Ammonia

Thomasplatts1 · Mar 5, 2020

I want everything to be perfect in my tank and I am having trouble reading this can my fellow saltwater friends help me please .

lapin · Mar 5, 2020

API test kit. .25 or nothing. If you have fish in the tank and they are not showing signs of stress or dying and you added bacteria or cycled the tank you are fine. If you just set it up and added fish them you might be in trouble as ammonia will climb.

lapin · Mar 5, 2020

Oh and Howdy

Thomasplatts1 · Mar 5, 2020

lapin said:
API test kit. .25 or nothing. If you have fish in the tank and they are not showing signs of stress or dying and you added bacteria or cycled the tank you are fine. If you just set it up and added fish them you might be in trouble as ammonia will climb.

I have had the tank setup for 104 days .I put the pajama Cardinal in at around 70 days. He has lived and eats fine. I also have a diamond goby and 12 snails. They all seem to be doing very well however I put a flame angel in and a banggai cardinal they both died. I did not acclimate them properly I believe. The diamond goby was introduced at the same time and he lived. I think I stress them out too bad and didn't feed them properly. I am new to this and any help would be awesome. I have a r o d i system now and I mix Instant Ocean. I also aerate the salt water for 24 hours to make sure that the pH is established . My Rodi Water Reed's a TDS of 0. My pH is 8.3 and salinity 1.025. I am wondering why the fish I added died and I think it's because I didn't activate them properly I ordered acclimation system.

Hugh Mann · Mar 5, 2020

This is what my API looks like when I used RO water. Same colour when I tested my tank too, and all my fish seem to be doing fine. Only just over a month into it though.

lapin · Mar 5, 2020

Could be acclamation that was not done properly. Most fish are kept in 1.021 salinity at fish wholesale and LFS. They need not only proper salinity acclamation but also temp. Sometimes ammonia can be an issue if they are shipped to you. After I have placed the bag in the tank for an hour I put some drops of prime in when I open the bag. You can then begin to add tank water to the bag slowly over time.
Because I QT fish and do the TTM method, I can place them in a tank with the same salinity as they come in. Then over a week I slowly raise it with each tank transfer.

Thomasplatts1 · Mar 5, 2020

Hugh Mann said:
This is what my API looks like when I used RO water. Same colour when I tested my tank too, and all my fish seem to be doing fine. Only just over a month into it though.

That looks more like a 0 ppm or less test to me ???

Thomasplatts1 · Mar 5, 2020

I wish mine looked like that .

Thomasplatts1 said:
That looks more like a 0 ppm or less test to me ???

Thomasplatts1 · Mar 5, 2020

lapin said:
Could be acclamation that was not done properly. Most fish are kept in 1.021 salinity at fish wholesale and LFS. The need not only proper salinity acclamation but also temp. Sometimes ammonia can be an issue if they are shipped to you. After I have placed the bag in the tank for an hour I put some drops of prime in when I open the bag. You can then begin to add tank water to the bag slowly over time.
Because I QT fish and do the TTM method, I can place them in a tank with the same salinity as they come in. Then over a week I slowly raise it with each tank transfer.

Drops of prime I have I will do that with the acclimation system I have thank you I'll upload results on my next purchase

SudzFD · Mar 5, 2020

It helps to hold it off the card about an inch when you compare the color. It lets the light through better. I’d say that’s zero.

Thomasplatts1 · Mar 5, 2020

Thomasplatts1 said:
Drops of prime I have I will do that with the acclimation system I have thank you I'll upload results on my next purchase

Why would the salinity be so low . I figured it should be at least 1.022 and temp to match with the same to close ph

SudzFD · Mar 5, 2020

Thomasplatts1 said:
Why would the salinity be so low . I figured it should be at least 1.022 and temp to match with the same to close ph

The fish stores often keep salinity lower because it helps control parasites.

TheShrimpNibbler · Mar 5, 2020

Thomasplatts1 said:
Why would the salinity be so low . I figured it should be at least 1.022 and temp to match with the same to close ph

Temp is kept the same, but once the fish is put into the bag with no heater, the temperature of the bag begins to drop to that of the air around it. Because of this, you need to let the fish float in their bag in your tank.
API ammonia tests are known for false positives, so I think that you are probably fine on the ammonia. What size tank is it?

Hugh Mann · Mar 5, 2020

Thomasplatts1 said:
That looks more like a 0 ppm or less test to me ???

It's really hard to tell, in one light it looks like 0.25,in a different light it looks like 0.
But since the colour is identical using new RO salt mix and tank water, it's almost certainly 0. Doesn't look far off from your picture.

Thomasplatts1 · Mar 6, 2020

TheShrimpNibbler said:
Temp is kept the same, but once the fish is put into the bag with no heater, the temperature of the bag begins to drop to that of the air around it. Because of this, you need to let the fish float in their bag in your tank.
API ammonia tests are known for false positives, so I think that you are probably fine on the ammonia. What size tank is it?

60 gallon