Still having Ammonia Issues

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Hello I am new here.
I just got some ammonia readings from my fairly new brackish tank (just completed cycling for a little over a month at SG1.003) today so I searched for info online and found this thread.
Just want to share my findings here.

I was using Salifert Ammonia Kit (the newer one which measures NH3+NH4). After water change and dosing prime with stability, the ammonia readings immediately went off the charts which scared the hell out of me as everything seemed normal before. I thought my cycle crashed.
So I performed the ammonia test step by step again in the hope of identifying which part went wrong.

I tested in the following sequence
1)fresh water directly from the tap, 0 reading
2)adding marine salt until SG reached 1.003, same 0 reading
3)added Seachem Prime, reading immediately went off the chart

So maybe Seachem Prime really does have some effect on Ammonia Test Kits I think.

What salt?

Did you measure ammonia before adding Prime?

Why did you add Prime?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

FWIW, Seachem claims Prime will not impact ammonia test kits, like the Salifert kit:

- Seachem Support Forums

" Prime will not affect a total ammonia test like API's. "