Ammonia in my tap?

[Angry the Clown]

OK, I checked my tank in the middle of the cycle, and found ammonia, at a higher level than they should be, and that got me to thinking where it came from. So I checked the water out of my tap, and it is reading between .5 & 1ppm, straight from the tap. Should I be concerned? How is this going to effect my tank once setup? At this point, I am going to go check all the other faucets and see if it is consistent. Strange... At least I won't have to seed any more ammonia (grasping at the positives..)

 

[Mosaic]

You're not the only one here with that problem!
Actually, it may not really be ammonia. Some tests read chloramines as ammonia, but I'll let someone more familiar with the chemistry explain it. You really should call the water company to find out. This is a good thread to read, meanwhile: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=84422

If it is ammonia, ultimately your PWCs will not be as effective as they should be because you'll be adding ammonia back in. You'll need to do smaller changes more often, and perhaps think about RO/DI water later on. Keeping a lot of fast growing plants will take up the ammonia too. But let's hope this isn't the case.

 

[odessadude]

Ahhhhhhh you live in Texas. Howdy Partner and welcome to the board!

I use to live there hence my name. Texas tap water has alot of bad things in it for a fish tank. I use to go to the store and buy water when I lived out in Odessa.

I had a friend who lived out there and he had one major diasaster with his Koi pond. He had one heck of a pond 30' X 10'. One night he left the water from the hose on all night. When he woke up the next day, all of his fish had died. It was sad, but a bad mistake, for he knew the water had high amounts of ammonia.

I use to use AmQuel when I lived out there when I topped the water off with city water. It is made by Kordon and is some pretty good stuff.

Your water is probably better then Odessa's water, but if your getting readings like that get some AmQuel

 

[Angry the Clown]

Thanks for the info and link. I read through the link, and went to check my local water website. Treatment for my water goes like this:

1. As the water enters the plant, alum and polymer, which are coagulants, and fluoride are added to the water.
2. In the flocculation basin, the chemicals are mixed with the water.
3. The sedimentation basin allows the particulate matter in the water to settle to the bottom. Clearer water moves on to the next step. Solids, dirt and debris from the lake water are a byproduct of the treatment process.
4. After sedimentation, the water is filtered through anthracite coal and is disinfected with chlorine.
5. Ammonia is added prior to storage so that chlorine byproducts will not form as the water is distributed to the customer.

However, when I went to see the breakdown of min/max chloramine the range was 0.4 - 2.5. I will look into getting an appropriate product for helping neutralize the 'bad' stuff.

Thanks again!

 

[Guest]

Heya Angry....


I am the queen of ammonia/chloramine in my tap water. My tap tests up to 5ppm (that's right, FIVE) on any given day.

Here is what i have done so far to help get it under control.

I added 1 tbsp/ten gals zeolite to my filters.
I use double dose Prime to dechlorinate
Once weekly, I do a water change with RO/DI instead of tap.

This has gotten the situation under control for me. I keep AmQuel on hand for emergencies. I change out the zeolite every two weeks to keep it effective.

Other than that, I just have to test often and really watch my fish. The good news is that most H2O companies reduce the chloramine/ammonia additives in the winter from what i hear, as there is not as much contamination to worry about during the cooler months.

If i can offer any assistance, just shoot a pm. I'll be happy to help answer any questions.


EDIT: Oh, and wait til you are done cycling to start using the zeolite or you will abolish the ammonia your bacteria needs. Once you start seeing nitrates, you can add the zeolite.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Prime is also a great dechlorinator and is a lot cheaper. We used to have to double dose on the Prime due to the high chloramines in the tap. If it is at a level of .5 and is chloramines, I wouldn't worry about it. Just make sure you use enough dechlorinator.

 

[Purrbox]

With only 0.5-1ppm of Ammonia in your tap, that's easily treated using a good dechlorinator like Prime or AmQuel. I've used both and they work great. Prime is more concentrated, so it's the less expensive option in the long run if you can find it.

 

[Angry the Clown]

I was able to find some Prime today, rather inexpensively too Added it to my tank, and checked the chemistry a couple of hours later, and everything checked out as expected, much better. The Ammonia is now down under .25ppm. Thanks all for your input!

 

[Fishyfanatic]

If you want to buy Prime in large quantities, check out www.bigalsonline.com. We buy it in the largest jug so it lasts us for a while.