Qt tank issues with Seachem ammonia sticker

[painfullycurious88]

So I have had my QT tank running now for several weeks, and I've kept it at .5 this entire time. I've got an airstone, and a HOB with a sponge from dt, but the ammonia is staying green no matter what. I went as far as to buy a second one. In my frustration today I did a 60% water change, and no change in the ammonia level. I'm using the seachem test with cupramine and it's driving me crazy. This is my third water change in my attempt to keep from having ammonia issues with the fish currently in it.

 

[jaganshi066]

Yea I feel it always stays green lol

 

[painfullycurious88]

Yea I feel it always stays green lol

I'm glad I'm not the only victim of this. I'm going to stop using cupramine and move to copper safe next time.

 

[jaganshi066]

Hmmm I dont know and I don’t think the issue is with cupramine

 

[Isopod80]

I've never trusted those ammonia badges over a proper test kit. I've heard too many complaints regarding inaccuracy.

 

[painfullycurious88]

I've never trusted those ammonia badges over a proper test kit. I've heard too many complaints regarding inaccuracy.

would love something that can test with copper present any ideas?

 

[Isopod80]

Yeah, i guess its your only choice with copper. Shine a flashlight on the badge. Is it really green?

 

[painfullycurious88]

Shine a flashlight on the badge. Is it really green?

like a grey? it's weird. There's no way my ammonia is elevated, so I'm at a loss.

 

[LaloJ]

Personally, I thought about using the sticker but I read negative comments and decided to go for a normal test. Of course I have problems with that too as I use the API test which only shows 0 ppm in my main tank and 0.25 in my QT always, so stop worrying about low free ammonia. If I were you, I would get a salifert or digital test.

 

[Isopod80]

I thought they were supposed to turn yellow in the presence of ammonia.

 

[Isopod80]

Personally, I thought about using the sticker but I read negative comments and decided to go for a normal test. Of course I have problems with that too as I use the API test which only shows 0 ppm in my main tank and 0.25 in my QT always, so stop worrying about low free ammonia. If I were you, I would get a salifert or digital test.

Yup, API kits have caused alot of problems in this hobby.

 

[DrZoidburg]

My opinion it is probably picking up the amine in curpramine. No change if you dosed your water with cupramine.

 

[DinoMagnet]

Ammonia badge will do nothing but freak you out, I removed mine for that reason.

 

[threebuoys]

You have two different testing issues going on here.
To test for copper, the Hanna checker is the most reliable method I have found. Much easier than the Seachem test to administer.

To test for ammonia, you should not rely on the badge. I have found them fairly accurate at times, but never know when they are expired and also suspect in my opinion. You'll see a lot of similar comment on this forum.

Likewise, the API test kit does not have a good track record for ammonia, if you follow postings on this forum.

Some like the Seachem ammonia kit but I've had problems with them. In my test, I found the metal forceps supplied by Seachem contaminated the tests resulting in false positives.

I personally have more confidence in either the red sea or salifert ammonia test kits.

 

[albertski]

I’m having issues cycling my QT right now and the badge is way off compared to the Red Sea ammonia test. My ammonia was super high compared to the badge. See my test results in my Ammonia Still Up on Day 5 Using Dr. Tim's One and Only post.

 

[threebuoys]

You have a lot going on trying to cycle a tank at the same time you are treating with copper. I'm not saying its impossible to do, you just have a lot of variables to manage.

Bacteria in a Bottle products all take more time to cycle a tank than what's needed in an emergency. It's possible the sponge you have from the display tank sump had not adequately collected enough of the nitrifying bacteria to work. If the display tank was not fully cycled when you transferred the media to the QT HOB filter, it would not have carried enough bacteria with it.

Usually, when a tank has cycled the ammonia drops to 0 and nitrates rise. In a QT tank with nothing to export the nitrates, (ammonia>0) + 0 nitrates = not cycled

I suspect if you used both the salifert and the red sea at the same time you would get fairly similar readings, assuming neither kit is out of date.I tend to be suspicious of the Seachem Dot, don't know how to tell if its out of date. But, there are reasons it may show a different reading than other test kits.

Info Below from another website: ( https://aquariumscience.org/index.php/5-2-safe-ammonia-levels/ )

The toxicity levels of ammonia are shown by the Seachem test kit which measures the free ammonia levels rather then the total ammonia levels of the API test kit (and others):

This Seachem test is for free ammonia gas, not total ammonia. The API test kit measures total ammonia nitrogen (TAN), not free ammonia gas.

