Ammonia/Nitrite spike after overzealous tank cleaning....add Prime to tank?

[krenae]

(20 gal L tank, 1 Axolotl)
When I took a water check last week and NitrAtes had gone up to 80 ppm (Amm and Nitrites were 0 at that time), I did a 30% water change but got overzealous with too many other changes in the tank......took out an old hide that wasn't being favored or used and put in a new one, took out a large pc of driftwood that was showing signs of decay, rinsed both foam filters in used tank water (2nd time in less than 2 wks), vacuumed all and stirred about 50% of the sand substrate, all of which evidently negated too much good bacteria and led to a toxin spike of:
1.0 Ammonia, .5 Nitrites but a lower NitrAte reading of 20 ppm.
This was 48 hrs AFTER the water change, when the Prime that was added during the water change "let go" of the toxins. (PH is at 7.6, water temp at 66F.)

Today, 2 1/2 days after that last water check,
Ammonia is only down to .5, Nitrites are 0, Nitrates are inching back up very near 40 ppm , PH and Water temp stable at 7.6 PH and 66F temp.

This is going on a week, now, and I'm concerned about what the prolonged Ammonia is doing to my Axie and am wondering if I should put some Prime in the tank until this mini cycle completes? .

I know the typical advice is to do water changes until this is cleared, but our (rural well) water comes out of the tap at anywhere from 1.0 to 2.0 Ammonia, so that doesn't seem like a good solution for this. Usually, the beneficials in the cycled tank take care of that Ammonia well within the 48 hrs that the Prime is binding, but with the unbalance that's present, I haven't wanted to add more Ammonia to the water by doing a water change.....or is my thinking in error?

So, to recap my questions:
**Do I add Prime to the tank to bind the Ammonia until this mini cycles completes, no water change until AFTER that happens? (If so, how much Prime?)

OR

**Do I go ahead with a partial water change now (adding only enough Prime to treat the amount of water being replaced) even though my tap water will add more Ammonia to the tank?

I'm planning on another water change once the Amm & Nitrites are back to 0 due to the increasing NitrAtes AGAIN (Cannot find the cause, thought it was the driftwood, and maybe it still is... perhaps the increased level now is coming from the mini cycle??) I just thought I should wait until the tank is healthy again and not add more Ammonia from the tap water.

I need and will so appreciate the advice of someone more experienced than I am.

Thank you~~~~~~~~~~

 

[LippyNix]

Does the Prime normally reduce your ammonia to a steady 0, or does it go back up after a water change?
Have you tried any other ammonia remover to see if it works better?
Do you have access to a pet store that sells RO water or even a grocery store that has jugs of spring water to do the water changes? Might be pricey depending on the size of your tank, but it's the best thing I can think of to recommend.

 

[krenae]

Thank you for replying!!

I typically don't have Ammonia in my tank and any Ammonia that is added from the tap during a water change is gone when I do a test 48 hrs after the water change, if it registered at all. The only problem I typically have is with keeping the Nitrates down, Ammonia and Nitrites have been a constant 0 since the tank was completely cycled several months ago (which is why I can't figure out where the Nitrates are coming from). I just did too many changes in the tank during this last water change and got everything messed up, and now it's taking a long time to get things balanced again.

I just tested the water again, Ammonia still at .5, Nitrites have gone up to .25, Nitrates are a strong 40, probably headed toward 80 again once this mini cycle completes (and they were reason for the water change in the first place!)

I did end up adding Prime to the tank on the night I posted my question, but the 48 hours "Prime time" will be up tonight at 9:30, and it's obvious from the above test results that parameters won't be normal by then.

I live in a rural area, so any pets supplies are not easy to come by, aquarium supplies nonexistent, but I will check this afternoon to see if our grocery store carries gallons of spring water. If I can find some, I'll do a pwc tonight. If not???? I guess I'll add more Prime and hope things are better by the time the next 48 hrs pass?