If you have an API ammonia kit please chime in

[DrewBrees713]

Ok i just bought some livestocks at 2 different LFS and tested their water and mine. All 3 show a tinged of ammonia. In the past i could never get my kit to read zero. Does anyone have the same problem with Api kit?

 

[saltyhog]

Can you post picture? I really believe the problem with the API never reading zero is either A) because different people see colors differently (what color was that danged dress anyway?) B) the card color isn't correct .

I've never had any problem with mine not displaying zero ammonia.

Edit...if the water you tested was from a bag used to transport fish the ammonia could very well be correct.

 

[madweazl]

API kit is notorious for showing .25 ammonia; I wouldnt worry about it much.

 

[Indymann99]

I have used API test kits for last 15yrs and I have never had a problem with it reading 0 Am. I agree that I think it comes down to how different people see color. I would run a test on freshly mixed SW (that should be 0 Am). +1 if you are reading the "bag water" I bet there IS Am in the water... especially if the transport home from the LFS is over 1hr.

 

[squampton]

I see 0.25 on API and my wife see's 0....

 

[UCF Alum]

I do.
Sometimes I get that weird greenish yellow color that isn’t quite 0.25, but not the same yellow color that’s on the back of the manual. It used to bother me, but everything’s healthy. There’s really no need to test after the tank is established.
Is your tank new?

 

[ChadmRoman]

I see 0.25 on API and my wife see's 0....

+1 on this.

 

[Dr. Reef Verified Sponsor]

In my thread "bacteria in bottle myth or fact" I have been testing 5 tanks on daily basis to get results.
Anyways API been registering 0 on newly setup tanks prior to me dosing ammonium chloride.
Its results are almost same compared to Red Sea and Seachem ammonia kits.

 

[Orm Embar]

API kit is notorious for showing .25 ammonia; I wouldnt worry about it much.

I have the exact same problem; my API always has a tint of green which I've learned to ignore.

 

[DrewBrees713]

I tested with RO water and it was zero but for most tanks that tested has .25 ppm

 

[starypotter]

I agree with many of the above statements, I consistently see .25 on my test kit.

 

[Dan_P]

API Ammonia test is very tricky to call at the low end. I started using the Hanna Alkalinity Checker to read the color intensity. Zero can look like it might be greater than zero sometimes to the eye, but the Checker sees 0 ppm.

I just started to investigate this ambigous zero point for the salicylate test of ammonia (API and Red Sea) with a visible spectrophotometer and there does occassionally appear to be a very low level absorbance in tests of my 4 year old tank. This might be a test artefact or organic amine interference. I am still trying to understand this little “blip” in spectrum.

Dan