The most accurate way to illustrate the toxicity of ammonia is a chart derived from the University of Florida ammonia toxicity chart (Publication #FA16, “Ammonia in Aquatic Systems”, Ruth Francis-Floyd). This chart translates the Seachem dot test of ammonia gas to the API test of total ammonia as to toxicity levels:

The API test measures BOTH the ammonia gas and the ammonium ion. This is called “total ammonia nitrogen” or TAN. So one needs to look at the pH of the water when trying to determine the toxicity of ammonia as measured by the API test. The toxicity of total ammonia is ten times greater at a pH of 8.0 than it is at a pH of 7.0. . Over and over one will hear “ammonia kills at anything over 1 ppm“. This isn’t true IF one is talking about the API ammonia test results, or any other test kit that measures TAN.

 

[painfullycurious88]

You have a lot going on trying to cycle a tank at the same time you are treating with copper. I'm not saying its impossible to do, you just have a lot of variables to manage.

Bacteria in a Bottle products all take more time to cycle a tank than what's needed in an emergency. It's possible the sponge you have from the display tank sump had not adequately collected enough of the nitrifying bacteria to work. If the display tank was not fully cycled when you transferred the media to the QT HOB filter, it would not have carried enough bacteria with it.

Usually, when a tank has cycled the ammonia drops to 0 and nitrates rise. In a QT tank with nothing to export the nitrates, (ammonia>0) + 0 nitrates = not cycled

I suspect if you used both the salifert and the red sea at the same time you would get fairly similar readings, assuming neither kit is out of date.I tend to be suspicious of the Seachem Dot, don't know how to tell if its out of date. But, there are reasons it may show a different reading than other test kits.

Info Below from another website: ( https://aquariumscience.org/index.php/5-2-safe-ammonia-levels/ )

The toxicity levels of ammonia are shown by the Seachem test kit which measures the free ammonia levels rather then the total ammonia levels of the API test kit (and others):

This Seachem test is for free ammonia gas, not total ammonia. The API test kit measures total ammonia nitrogen (TAN), not free ammonia gas.

The most accurate way to illustrate the toxicity of ammonia is a chart derived from the University of Florida ammonia toxicity chart (Publication #FA16, “Ammonia in Aquatic Systems”, Ruth Francis-Floyd). This chart translates the Seachem dot test of ammonia gas to the API test of total ammonia as to toxicity levels:

The API test measures BOTH the ammonia gas and the ammonium ion. This is called “total ammonia nitrogen” or TAN. So one needs to look at the pH of the water when trying to determine the toxicity of ammonia as measured by the API test. The toxicity of total ammonia is ten times greater at a pH of 8.0 than it is at a pH of 7.0. . Over and over one will hear “ammonia kills at anything over 1 ppm“. This isn’t true IF one is talking about the API ammonia test results, or any other test kit that measures TAN.

The sponge was treated with dr Tim’s and from my dt. You’ve got to stop assuming things.

 

[threebuoys]

The sponge was treated with dr Tim’s and from my dt. You’ve got to stop assuming things.

I certainly meant no disrespect and I was only trying to help you troubleshoot your situation. I did an experiment with 6 different Bacteria in a Bottle products earlier this year to determine how fast they were able to cycle a tank. After 10 days the Dr Tims bucket had not cycled. Two of the 6 cycled in 4 days. After 10 days I stopped the experiment.

You know what you have better than anyone, but I thought you were looking for ideas.

Sorry I upset you.

 

[painfullycurious88]

I certainly meant no disrespect and I was only trying to help you troubleshoot your situation. I did an experiment with 6 different Bacteria in a Bottle products earlier this year to determine how fast they were able to cycle a tank. After 10 days the Dr Tims bucket had not cycled. Two of the 6 cycled in 4 days. After 10 days I stopped the experiment.

You know what you have better than anyone, but I thought you were looking for ideas.

Sorry I upset you.

Wasn’t upset just irritates me how preachy we get on forums. You’ve found you can use salifert and Red Sea with copper present? This qt has been up for over a month.

 

[threebuoys]

Wasn’t upset just irritates me how preachy we get on forums. You’ve found you can use salifert and Red Sea with copper present? This qt has been up for over a month.

yes