Does anything exist like an ammonia probe?

[mbarber87]

I have the Apex unit and I'm wondering if there's anything out there that exists that would measure parameters in real time.

I have the cats, and it's not too much of a big deal to run them every few says, but it would be nice if it was possible to have a probe or something that would measure parameters like ammonia, nitrate nitrites etc.

 

[wes urquhart]

Does not exist yet to my knowledge. Not at the hobbyist level anyhow. With enough money I'm sure the technology is here.

 

[homer1475]

Look up a seneye. While not nitrate and nitrite, it can measure ammonia in real time.

 

[Breadman03]

The Seneye monitors ammonia.

Seneye Reef Monitor

Seneye Reef Pack is an all in one monitor for Temperature, Ammonia, pH, Water level, and Lighting. With a PC you can connect your Seneye monitor directly to any PC or Seneye Web Server to monitor your aquarium. With the Seneye Web Server you can monitor your aquarium from anywhere you can get...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[redfishbluefish]

Once you've cycled, you should never see ammonia or nitrite (or I should say below detection limits of test kits), so I see no reason why you'd want to monitor. Nitrate is the one you need to monitor to assess how "dirty" your tank is....and I personally wouldn't want it to be tested with great frequency. My monitor for nitrate is all-of-a-sudden algae bloom....then I'll take out the nitrate test kit.

 

[brandon429]

agreed. the only system Id ever pay for any ammonia measure is one where fish can't be easily accounted for/so huge can get lost in rockwork etc.

if a system is that big, not going to get the fish out anyway it seems

*perhaps its a neat feature to be texted on vacation about a dead fish that could work but if someone is at home and can verify fish life, ammonia will never ever do anything unpredictable.

nothing can go wrong with a tank to cause free ammonia, only a dead fish or directly adding free ammonia water in topoff. reefs will never 'drift' out of ammonia compliance.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

The mindstream could also read ammonia.

But neither that nor the seneye (which I am not sure how accurate it is) are probes like pH probes.

 

[robbyg]

Yes it exists in Ion probes
https://intl.hannainst.com/products...onia-combination-ion-selective-electrode.html

I will buck the trend and say I think it is highly useful as a very early indicator that something is going with your tank. So long as the probe can read small amounts accurately it is useful. Unfortunately the price of these probes does not make it practical.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Yes it exists in Ion probes
https://intl.hannainst.com/products...onia-combination-ion-selective-electrode.html

I will buck the trend and say I think it is highly useful as a very early indicator that something is going with your tank. So long as the probe can read small amounts accurately it is useful. Unfortunately the price of these probes does not make it practical.

lol

I'll buck back. It is complicated to calibrate and use. It is most definitely not a drop in the tank and read like a pH meter sort of device.


from the manual:

"Operating pH: >11 pH "

"For solutions containing organically bound nitrogen such as oil, sludge, waste, or samples which may contain surfactants; digest sample first using a total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) procedure. This involves oxidation with hot sulfuric acid which converts bound nitrogen to ammonium ions. Consult Method 4500- Norg from Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater "

 

[mborn]

You could just use a Seachem ammonia alert badge. They’re very inexpensive.

 

[xxkenny90xx]

You could just use a Seachem ammonia alert badge. They’re very inexpensive.

That's what I was thinking. Not sure how accurate they are but they seem ok

 

[KrisReef]

Ammonia in freshwater creates microbial blooms that cause cloudy water. I believe I have noted the same phenomenon in reef tanks but I have never measured to verify. Recommended water change, aeration, and addition of microbes (live rock, bacteria in a bottle, etc) but generally the situation self-rights inside of a couple of days and the cloudiness disappears without intervention in established systems.

The only probe I used was visual, not yet available for Apex.

 

[SlugSnorter]

Once you've cycled, you should never see ammonia or nitrite (or I should say below detection limits of test kits), so I see no reason why you'd want to monitor. Nitrate is the one you need to monitor to assess how "dirty" your tank is....and I personally wouldn't want it to be tested with great frequency. My monitor for nitrate is all-of-a-sudden algae bloom....then I'll take out the nitrate test kit.

i know im late, but its good to have an ammonia monitor for newly cycled tanks to remove any risk of an ammonia spike

 

[dantimdad]

You could just use a Seachem ammonia alert badge. They’re very inexpensive.

Beat me to it. However, I only leave it in for the first two or three months or constantly for a holding tank.

 

[Tamale]

i know im late, but its good to have an ammonia monitor for newly cycled tanks to remove any risk of an ammonia spike

That’s what I use my Seneye for currently. The thing that sucks about it is that you have to have it plugged into a usb 3 in order for it to constantly monitor.

 

[SlugSnorter]

That’s what I use my Seneye for currently. The thing that sucks about it is that you have to have it plugged into a usb 3 in order for it to constantly monitor.

My tank is on my desk, so this shouldn't be too bad for me

 

[Tamale]

My tank is on my desk, so this shouldn't be too bad for me

Will definitely work easy for you then! I pretty much have my laptop on a chair next to the tank dedicated to the Seneye right now haha.

 

[SlugSnorter]

Will definitely work easy for you then! I pretty much have my laptop on a chair next to the tank dedicated to the Seneye right now haha.

how long is the cable?

 

[Tamale]

how long is the cable?

It’s definitely long! I have it on the opposite side of my 20g cube from where the probe is attached with room to spare. Probably around 5-6ft of cable? There are also accessories from https://www.leafgreensolutions.com/ that will let you attach it to the tank magnetically or use it as a PAR meter. Be warned tho that it does require you to purchase slides every 3 months to get all the monitoring stuff (Ph, ammonia). The par and temp monitoring works without them. About 40 bucks for a 3 pack of slides I believe.