How can I tell if I have ammonia or ammonium? I have the API master test kit and it consistently reads .25 ammonia in my tank as well as my tap water. Of course, the test kit doesn't test for ammonium so how can I know for sure?
Ammonia vs. Ammonium?
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ryan_calif
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
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- Jan 11, 2014
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The API kit will test both ammonia (NH3) and ammonium (NH4+), so if you're getting a reading on your API kit, it could very well be indicating both NH3 and NH4+ are in your water. There is one tester I know of that tests for NH4+ exclusively and that's the Seachem Ammonia Alert.
I suppose if you really needed to know your NH3 levels you could use both testers and subtract the two readings. It's nice that API includes both types of ammonia though because ammonia converts to ammonium (by gaining an extra proton - H+) in lower pH water conditions, and vice versa. Therefore, by knowing the total concentration of ammonia in the water, you know how much water to remove in order to avoid the ammonia spikes that may occur if the pH in your tank increases unexpectedly.
I suppose if you really needed to know your NH3 levels you could use both testers and subtract the two readings. It's nice that API includes both types of ammonia though because ammonia converts to ammonium (by gaining an extra proton - H+) in lower pH water conditions, and vice versa. Therefore, by knowing the total concentration of ammonia in the water, you know how much water to remove in order to avoid the ammonia spikes that may occur if the pH in your tank increases unexpectedly.
If you search for ammonia, ammonium and ph you should get some guides for the ratio at different ph levels.
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