Aquarium Pharm. Ammonia Test-Is it supposed to be cloudy?

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WhiteCloud

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Sep 17, 2004
Messages
305
Location
New England
I borrowed a friends Saltwater Ammonia Test kit (the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals SW ammonis test-which uses the salisalate method per the instructions)...it had worked well for him 3 months ago.

I used it to test my SW Tank, which is cycling with a shrimp, and the test got cloudy and slightly colored...not the colored clear water I am accustomed to when testing my FW (with a different Aquarium Pharmaceuticals FW test). It was so cloudy that I could not see through the vial.

Anyone have any ideas? I will try another kit this week..but it makes me nervous that there may be something wrong with the water. pH is fine at 8.2, and I have 0.25 ppm Nitrites and no Nitrates.

Thanks

WC
 
some of mine are cloudy but after the 5 min wait you need to compare the color not the transparency. You may need to check expiration dates
 
If its the sal. method SW test, it gets cloudy but still accurate. The FW Nessler test isn't accurate in salt though (and incidently also gets cloudy).
 
I just did a test with another brand and method test kit with the Sera Brand Ammonia test kit and the Aquarium Pharm. test kit. Both tested out at 1 ppm...so Aquarium Pharm test kits looks to work fine..even though it is a bit cloudy.

Also....ammonia at 1pmm..down from 3ppm
hmm...Nitrite up to 1ppm from 0.25 ppm
Nitrate up to 10 from 0 ppm
my shrimp is now an unidentifiable lump of goo...

Looks to me that my cycle is starting to progress....and we could be on the way to completing the first cycle!! Yeah! I am doing a cycle before I put in live rock...to seed the DSB and the Base Rock...in a hope to have a smaller cycle when I add the LR to preserve as much life on the rock as possible!

Thanks everyone!

WC
 
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