I’m so worried about my poor fish. They are in a 20 gallon tank and I currently have nine tetra glofish in it. I have ordered an API master test kit which is only coming on Monday and have been changing the water every day (10%). I’m also completely blind so it’s a bit difficult for me but thankfully my husband can sometimes help. Please help! :-(

[@johncameron4194]

Great video

[@vinodpurushothaman7311]

Thanks ma'am..really helped 👍

[@Coronakenify]

excellent analysis, saved for future references

[@danielvillafane7267]

Great content and videos.

[@jamesjohnson8661]

Thank you!

[@jeffbeatty6325]

I am in the process of setting up a new tank. Thanks for the great tips. Have you considered making a Frontosa Geek shirt?

[@QuebecCichlides]

Well, I am now!!!!

[@QuebecCichlides]

Mbuna Geek, Aulonocara geek, etc... so that I can wear each shirt with the specific subject. You, my good man, have blown my mind with your idea!

[@jeffbeatty6325]

LOL, that would be cool..... 👍

[@QuebecCichlides]

@@jeffbeatty6325 I'm working on it now. :D Thank you for the inspiration and motivation!

[@rmusic8969]

Thank you

[@avanthikaharindranath6992]

U r great love from India

[@petestockus1082]

Beautiful video thanx! Very helpful.

[@joannecavan1213]

thankyou for the video ... you are always very informative... love your videos

[@QuebecCichlides]

Thank you :D I'm happy to be able to help!

[@crystalshealey]

What is the thick white building up stuff that be in the fish tank?

[@markhunter2244]

Excellent advice, very informative 🤓

[@james9848]

If I change 20 percent water in 68 gallon tank every day for a week . How much ml seachem product I should put in .is it full tank volume or 💧 water.

[@mrcinnamon6188]

Really useful video, thanks.

[@tyrone3661]

About to try this now 🙏 for my discus

[@QuebecCichlides]

You've got this!💪

[@friday5730]

🥺you are life saver . . Even my 5 fish died still able to save some ... I've changed gravel and cleaned filter at the same time .. the overcrowding results in amonia strike . I've taken all steps but at last water seems dirty 😣 .. fishes stress and 😞

[@kennymenth]

Thank you, Your the best.

[@FFG0893]

Hi Richelle, I’m from Surabaya city, Indonesia Thanks for all your amazing videos, thats help me a lot in my cichlid tanks setup Please keep making videos :D Btw, can you make video about Lake Victoria Fish and Tank setup? there isn’t many information about this lake

[@QuebecCichlides]

Hi Felix, Thank you for your comment. I'll definitely check that out. You're right about the information on lake victoria. It's so hard to find!

[@George_S.G]

what a great video but i have a question and is not about the ammonia, i buy all my African cichlids from Petco or PetSmart can i still use Cichlid Lake Salt , i ask and they keep the water PH on 7.0 and i know this product will increase the PH to 7.8 , i will appreciate if you can answer me that question , thank you.

[@kevywilliams3304]

Prime does not fix the problem !

[@janapriya100]

Love you great explanation ..

[@brianbestakaholytreehugger2321]

Hi Rochelle - great vid ( as always ).. think I'm on top of my ammonia / nitrite issues in my 90 gall with about 20 'almost adult' mainly mbuna 'mix' plus ole 'Stripy Joe' - our 5 yr old Frontosa … but with only weekly 50% WC I'm struggling to keep the nitrates to 20 - after the change.. do you have any experience of Biohome Ultimate and the Pond Guru claims reducing nitrates to 5 or less? thks..

[@jerryberry5803]

What kind of plant can I put in a salt water fish tank with Mollies? Thank you for your help.

[@BrianRoosa]

Your videos have been awesome. I got so excited after watching some of your videos that I cleaned up gutted my neglected 55g tank to get back to cichlids. Unfortunately...I got so excited... That I got malawi Cichlids too early. Almost all of them are glass surfing and I'm concerned in going to kill them. My pH is good, but I don't think I waited long enough for the bacteria to develop. I have a Aquaclear 70hob and sponge filter, but my ammonia is now close to 0.5. you've inspired me to get (1) microlift special blend, (2) Seachem prime, (3) zeopacks for my hob, and (4) Seachem malawi buffer. Hoping this works. Sorry I can't buy these from you, so I'm eyeing up that coffee mug

[@QuebecCichlides]

How are your fish doing?

[@BrianRoosa]

@@QuebecCichlides good so far. My aquaclear had the filtration for ammonia and charcoal already, so I never use the zeopacks yet. My amonia hasn't gotten pas 0.25 and I'm still waiting for my natural bacteria level to go up and checking ph, ammonia, nitrate, etc levels every few days. I have been very careful not to overfeed them and I'm making some custom caves with pvc pipes w/riverstones glued to them.

