Ammonia

[Kissyboots]

So everytime I test my 55g's water, the ammonia ALWAYS shows up between 0 and 0.25 but never 0. I'm using the API master test kit. Am I doing something wrong, am I colorblind or something, or what is up with that? It doesn't visibly seem to be affecting my fish, but it's getting kind of annoying because it won't go away!

 

[Avalon]

Trusting in a test kit is the first problem. Many folks tend to rely upon them, but they're really not as necessary as you may think. I mean, how accurate is a color chart anyway? My dad was a soil scientist for the federal government (retired), and he used Hach test kits, the best kits taxpayer money can buy, to test soil parameters. They were only field tests--'official' results came from a lab. The kits only gave general results and were never accurate. API kits are far less accurate. All you need to do is observe the environment in question. When in doubt, do a water change.

 

[sombunya]

If you're doing regular water changes and your water agency is using chloramines to disinfect the water then you may just have low levels of Ammonia there. I can give you an explanation for that, if needed.

If it never goes above .25 ppm and you use PRIME to treat the water change then I don't think I'd be worried. Call your water agency and find out how they disinfect; free chlorine residual or chloramination.

We use HACH Pocket Colorimeters at work to test for many different constituents in water. While they may not be practical for most home hobbyists they do a decent job when testing water, I think.

 

[Kissyboots]

Ah ok. I'm thinking there probably isn't a problem. The fish never show signs of stress at all so I think I'm good. Thanks!

 

[Joeyb1731]

I have the same issue with my tank. I got very nervous because I did 25% water changes 3 times in 1 week to try to get the .25ppm to 0. I thought I was loosing my mind because Literally right after I did it it was back to .25, I even tested the tap water for ammonia and it was at 0! Its so weird, its not quite .25 but not 0 and it drives me INSANE. my fish seem fine, eating ,swimming no signs of stress. Im thinking its what I treat my tap water with. It has to be. I just try to keep a close eye on it to make sure it stays there and praying it will eventually one day just be 0, plus im gonna continue weekly water changes just to be safe

 

[DesignsOnYou]

Joey - most of the folks on here recommend Prime, which is also what I use, and if for some reason it is whatever you're treating with that should help. But it's a good idea to do weekly water changes anyway. I aim for every 7 to 10 days, and try to absolutely not go longer than 2 weeks. Kissy - you've already got good comments, but for what it's worth, I agree that it's probably fine. The only other thing I can think of is, have you checked for dead fish? Something decomposing might give off a constant low level of ammonia I suppose. But, like Sombunya was saying, I have a bit of ammonia out of the tap because I'm pretty sure they treat the water with chloramine. So I let it sit with Prime for about 24 hours before putting it in the tank and this gets it down to almost 0, then my bacteria catch up and everyone seems fine. Glad your fish seem to be ok though.

 

[blue_ram]

Any contamination of the test tube will throw the results off.

1 drop of tap water left in the tube after rinsing can form a thin layer on the inside of the tube making it virtually impossible to notice.

Mixing the tubes from other test can also throw results off.

Put a few more plants in the tank and they will take care of any excess ammonia in the water.

Any water conditioner that binds cloramines may give you false results

 

[Kissyboots]

I used API's stuff (forgot the name) until last week. When it was empty, I switched back to AquaSafe. And all fish are accounted for! Our tap water has no ammonia in it. I do periodic tap water tests and nothing came up. I guess I'm just blind or my test is just not reliable.

Edit: Blueram, I can't add plants until I get that CO2 system!!!

 

[Lotus]

Have you tested your tapwater with the dechlorinator in it? It's possible it's the source. Also, make sure you're waiting the exact amount of time to read the test. If you leave them longer than you're supposed to, you'll get a false reading.

You should be able to put something like hornwort or wisteria in the tank without needing CO2.

 

[Joeyb1731]

I treat my tap water with API tap water conditioner. I also put some melafix in there because I read and was told by the store that I buy my fish that if you use it once in a while its good. I just think it has something to do with that. didnt think about the contaminated test tube, but that wouldnt matter with my tap water because straight from the tap I have 0 ammonia, im gonna test the water from the tap with the conditioner and melafix in it right now and see if i get an ammonia reading, if i do, ill know. I mean the fact that im showing some nitrate and 0 nitrite and all my fish are healthy really makes me think its some kind of false reading. Im gonna go do that test right now and post right after

 

[Joeyb1731]

ok so i tested the tap water with the 2 things in it (mela and tap conditioner) still got a 0, also my tank water today is at .50....TIME FOR A WATER CHANGE, please try to give any advice you can, im loosing my mind with this.

 

[sombunya]

Not sure how big your tank is but if you're doing 25% changes that will move your level down from 25ppm to about 19ppm. Not much.

I'd say try to do larger changes. When your tank is properly cycled your levels should go down to zero provided the filter and substrate are not being cleared of the beneficial bacteria.

Also, find out if your local water supplier is using free chlorine or chloramines to disinfect.