IO & high ammonia levels right out of the bag??

[reefobsessed]

I have been trying to get my ALK & Cal levels in line so I took the advise of an advisor and did some water changes. Well now my ammonia levels are a little high?? 8O I tested the water from the r/o unit and it read 0. So I tested a fresh batch and yes, it was very high..Higher in fact then whats currently in the main tank :x Has anyone ever had this?? Is there a better salt that I can use or did I just get a bad batch?? Is it wise to just let the tank take care of the high ammonia levels on its own. They are only at about .05... Not really extreme

Thanks in advance

 

[reefrunner69]

How long is the water mixing prior to testing? Is it possible that your source water has chloimines? and the salt is breaking the bond leaving chlorine and ammonia?

 

[reefobsessed]

Well that just went right over my head......... Anyway, I tested all three tanks and the two new tanks ( only up three days each ) were high. My main tank was elevated but still ok... I tested straight tap water and no ammonia at all. Then I tested a batch that had not set for more then 1 or 2 hours and the ammonia were very high.... Are you saying the longer I let it sit the lower the ammonia level will be?? I think I need to go back to college so I can keep up with this Dont they have an age limit??

 

[Guest]

What he is saying is, if you are using a tap water conditioner, or not, the tap water is usually being treated with Chloramine now instead of straight Chlorine... This is a bond of Chlorine and Ammonia which is more potent to keep the water from going bad inside of our pipes and what not... When you add your salt to the water, it could be splitting the Chloramine into seperate atoms and the Chlorine is leaving via the evaporation into the atmosphere and the ammonia is staying in the water... This would cause your ammonia reading to show up positive.... I use tap water now and I use a good conditioner to break down the Chlorine and Chloramines... I don't have a problem with ammonia... I do know that the IO salt is not adding it to the water... I hope this helps...

 

[reefobsessed]

I use r/o water and I just changed my filters... Will letting it sit for a longer peroid help or is the benefits of that to make sure your SG is correct??