[@QuebecCichlides]

You've got this.😉

[@BLISST357]

Always great info my fish love you lol!!!

[@QuebecCichlides]

Thank you :D I'm happy to help!

[@frankwolfe3181]

How many yellow labs could I put in my twenty gallon tall.

[@jeffharris96]

Bigger or better filter/s and modifying the media will help a lot, as you said, especially for poopy malawis, I'm running two canister filters on my main tank and I'm in the process of modifying them, the media they usually come with is insufficient or not making the most of the filter, I couldn't believe that with a bit of a reorganisation I was able to add nearly another 2kg of bio media! I'll do the second filter once the first has cycled up in a few weeks. Thanks for the video, looking forward to the next 🙂 By the way.. how did you get on with the freezing rain? Did it arrive?

[@QuebecCichlides]

Good point about the bio media. The filters come with a bunch of reusable resigns but there's one that's more important than the others :D Good idea for a future video! I updated the pinned comment on my power outage video. We were spared this time! Phew! ►Day 1 (jan 11 2019) : It's raining like crazy. Everybody still has power but we're dreading what will happen when the temperature drops and everything feezes. The Street leading to my home neighborhood is flooded. Not promising! ►Day 2 : Somehow, with nature-magic, the roads in my neighborhood drained and we still have electricity. The south shore has been badly affected and 33,000 houses are still in the dark. (Max was 100,000!) ►Day 3 : There was an earthquake in Montreal. Nobody noticed because they all thought it was just the snow plows (this isn't a joke...it's an actual thing) ►Day 4 : Most of the people's power returned. We were spared this time!

[@jeffharris96]

QuebecCichlides awesome, thanks for taking the time to reply, I'm looking forward to the future video on filters and media 🙂👍

[@paulhana2162]

What if the new tank gets milky and smell SULPHUR??? Is it ammonia or what please 🙏

[@abgrano]

How to get ppm reading? it's from TDS? Sorry i'm new.

[@melslefebvre]

I have 3 mollies and they create a lot of ammonia. Tank is not cycled yet. I'm thinking of getting fish that produce less ammonia. I have 9 Cory panda as well in 15 gallon tank. I have about 1ppm most days.

[@mae5637]

Pls help me, what will i do now, my fish is acting weak, it gor red stuffs on its body and tails, and grasphing air even that it got an airpump, pls pls pls help me pls

[@hiralbenpatel1636]

We have One Fish Tank (~60l) in our home, set-up couple of weeks ago. However, Ammonia & Nitrite levels are still high even after changing water (20l - 30l at a time) couple of times already and adding Off-the shelve treatment products to increased good bacteria and water conditioners (AquaCare, Tetra, etc.). Any other suggestions. I have heard that remove the substrate, is that effective or any other suggestions? Many thanks!

[@QuebecCichlides]

Oh my. I hope you haven't removed your substrate. If you constantly have ammonia problems, maybe your filtration isn't good enough for your tank. It takes time for the bacteria enhancers to work.

[@halcontv]

is 0.25 ppm bad? Its a tank thats fairly new, couple of weeks. Its not increasing and its not decreasing even if i do a slight water change

[@QuebecCichlides]

As long as you don’t have fish, it’s normal. Sometimes it’s longer for some. If there are no fish, just wait

[@halcontv]

@@QuebecCichlides thanks for the response. It is a fairly new tank, i didnt cycle and added shrimp, most died and I quickly got on and found my mistakes and it hit all they way to 1ppm but its down now and holding at .25 Its been just over 2 weeks now and i have started adding more shrimp and 5 guppies. Have not fed them yet but will today slowly while monitoring. All other tests are good.

[@rainbowfishtalk4573]

A lot of the advice says to do a water change, but I recently found out that the main source of ammonia in my tank is my tap water. Should I be...purchasing water? How does high-ammonia tap water affect the frequency of water changes in the tank?

[@QuebecCichlides]

Oh my. That's a big problem. I would buy water for the tank....and to drink!! That can result in health problems in the long run

[@kristinabarkovic4525]

What about feeding during a spike? Do we completely skip feeding or feed sparsely every other day? I have found various advice online and I’m confused. Some say you need ammonia source for beneficial bacteria to develop. Thank you for response ❤🫶🏻🙏🏻

[@RB-ki9zb]

Hello, Is it safe for turtles to be in the Seachem Prime "detoxified ammonia" water all day? I change all the water everyday and replace it with dechlorinated water. Long term I will be putting up a bio-system but for now I find this easier.

[@QuebecCichlides]

Get a filter asap. What you're doing isn't good for your turtle

[@RB-ki9zb]

@@QuebecCichlides If you don't mind can you please educate me on that aspect? I change the water completely with a fresh batch of dechlorinated water every 24 hours.

