Need Help With API Saltwater Ammonia Test Kit Colors

mrmatzah · Jul 3, 2020

Hello everyone,

I'm trying to determine if I have ammonia spiking or not, but the colors are so close it's difficult to tell them apart. Would anyone mind giving me a hand?

I tested my tap water to get a baseline - this is straight out of the tap:

Then I tested my saltwater. Curently at 1.023 SG and 77.2. temp if that makes a difference:

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

Mr. Matzah

andrewey · Jul 3, 2020

My eyes suggest 0-0.25 ammonia in the second picture (closer to 0.25 than 0) and 0.25 ammonia in the third photo (tap water is clearly 0). I'm guessing just different lighting, same tube for pictures 2 and 3? This might be one of those situations where the "wisdom of the crowd" is better than any one set of eyeballs though

. What does everyone else think?

Dalalen · Jul 3, 2020

I would agree. The 2nd photo looks like it is in different lighting, however, think there is a difference in ammonia when compared. How long has the tank been setup?

mrmatzah · Jul 3, 2020

Thanks folks for the quick reply. Different lighting. Every time I moved the color seemed to change slightly. Looked to be somewhere between 0ppm and .25ppm. Tank has been set up a month. 50lbs vase rock, few lbs live rock. 40 lbs Arag alive sand. Just added a pink fairy wrasse cleaner shrimp and three really big snails yesterday. I expected a slight spike from that and have been testing, but results have seemed too subjective.

andrewey · Jul 3, 2020

Ah makes sense. If you have any on hand, you might want to add some prime to the tank for the ammonia. Shrimp can be pretty sensitive and it's not uncommon for the effects not to be apparent immediately. When it comes to ammonia, it's always better to be safe than sorry. Best of luck!

mrmatzah · Jul 3, 2020

That’s what I was afraid of. Can I add it straight to the tank? Gould I dose for the whole 40 gallons?

Dalalen · Jul 3, 2020

Your bio filter may have not had enough bacteria to handle the extra load and would explain a spike in ammonia. Try adding less next time that should prevent future spikes.

andrewey · Jul 3, 2020

Yes, you can add directly to the tank. Follow the directions on the bottle- if I remember correctly, it's something like a capful per 50 gallons, but don't trust my memory.

Dalalen · Jul 3, 2020

Follow the directions on prime for dosing, however an alternate path would be to do a water change.

andrewey · Jul 3, 2020

Just a heads up, with prime in the water, you will have "detoxified" the ammonia, however you will still show ammonia on the API test kit if it's still present in the water and hasn't been processed yet. Just wanted to make sure you were aware.

mrmatzah · Jul 3, 2020

Great advice. We put a capful in the tank as soon as we got home. I'll keep an eye on things as it goes through the cycle. How often can prime be added to help the tank through the additional cycle? Is this something safe to add every day or every few days?

mrmatzah · Jul 3, 2020

Dalalen said:
Your bio filter may have not had enough bacteria to handle the extra load and would explain a spike in ammonia. Try adding less next time that should prevent future spikes.

Yeah - I added quite a bit once I saw the test results showed the tank was cycled. Hindsight being twenty-twenty I should have just added the fish, the shrimp, or the snails. I'll cut back on feeding for a few days too. I normally feed twice a day - frozen in the morning and flake in the afternoon.

Thanks again for all your help everyone!

mrmatzah · Jul 3, 2020

Dalalen said:
Follow the directions on prime for dosing, however an alternate path would be to do a water change.

I did a 5 gallon water change today. I tested immediately after and saw what looked like a bit of an ammonia spike. Should I keep changing the water until it tests 0?

Gulrez · Jul 3, 2020

Also suggest buying another test kit. Like red sea. The API ones are not that great as it’s a wide range.

andrewey · Jul 3, 2020

I would dose every 24 hours or so if you are still seeing ammonia. Once the ammonia is gone, you can stop dosing. If your ammonia is increasing quickly, you can use up to 5x the recommended dose in an emergency, but I doubt you'll need to cross that bridge. Your biological filter should be able to handle the extra ammonia pretty soon. Sounds like you have a great plan in place.