Ammonia levels
- Thread starter Crystal08
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PlumbTuckered
Active Member
Yes, you should be alarmed. There should be ZERO ammonia in your tank. This suggests that the tank wasn't completely cycled.
A water change and the addition of some bottled bacteria would help.
no that's not a concern in any setting for a marine tank/proceed on
that's likely an nh4 reading which isn't even the marine version of ammonia we reference, we use nh3 in the hobby (10x less than above)
reef tanks don't run zero ammonia, which is why a low trace level is a good sign, not a bad one. corals use that small degree for food along with other materials
this may help to know: after a cycle there's no need to ever test for ammonia in a reef display. the only thing you need to do to control ammonia is make sure no dead fish are wedged in the rocks, simply removing any animals that don't make it ensure your reef tank's ammonia can never be out of spec and you'll never need to test for it again.
testing during a cycle is common, but also optional> we have means to cycle tanks without any testing for ammonia and nitrite. you'd be better off testing calcium and alk, and getting a digital calibrated probe if you want to test pH don't use color guess kits. testing for ammonia is a huge waste of time when it's this predictable in a cycling, or cycled tank.
that's likely an nh4 reading which isn't even the marine version of ammonia we reference, we use nh3 in the hobby (10x less than above)
reef tanks don't run zero ammonia, which is why a low trace level is a good sign, not a bad one. corals use that small degree for food along with other materials
this may help to know: after a cycle there's no need to ever test for ammonia in a reef display. the only thing you need to do to control ammonia is make sure no dead fish are wedged in the rocks, simply removing any animals that don't make it ensure your reef tank's ammonia can never be out of spec and you'll never need to test for it again.
testing during a cycle is common, but also optional> we have means to cycle tanks without any testing for ammonia and nitrite. you'd be better off testing calcium and alk, and getting a digital calibrated probe if you want to test pH don't use color guess kits. testing for ammonia is a huge waste of time when it's this predictable in a cycling, or cycled tank.
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Crystal08
Active Member
I bought the Hanna multi parameter checker just this week. What I saw online was saying it was bad if it was 0.1 or above. This was 0.09. I just did a big water change 2 days ago because I was worried about the ammonia when I test it at 0.07. This tank is from a 6 month old tank that we upgraded so all the live rock and sand we moved over. Then cycled this tank almost 2 months. It’s been going almost 3 with fish. Just before the Hanna checker I was using test strips and the liquid. Charts never showed anything
Rmckoy
7500 Club Member
I would ignore it ..
the tank was already cycled before with live rock . Do you know roughly how much rocks ?
Size of tank ? This is where pictures say 1000 words .
Test error is possible .
Rmckoy
7500 Club Member
Glad you upgraded from test strips to Hanna but if the tank is cycled there is no need to test ammonia .
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Crystal08
Active Member
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based on the pics the rule holds firmly above. the nitrite and ammonia cannot drift out of spec or be unpredictable at any time in that system's life, provided fish and dead snails are ruled out.
if there's ever a time they might die, remove them, ammonia didn't rise before to cause their loss. knowing that ammonia is 100% predictable at all times in your tank and that nitrite is neutral in impact at all times is updated cycling science. old cycling science has you test, in doubt of solid rules.
if there's ever a time they might die, remove them, ammonia didn't rise before to cause their loss. knowing that ammonia is 100% predictable at all times in your tank and that nitrite is neutral in impact at all times is updated cycling science. old cycling science has you test, in doubt of solid rules.
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Crystal08
Active Member
So if it’s below.1 I shouldn’t worry?
Every fish is accounted for. Hard to tell on snails because some of them are under the sand.
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you are at a crossroads between old and new cycling science. the paths do not converge 
you get to choose though how you view the nature of ammonia in a reef tank. anything you read about reef tank ammonia coming from any company is not going to be new cycling science, in the end it will be the science that produces doubt about your ammonia and you'll buy things to try and fix it
if you simply never tested for ammonia again for the life of the tank, you'd be better off, because it cannot rise in an unpredictable way. I expect no label from any retail product to ever, ever relay that info.
you get to choose though how you view the nature of ammonia in a reef tank. anything you read about reef tank ammonia coming from any company is not going to be new cycling science, in the end it will be the science that produces doubt about your ammonia and you'll buy things to try and fix itif you simply never tested for ammonia again for the life of the tank, you'd be better off, because it cannot rise in an unpredictable way. I expect no label from any retail product to ever, ever relay that info.
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Most every tank will read a 0.1-0.2 ppm ammonia on the hanna checker. This should be interpreted as zero.
click through the quote below if you want more details.
click through the quote below if you want more details.
Just ignore all of this and forget that you have an ammonia test kit. You are fine.
Beyond a cycle where you can see cloudy water and smell the nasty ammoni[a,um] smell, there is nothing to worry about. In fact, ammoni[a,um] is the best way to get nitrogen to your corals and your fish excrete it nearly all of the time.
Beyond a cycle where you can see cloudy water and smell the nasty ammoni[a,um] smell, there is nothing to worry about. In fact, ammoni[a,um] is the best way to get nitrogen to your corals and your fish excrete it nearly all of the time.
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Crystal08
Active Member
Everything seems fine in the tank swimming around. I was testing because I just got the checker and was going to do all the test to see if everything was ok. So if it was your tank the 0.09 wouldn’t concern you? I’m just very much still learningyou are at a crossroads between old and new cycling science. the paths do not converge
if you simply never tested for ammonia again for the life of the tank, you'd be better off, because it cannot rise in an unpredictable way. I expect no label from any retail product to ever, ever relay that info.
Mr. Mojo Rising
7500 Club Member
Curious why you spent the money on an ammonia hanna checker at 3 months? It should be not a concern at that point.
I agree with Brandon and others, better to never test for ammonia/nitrite again (unless you suspect a fish died, but even then, just do water change).
I agree with Brandon and others, better to never test for ammonia/nitrite again (unless you suspect a fish died, but even then, just do water change).
Rmckoy
7500 Club Member
I wouldn’t be concerned. .
And as you said everything in the tank seams fine
if you ever question odd test results double test to confirm results.
sometimes using a different brand or kit helps too .