[@Saternoc]

@@RB-ki9zb Look up “The Turtle Girl” on KZbin. She has a channel dedicated to keeping turtle tanks.

[@frankwolfe3181]

How do you know when you have ammonia in your aquarium.

[@ravenk6210]

Hey, I’m cycling my tank without fish. I’m using ammonium. My level of ammonium is 8.0 ppm. How do I get it to come down. I have a 20 gallon tank. I was using a teaspoon of ammonium and 2 capfuls of stability. Or should I continue putting in the ammonium and stability? And it’ll die down on its own? And if I have to do water changes to lower the ppm do I have to use prime since there’s no fish?

[@QuebecCichlides]

Stop using ammonium the products. Your cycle is stating. You're good 🙂 The bacteria will develop over time . Definitely use prime. Chlorine kills the bacteria in your filter

[@kartikraina3560]

I have a already established tank with two gold fishes and canister filter. But after adding new fishes there was a spike in ammonia. Any suggestions on how to deal with it?

[@QuebecCichlides]

Watch the video 😉

[@kartikraina3560]

@@QuebecCichlides regular water changes?

[@leesutton1845]

Add prime and seachem stability

[@joysworld1cin]

So add more seachem?

[@crazysithslave]

Should I do a water change when I find ammonia whole my tank is cycling? (Week 2)

[@QuebecCichlides]

If there aren't any fish in the tank, don't touch it. It's normal to have ammonia in your first weeks of cycling.

[@evanmarcus2007]

hello, what do you mean dont feed your fish for this week, arent they gonna die if you dont feed them?

[@QuebecCichlides]

Cichlids can fast

[@syedtayyab3221]

@@QuebecCichlides what do you mean then?

[@bhesantiago8995]

What if a dont have cylcle? In my aquarium?

[@adrianflores_1907]

Does this work with nitrite spike as well (90% water change)

[@QuebecCichlides]

Yeah, it's pretty much the same technique to get rid of ammonia and nitrite.

[@Wes.264]

Check out the Pondguru videos labeled Pimp My Filter. He also describes the nitrogen cycle as well as choosing the correct size filter and how to set up the filter correctly.

[@DamnItMantis]

I have 1.0 ppm of ammonia and I CANNOT get rid of it no matter what I do. I've been dosing with Prime every day so it won't harm my axolotl. There's even ammonia in my tap water so water changes don't do anything. What do I do?

[@QuebecCichlides]

Well, that's no good, even for you 😱 If you can't prepare your water in advance, buy those 5 gal jugs of distilled water at the grocery store. Beer/wine making stores also sell water

[@siriogavazzeni4375]

What about if your Tap water has ammonia ?

[@MariaAVelez-ko9tg]

I have two small aquariums and both have ammonia at 8ppm. So weird that BOTH had a spike. Ive been feeding less, using Seachem prime, ammoLock and zeolite crystals. Feeding less and no new fish.

[@ladyslushii]

Did you ever figure out why the tank has 8ppm :(( I was gonna buy these products but seeing that advice isn’t helping I’m starting to reconsider.

[@MariaAVelez-ko9tg]

LadySlushii no, I never figured it out. Weird thing is I only lost one fish. All the others seems happy.

[@MelCarterr]

I wish there was a way to correspond with you. I’m having issues with a cycled tank. No matter what I do I have some ammonia in my tank, not much, but it’s there. I’m wondering if it’s my filters?

[@kevywilliams3304]

Don’t add prime daily. You need to involve water changes .

[@robertcrawford1791]

I’m hoping someone sees this that can help, as I struggle with removing the ammonia in our tank that we only just now realized was there. Basically, we have had our tank for years, we had a ten gallon, moved to a twenty, and it’s been that way for at least four years. All that time and we were still irresponsible, lazy tank owners with no test kits. Three fish. Bumblebee Catfish, rarely seen, seems healthy. Bristlenose pleco, around 8” at this point, that has started freaking out and ramming against the glass and STOPPED EATING AND POOPING, had these bouts of jerking like he was having a stroke, and was the warning for us that there was a problem. And a gourami. The first two are at least eight years old, the gourami is six. The gourami seems almost worried for the pleco, is resting on him all the time, it’s weird. That’s a love triangle I don’t even want to know about. Anyway, considering the description of the fish, and that my water test reveal a slightly low ph, zero nitrites, normal nitrates, but a VERY HIGH ammonia level even though we have dramatically slowed down the feeding schedule.......my main question (while I try to lower the ammonia) is....is the tank too small? And what is wrong with the pleco? Side notes...to try and help the pleco we got an airstone that’s been running for a week, and I did an Epsom Salt add to try and get the pleco to poop (we haven’t seen rope poop from him for weeks). The salt didn’t help, he’s still not eating or pooping, although his freak outs are slightly less. I do gravel filters a few times a month, add water when the level gets low, with additives to help the tap water. Also, since our first thought when the pleco freaked was there wasn’t enough oxygen, we started keeping the water level lower so the filter splashed the surface more. Anyway.....please.....help!!

