Help with ammonia reading
- Thread starter fhd
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ReefMadScientist
Valuable Member
Hard to tell for us guys. I watched on Brain Games that MOST men cannot see shading as clearly as women. I always have my wife read my results lol.
IMO, .25 looks more yellowish than .0 LOL. See what I mean.
IMO, .25 looks more yellowish than .0 LOL. See what I mean.
Bad Company
Well-Known Member
Looks like 0 to me. Make sure that your test ube is well cleaned out before sampling, as contaminents can coloer the result. I have the same issue reading the API ammonia test, it always seems between 0 and .25
If your drinking water has chloramine disinfection it will contain ammonia. Most saltwater test kits are not accurate on fresh water either.
What you are seeing is the biggest complaint with API test kits and the reason most experienced hobbyists only use them during the initial cycle when exact levels are not critical. Once the tank is cycled it is better to invest in kits like Salifert, Elos or some like Red Sea Pro which I personally don't but all are much more accurate and easier to use since the colors are not shades of the same color but actual changes like from red to blue and very dramatic.
If you are just starting I wouldn't worry much about it, as the ammonia goes down, the nitrites will rise then as the nitrites go down the nitrates will rise and then it is time to start doing normal water changes to export the nitrates. Ammonia is food for the bacteria which and the bypproduct is nitrites which is food for different bacteria which produces nitrates and completes the nitrogen cycle.
What you are seeing is the biggest complaint with API test kits and the reason most experienced hobbyists only use them during the initial cycle when exact levels are not critical. Once the tank is cycled it is better to invest in kits like Salifert, Elos or some like Red Sea Pro which I personally don't but all are much more accurate and easier to use since the colors are not shades of the same color but actual changes like from red to blue and very dramatic.
If you are just starting I wouldn't worry much about it, as the ammonia goes down, the nitrites will rise then as the nitrites go down the nitrates will rise and then it is time to start doing normal water changes to export the nitrates. Ammonia is food for the bacteria which and the bypproduct is nitrites which is food for different bacteria which produces nitrates and completes the nitrogen cycle.
