ammonia 1.0 in small tank

[jnskthrn]

I have a very small tank, a 1.5 gallon to be exact. It holds three guppies. Now I am getting a ten gallon as soon as I move which is not for another two and half weeks. I bought my test kit today and checked only the ammonia level and it was at 1.0 I can't siphon the tank cause it's too small so I did a 25% water change. Do I have too many fish in this tank? I seem to have this problem all the time with this tank. The betta we have in the other tank is perfect ... ammonia is right on the money. And his water is crystal clear. So do I have too many guppies in one tank? (btw the betta is in a 1 gallon tank by himself)
Thanks for your help in advance,
Katherine

[rollie]

i do not think you got to many fish in that tank. could you be feeding to much. maybe do 2 or 3 small water changes a week, that might help.

[kimmers318]

What type of substrate and filter do you have in the tank? Unfortunately, not being able to siphon the waste off of the bottom seems like it could cause more problems. Try finding a smaller siphon...even if you need to cut down the gravel vac portion to be able to make it fit. I know in smaller tanks it is hard to get the siphon action going because you can't maneuver too well to fill the hosing with water and get it turned back down before the siphon is lost, so try filling the siphon and hose up with water first, holding your hands/fingers over the ends until you get it situated into the tank and it should siphon okay.

[jnskthrn]

Ok it TOTALLY worked! Thank you SOOO much for the information on how to siphon in the little tank. Took me a few minutes but I got it working. It goes fast and I almost ran the little guys out of water not realizing it. But no worries they still have plenty of water.
The problem with the filter is I have no filter system. The only thing in that tank is a blue stone with a hose attached that blows bubbles up a tube. That's probably why the tank is dirty no matter how many times I change the water out. I was looking at larger aquariums again today and saw that they sell kits with filters and heaters included. I just need to hurry up and get one. See I would buy one right now, but my dear ole husband won't let me until we move. He doesn't want to have to move any extra items. boohoo.... Well thanks again for the help!
Katherine

[kimmers318]

I'm glad it worked for you....and yes, no filter could be why you are having some issues, along with not being able to siphon the substrate. With regular maintenance though hopefully you will be okay until you can get the bigger tank set up.