0.25 NH3+NH4+ Help

[Ariellorca3198]

Hi R2R,

For the past 3 weeks i have been getting 0.25 on the salifert test kit (Total Ammonia). 0.25 on API (Total Ammonia).
i just brought a seachem test kit, which tests for free ammonia which is at 0 and total ammonia which is at 0.25.
I believe that the tank has 0.25PPM Of NH4+ which isnt as harmful as NH3.

My fish and coral seem healthy but im very worried. what can i do to remove it.

Tank is about 3 months old.

10G with one clownfish

My nitrite has always been at 0 when testing.

Cheers

 

[andrewey]

There are quite a few reasons you could be getting 0.25 on your test kits, but it might be helpful to get some background information so we can deduce which of the possibilities are more likely.

Before three weeks ago, were your test kits reading 0 total ammonia?
Have you added any animals recently?
Have any died recently?
Have you started putting anything new into the tank recently?
Any particular reason you decided to start checking your ammonia?
What do you use as your water source?
Have you changed your feeding recently?
Have any other parameters changed recently (temperature, a new piece of equipment, etc.)?

 

[Ariellorca3198]

There are quite a few reasons you could be getting 0.25 on your test kits, but it might be helpful to get some background information so we can deduce which of the possibilities are more likely.

Before three weeks ago, were your test kits reading 0 total ammonia?
Have you added any animals recently?
Have any died recently?
Have you started putting anything new into the tank recently?
Any particular reason you decided to start checking your ammonia?
What do you use as your water source?
Have you changed your feeding recently?
Have any other parameters changed recently (temperature, a new piece of equipment, etc.)?

Hi Andrew,

yes the ammonia on the salifert test kit was showing 0.
haven't added any fish but have added a few corals.
noting has died as far as im aware my snail has been hiding but i think hes okay.
havent been adding any new chemicals.
i change my water every week 20% i also check my ammonia every week.
my feeding has been the same also.
all other parameters have been stable.

 

[Ariellorca3198]

Hi Andrew,

yes the ammonia on the salifert test kit was showing 0.
haven't added any fish but have added a few corals.
noting has died as far as im aware my snail has been hiding but i think hes okay.
havent been adding any new chemicals.
i change my water every week 20% i also check my ammonia every week.
my feeding has been the same also.
all other parameters have been stable.

Would activated carbon remove NH4?

 

[andrewey]

Carbon won't remove the ammonia.

Based on your answers, I suspect your findings are likely an "artifact". It's pretty common for hobby grade kits to erronously produce the results you're describing due to the resolution of the test. Because of the toxicity of ammonia, it's better to be cautious and verify this before making this assumption, but based on your time frame and lack of a discernable even that could tax your bioloigical filter, I'm inclined to go with the artifact theory. If you wanted to be safe, you could add some prime to bind the ammonia, although it would still be read by your Salifert test as I believe that utilizes the Nessler method.

 

[Ariellorca3198]

Carbon won't remove the ammonia.

Based on your answers, I suspect your findings are likely an "artifact". It's pretty common for hobby grade kits to erronously produce the results you're describing due to the resolution of the test. Because of the toxicity of ammonia, it's better to be cautious and verify this before making this assumption, but based on your time frame and lack of a discernable even that could tax your bioloigical filter, I'm inclined to go with the artifact theory. If you wanted to be safe, you could add some prime to bind the ammonia, although it would still be read by your Salifert test as I believe that utilizes the Nessler method.

when i first got a reading of ammonia i did use some prime, would it be plausible that the ammonia showing is due to the prime

 

[andrewey]

It's possible. I don't know a ton about prime beyond the directions suggesting binding for 48 hours and for how long after that it could produce erroneous results. If you're interested, Randy Holmes Farley runs the reef chemistry forum and he'd likely be the best source of information for those kind of technical questions

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I would not presume that you have problematic levels of ammonia, and I would not go crazy retesting and changing things. It could easily be test error.

I'd keep monitoring it with Salifert and just be sure it isn't rising.

 

[Ariellorca3198]

I would not presume that you have problematic levels of ammonia, and I would not go crazy retesting and changing things. It could easily be test error.

I'd keep monitoring it with Salifert and just be sure it isn't rising.

Thanks for the replies, could you suggest a way to remove or decrease the ammonia reading. As it is happening with three test kits. I wonder if something in the water is causing this reading.

 

[Ariellorca3198]

Thanks for the replies, could you suggest a way to remove or decrease the ammonia reading. As it is happening with three test kits. I wonder if something in the water is causing this reading.

From what I can tell the test kits are reading ammonium and that there is no ammonia. Is there a way I can remove this from the tank

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

From what I can tell the test kits are reading ammonium and that there is no ammonia. Is there a way I can remove this from the tank

I think you misunderstanding about the relationship between ammonia and ammonium. You cannot ever have one without the other. The ratio between the two in seawater depends only on pH. They convert one form to the other thousands of times a second.

My advice is to only ever measure total ammonia since it is higher in concentration and hence easier for a kit to quantify.

As I said, I'm also not sureyou have a true ammonia problem as opposed to a kit problem at the low end of their usefulness, but if somehow you did have ammonia in an established, cycled tank (uncommon), you need to locate the source, which is most often a dead organism.

This article has a lot more on ammonia and what might be done about it:

Ammonia and the Reef Aquarium by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-02/rhf/index.php