[@abkaquatics888]

👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾

[@roscellep.414]

👌👌👌

[@yama3.052]

bonne video grtz

[@QuebecCichlides]

Merci :D

[@elcerrito94530]

That was great...my oscars say thanks👍🏽

[@QuebecCichlides]

My pleasure :D

[@kashthak]

Oscars?

[@kevywilliams3304]

What??? Why would bacteria die in a filter sponge cause power is out ????? A sponge can sit in a drawer for months and still be alive and added to another tank!

[@NoMonkeyBizz]

Im cycling tank been 2 weeks or soo my ammonio is 0.25 have two clown fish

[@juliancooper329]

yes i did learn so much from you love you 2

[@amrixah]

I have a 4.8 gallon betta tank and want a snail but the ammonia would build up way to much

[@codydemeyere8833]

Smaller tanks are the hardest to keep a good cycle just do 1 gallon water changes that snail won’t balance it off that bad

[@dominic9279]

I think medication causes a false ammonia level yeah ????? What are your thoughts?????

[@tiffanyhoward881]

I have 2.0 of it in my tank green badly!! But i am in the middle of Cycling my tank

[@mae5637]

Lol, no like, mo reply in 6 months lok

[@robertcrawford1791]

Keebec CTD is what I heard

[@_dammitbobby_3782]

Basically, all 3 things will kill my fish 😂.

[@jawfersaad9253]

🔥👍

[@QuebecCichlides]

:D

[@nickpenn1309]

Luv ya!

[@SisterofArrokothKuiperman]

For your can get a goldfish

[@djarcen3498]

Girl, them cichlid must be putting a spell on you, you're looking prettier every day.

[@SisterofArrokothKuiperman]

Can you please get rid of ammonia

[@chel3SEY]

Who the hell wants an aquarium given this tedious rigmarole just to get the ammonium right?!

[@raycooper2287]

Hello, great video, but... You don't want to get rid of ammonia, you state that all wrong, it's food for beneficial bacteria, add more bacteria that eat ammonia. You don't take food away from dogs because they poop....

[@DamnItMantis]

Not a good analogy. Ammonia is deadly to fish and will kill them if not detoxified or eliminated. Besides, the bacteria release nitrates which are harmless in small amounts but can poison your fish if they get out of control. It's best to keep ammonia and nitrite at zero or detoxify it with Prime if you can't get rid of the ammonia.

[@raycooper2287]

@@DamnItMantis , that's with shipping, ammonia is eaten up as it is created, slowly, and your tank doesn't get ammonia spikes unless you don't know what you are doing. Ammonia is a food source to beneficial bacteria. You can detox it but this is while shipping or receiving ... Talk about home use not institutional.

[@kevywilliams3304]

Skip to 4:14 to hear to go and buy prime ...

[@sfephenmarkham1917]

I need help on your lingo...

[@BrianRoosa]

Watch her other videos and you'll catch on. I did and now understand so much more about cichlids

[@Bass.Player]

Your tap water may have Ammonia, mine does...

[@QuebecCichlides]

I can't believe people have ammonia in their tap water. This is so bad for you 😥 Do you use a special filter?

[@Bass.Player]

@@QuebecCichlides Been drinking RO water for years. My city's tap water is rated superior yet it has on average 250 ppm of God knows what in it. My RO manages it down to 12ppm...Ice cubes are clear...Many cities have moved to Chloramine which is a combination of chlorine and ammonia.

[@michaelalemansr.8565]

Easy fix throw some zeolite in your filter

[@russella4596]

Damn not first

[@QuebecCichlides]

You gotta be quicker than that! 😂 I love the enthusiasm!

[@russella4596]

@@QuebecCichlides next time!! Lol love your videos!!an uuu

[@ashoknraj]

Do not waste your time and money using products or sponsorship, thru people here.. Just put money plant freely available and that's it... Just put a money plant and it

[@sfephenmarkham1917]

would love to see you in a more social level that's just me...silly I know

[@mickysingh4336]

Like really weird

[@EarthWasHere]

Yall thirsty asf

[@jakewherley3301]

simping

[@mr.t5824]

Hi my Fish goddess Beautiful😏 beautiful KZbinr

[@born2fightt]

Marry me !

[@sfephenmarkham1917]

dude i love yore content... but your whole space and space skkip sikip and shootll;;;;'''.....ugh...shoot your vid for the local crew please thx

[@QuebecCichlides]

What are you talking about?