So my tap water has 3ppm average of chloramine in it, according to my county's water report.
Using the API test kit on my tap water without treating it reads about 3ppm ammonia. I do treat with Prime, but afaik the ammonia will only be bound for 24-48 hours by Prime. I'm not crazy about putting that much ammonia into my tanks every water change. I have tested a jug of spring water with my kit and it reads 0ppm ammonia, so my test kit seems fine, I have also tested my water with a completely different API kit.
My cichlid tank is overstocked since it has a turtle in it as well (really it's a turtle tank with cichlids in it). The tank is a 40 breeder, and it has two SUNSUN 302's, so there's certainly enough filtration, but I can't get the ammonia reading down. It's around 2ppm and doesn't deviate even on non-feeding days, yet I haven't seen negative effects on any of my fish and it's been two weeks now. I know I'd see ammonia burns or some sort of signs of ammonia poisoning after two weeks exposed to water with 2ppm ammonia in it. The tank has a pH of around 8.0 so there's no way it's ammonium...
My 20 long is in the same situation. Reading of 2ppm ammonia. I recently upgraded to this 20 long from a 10 gallon, so I had to add about 12 or so gallons of tap water (treated with Prime of course). This tank reads 2ppm of ammonia as well. There are some pretty sensitive fish in this tank; neon tetras, glowlight tetras, and otos. I'm 100% sure that two or more weeks being exposed to 2ppm ammonia would kill at least one of these fish.
I have tried triple dosing the tanks with Prime, I've tried dosing it with sodium thiosulate, I've tried dosing the tank with Seachem Stability (in case it was my biological filter somehow), I've asked all the experienced aquarists I know, and not one person has been able to give me some solid advice. I've tried large water changes, no water changes for a few days, nothing has dropped the ammonia reading. I haven't lost any fish, and they all look very healthy. They're eating like savages and are all very active. If I didn't test my water, everything would be fine, but it bothers me that this test kit is reading ammonia.
As far as filter media goes, both canisters have some coarse filter pads, polyfil, generic ceramic rings, Seachem matrix, purigen, and aragonite.
Using the API test kit on my tap water without treating it reads about 3ppm ammonia. I do treat with Prime, but afaik the ammonia will only be bound for 24-48 hours by Prime. I'm not crazy about putting that much ammonia into my tanks every water change. I have tested a jug of spring water with my kit and it reads 0ppm ammonia, so my test kit seems fine, I have also tested my water with a completely different API kit.
My cichlid tank is overstocked since it has a turtle in it as well (really it's a turtle tank with cichlids in it). The tank is a 40 breeder, and it has two SUNSUN 302's, so there's certainly enough filtration, but I can't get the ammonia reading down. It's around 2ppm and doesn't deviate even on non-feeding days, yet I haven't seen negative effects on any of my fish and it's been two weeks now. I know I'd see ammonia burns or some sort of signs of ammonia poisoning after two weeks exposed to water with 2ppm ammonia in it. The tank has a pH of around 8.0 so there's no way it's ammonium...
My 20 long is in the same situation. Reading of 2ppm ammonia. I recently upgraded to this 20 long from a 10 gallon, so I had to add about 12 or so gallons of tap water (treated with Prime of course). This tank reads 2ppm of ammonia as well. There are some pretty sensitive fish in this tank; neon tetras, glowlight tetras, and otos. I'm 100% sure that two or more weeks being exposed to 2ppm ammonia would kill at least one of these fish.
I have tried triple dosing the tanks with Prime, I've tried dosing it with sodium thiosulate, I've tried dosing the tank with Seachem Stability (in case it was my biological filter somehow), I've asked all the experienced aquarists I know, and not one person has been able to give me some solid advice. I've tried large water changes, no water changes for a few days, nothing has dropped the ammonia reading. I haven't lost any fish, and they all look very healthy. They're eating like savages and are all very active. If I didn't test my water, everything would be fine, but it bothers me that this test kit is reading ammonia.
As far as filter media goes, both canisters have some coarse filter pads, polyfil, generic ceramic rings, Seachem matrix, purigen, and aragonite.
