Reef crystals vs salt

[mochajungle]

I’ve been using instant ocean salt for my newly established reef tank
People have told me that the salt adds ammonia to your tank
And other say it’s fine

yesterday I tested Freshly mixed water and it read
.20 ammonia
This is obviously not good
I noticed a spike in ammonia after adding a new fish to my tank, so I did what anyone would do, I did a water change
But after I was done I tested and it read .25 ammonia. It’s been like that for a while now and nothing I do seems to bring it down
Let me know if I should start using reef crystal if if there is just something wrong with my test kit

 

[tehmadreefer]

Are you using an api test kit?

 

[tehmadreefer]

Also instant ocean has been around over 50 years and is that most used salt mix both professionally and at the hobbyist level... if it actually added ammonia it wouldn’t be around.

 

[mochajungle]

Yea I’m using the api master test kit for saltwater

 

[Wolf89]

Yea I’m using the api master test kit for saltwater

That's why. Api always tests .25 ammonia no matter what

 

[homer1475]

Yea I’m using the api master test kit for saltwater

Bingo!
API is notorious for showing ammonia when there atually is none.

 

[mochajungle]

It’s wierd cause I tested freshwater and the. The freshly mixed saltwater with nothing but salt and water (no conditioners etc) and I got a reading of about .20

 

[mochajungle]

That's why. Api always tests .25 ammonia no matter what

What seriously

 

[homer1475]

API is OK for freshwater, not so much for salt. Specially the ammonia kit, the odd color it develops always looks like the .25.

 

[arturoo1977]

I think any comercial salt wont add ammonia in their formula.
as everybody stated API test is very hard to read between 0 and 0.25, color is very similar.

 

[mochajungle]

I think any comercial salt wont add ammonia in their formula.
as everybody stated API test is very hard to read between 0 and 0.25, color is very similar.

But it’s a saltwater test kit

 

[mochajungle]

I’ve been worried sick that my tank will be eradicated by ammonia

 

[homer1475]

API is OK for freshwater, not so much for salt. Specially the ammonia kit, the odd color it develops always looks like the .25.

But it’s a saltwater test kit

Actually its a freshwater test kit that uses the same exact reagents for the salt. When you develop the salt kit, it always has a tint of green, and looks somewhat "chunky". Compared to using it on fresh it's a bright yellow and quite clear.

 

[S2G]

It's not the salt. Api will make you panic

 

[Flippers4pups]

I agree with what others have said. API saltwater ammonia test kits are poor at displaying low range. Even with no ammonia, they will show indication of ammonia at low range.

@mochajungle, your water is fine.

 

[Bpb]

First. The api master saltwater kit tends to always read that low 0.2ish ammonia reading. I’ve gotten the zero reading a handful of times. But it’s unreliable at low levels. Really just best at seeing if you’re near the 2 ppm mark for cycling. Nothing else. Once your tank is fully cycled, there is literally zero reason to ever test ammonia again. You can even throw the nitrite test away. Not needed. Too much emphasis is put on ammonia testing in saltwater.

I buy a kit when cycling a new tank, and once it is cycled. I usually just throw the kit away.

Second. Instant ocean does not add ammonia. Like someone else mentioned. It is the most widely used salt in the hobby, used by an absolute who’s who of commercial institutions as well as top end hobbyists.

Third. Ammonia will not crash your tank. In small amounts it can burn fish gills. But it is actually the preferred nitrogen source to literally every photosynthetic organism on earth. Plants, algae, and corals actually contain enzymes to turn nitrate BACK into ammonia for biological processes. So don’t think you’re going to crash your tank with a little bit of it. It’s the higher order vertebrates and crustaceans that don’t like it