Ammonia in my tap water, now what?

[WendiDell]

I've been battling with ammonia for some time now. No matter what I did I couldn't get the ammonia to zero. So I tested the water directly from the tap and low and behold it's positive for ammonia. Not quite .25 but close.
What am I suppose to do to get rid of the tap ammonia? So I can get rid ammonia in the tank?
This is really frustrating.

 

[Tim Wheatley]

I would invest in water storage. Move tap water there and treat it with water conditioner, leave it it storage after treatment for a few days before you use it.

 

[WendiDell]

I would invest in water storage. Move tap water there and treat it with water conditioner, leave it it storage after treatment for a few days before you use it.

That is how I used to do all my water changes. But, because of my disability I had to invest in a water changer, as I can no longer lug buckets around.
I used to store up to 100g at a time. It's just not feasible at this time. Plus with the water changer I never have any temp. changes during PWC. That really helps decrease the fishes stress.
Any other ideas, that don't involve lifting?
It's all I can do to keep up with the daily PWC on 4 tanks without hand carrying that much water.
Thank you for taking the time to answer my post. It is much appreciated

 

[hdultra]

Are you on city water or well ?

 

[Tim Wheatley]

That is how I used to do all my water changes. But, because of my disability I had to invest in a water changer, as I can no longer lug buckets around.
I used to store up to 100g at a time. It's just not feasible at this time. Plus with the water changer I never have any temp. changes during PWC. That really helps decrease the fishes stress.
Any other ideas, that don't involve lifting?
It's all I can do to keep up with the daily PWC on 4 tanks without hand carrying that much water.
Thank you for taking the time to answer my post. It is much appreciated

I'd invest in a pond pump with safety shutoff, drop it into the water container and use it to pump the water into your tank when refilling.

 

[WendiDell]

Are you on city water or well ?

I wish I were on well water. Most of the well water around here is really good. But alas I'm on city water.
I must admit, I was a little shocked to find ammonia in my tap water. Is it normal to find ammonia in the city water supply?
Before I knew anything about cycling an Aquarium and I kept my tanks and filters to clean, it was a lot less work.
I've been trying to get my 4 tanks to cycle for a little over a month. The only thing that's changed is, I have more ammonia in 3 tanks and now I have a nitrite problem in the 4Th tank.
So instead of cleaning my tanks to much once a week. I now have to do PWC in 4 tanks every day and sometimes 3 times a day to keep the nitrites below .25ppm. My life is now consumed with doing PWC to keep the ammonia and nitrite below .25ppm, because I don't want my fish to be poisoned by toxic water.
I thought that tank maintenance was suppose to get easier with this cycling thing, WHEN?
My fish were healthier, happier and less stressed before I knew anything about cycling a tank. Now everyday I'm fighting to eliminate toxic water, my fish are not happy and they are a lot more stress than ever before.
I'm hoping to find a way to fix this that doesn't involve heavy lifting or investing a lot of money. Mainly because I don't have any money to invest right now.
The transmission on our car blew just before Christmas and now we have a car payment. I'm on a fixed income, any extra money I use to have for may tanks are now going to the car payment and increased insurance.
The heaters, filters, air pumps and stones have all been replaced in the last 6 months, so I won't need to worry about those for a while. I even had to replace the hoods and lights. So I'm set on those, but extras are out of the question for now.
They need an emoticon that's pulling it's hair out. That would be me.

 

[hdultra]

I pulled up my cities water report online. There is no ammonia anywhere in that report. I would call the water department, Somethings up. Unless they really do use ammonia, I would hope not. / Call them they have to disclose their water reports. It's Free

If you were here I'd come over everyday to help you. So sorry GOD Bless You

http://esa21.kennesaw.edu/modules/water/drink-water-trt/drinking-water-health-epa.pdf

Here is your water company.
http://www.mc-power.com/pdf/CCRpdf.pdf

I don't see anywhere in their report saying the use ammonia in the water. I would call them to come out and test the water out of the TAP.

 

[hdultra]

updated my last post

 

[WendiDell]

I pulled up my cities water report online. There is no ammonia anywhere in that report. I would call the water department, Somethings up. Unless they really do use ammonia, I would hope not. / Call them they have to disclose their water reports. It's Free

If you were here I'd come over everyday to help you. So sorry GOD Bless You

http://esa21.kennesaw.edu/modules/water/drink-water-trt/drinking-water-health-epa.pdf

Here is your water company.
http://www.mc-power.com/pdf/CCRpdf.pdf

I don't see anywhere in their report saying the use ammonia in the water. I would call them to come out and test the water out of the TAP.

That is an incredibly kind thought, thank you. This all started to help my grandson with his Aspergers. I never thought it would become what it has.
It's not all bad, we really do love all our fish and not only have they helped my grandson with calming down they help me too. At least when I'm not breaking my back with PWC.
When things are going well they emit such tranquility for us both.
I will check in with the water company first thing tomorrow to find out about the ammonia.
It could be something just in our pipes I suppose. I'll let you know.
Many Blessing to you too.

