Question: URGENT: Need help with cycle my ammonia has spiked

[axiebeans]

I have 2 axies in a tank doing a cycle. They have a fluval 306 (bought used was still wet from old tank). Also got a a small live plant that was already in axie tank. The water is a 90 gallon tank. i use sand as a substrate. The ammonia is at 1.0. How long should i wait to do water change or is it necessary now as i do really want to do it. Nitrite is still at 0 and PH is 7.6. Everywhere i look online just says when ammonia spikes but not at what levels. Both axies are full grown.


Also been having issues with keeping the 90 gallon tank cold it seems im going to have to use 2 full 4 liter jugs as ive been cycling 1 4 liter and 2 2 liter pop bottles of frozen water floating in the tank. the tank sometimes spikes to 23. I really need something to keep it cool. It seems like if i could keep a frozen bottle of water in the tank 24/7 it would stay at a good level. I wish chillers werent so expensive. Anyone have any other ideas?

 

[laulen]

Yes, do a water change. You may need to do a daily water change for a bit until everything gets established in your tank. I think I read somewhere that the highest you want your ammonia to reach is .25. I'm not exactly positive on that, so don't just take my word for it. The definite sign that the ammonia is way too high and is hurting your axie is if the tips of the gills start turning a greyish white.

Have you tried using a desk fan to help with the temperature? You may need two for a 90 gallon tank. Angle the fan so the air is blowing over the water and slightly tilted down, don't directly put it facing the water. I'm not sure how warm it gets where you live, but where I live it reaches about 90 degrees F some days in the summer and a fan is enough to keep the temperature down to a comfortable level. Just be prepared to be adding water to the tank more often, as the water will evaporate more quickly.

 

[Skudo09]

Definitely do a water change. You will need to monitor the levels closely and do water changes often to keep ammonia and nitrite at safe levels. It is best to keep ammoniaand nitrite below 0.25ppm and nitrate below 40ppm.

You could try clip on fans or desk fans facing the water surface to help cool he tank. If you have a solid lid on your tank, replace it with a mesh one. You can also place wet towels around the sides of the tank and over the tank.