 

[hdultra]

You too brother keep us posted..

I see you have good taste in fish to.

 

[cabezon]

Could the positive test result be from chloramine?

 

[maxst2]

If your not using prime, give it a shot. Supposed to be a better water conditioner.

 

[WendiDell]

If your not using prime, give it a shot. Supposed to be a better water conditioner.

I always use Prime when I set up a tank or do PWC. The only time I use something else is if my fish have been fighting or have been ill or something has really stressed them out. Then I use BigAls water conditioner with Aloe.
I've gone through many bottles of Prime lately, it hasn't made any difference

 

[WendiDell]

Could the positive test result be from chloramine?

I have no idea. I just used the API Master Test Kit, the only one that tested positive was the ammonia.
To be honest I'm not sure what chloramines are, other than they're bad and Prime removes them along with the chlorine.
How would chloramines cause a false positive for ammonia?

 

[hdultra]

Chloramines kill the bacteria in public drinking water. I don't know how the could give false posituves.

 

[hdultra]

Check this out >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Chloramines
Drinking water odor and flavor have improved by the application of chloramines from the beginning of the twenty-first century. Eventually chloramines were also used for disinfection.​

What are the properties of chloramines?​

Chloramines are formed during a reaction between chlorine (Cl2) and ammonia (NH3). Chloramines are amines which contain at least one chlorine atom, which is directly bond to nitrogen atoms (N). Inorganic chloramines are formed when dissolved chlorine and ammonia react. During this reaction three different inorganic chloramines are formed; monochloramine (NH2Cl), dichloramine (NHCl2) en trichloramine (NCl3).
Inorganic chloramines, free chlorine and organic chloramines are chemically related and can change into one another easily. These compounds cannot be found in isolated form. Inorganic chloramines are not persistent, however, these compounds are more persistent than freely available chlorine compounds. Research has shown that the half-lives of inorganic chloramines can vary from one minute to 23 days, depending on the circumstances.​

How are chloramines produced?​

Chloramines are frequently produced by adding ammonia to water containing free chlorine (HOCl or OCl, depending on the pH). The ideal pH value for this reaction is 8,4. this means the water is slightly alkaline.​

Reaction mechanism:
NH3 (aq) + HOCI -> NH2Cl + H2O​

When the reaction takes place three kinds of inorganic chloramines can be formed. The pH value determines which kind of chloramines is formed. Trichloramines mainly form when the pH value is 3 or below. When the pH value is 7 or above, dichloramine concentrations are highest.
The amounts of chlorine and ammonia in the water also influence the origination of chloramines. The chlorine/ ammonia rate is ideally 6:1. During chloramine production the rate is usually 3-5:1. When ammonia concentrations are higher, more di- and trichloramines are formed.
Organic chloramines can also be formed during these reactions. Organic chloramines cannot be distinguished from other chloramines, using standard chloramine analysis methods.​

Read more: Chloramines as a disinfectant

I now know that ammonia is added to our water. I would still call the water department to test the water and to give advise.​

​

 

[hdultra]

Could the positive test result be from chloramine?

Looks like it could be.

 

[hdultra]

I've been battling with ammonia for some time now. No matter what I did I couldn't get the ammonia to zero. So I tested the water directly from the tap and low and behold it's positive for ammonia. Not quite .25 but close.
What am I suppose to do to get rid of the tap ammonia? So I can get rid ammonia in the tank?
This is really frustrating.

What readings are you getting after you put prime into your tapwater. Test only water from the tap. Actually before and after test.

 

[WendiDell]

What readings are you getting after you put prime into your tap water. Test only water from the tap. Actually before and after test.

The readings are the same pre and post Prime. It's about .15, not dangerous but still a measurable amount.
I don't know if you've heard of it but I just ordered an ECO-Aqualizer. It's suppose to remove all the ammonia and any other toxins in your tank water. It claims to reduce tank maintenance by 75%. And to eliminate fish stress and virtually eliminate fish diseases that are caused by bad water or stress.
I have no idea if it will do any of the things it claims to do. But it has a 180 day money back guarantee. Plus has a 35 day free trial, you just pay $15.00 for handling and if you hate it send it back. If you think it may work for you, they charge you after 35 days. And then you still have 145 days to see how it works long term. Hate it, get your money back. Like it, get one for each of your other tanks.
It's a pretty safe way to try something new.
Also, thank you for taking the time to explain chloramines. Unfortunately I couldn't really fallow, I got lost pretty quickly so the rest made little to no sense to me.

 

[dgreenslade]

I've been battling with ammonia for some time now. No matter what I did I couldn't get the ammonia to zero. So I tested the water directly from the tap and low and behold it's positive for ammonia. Not quite .25 but close.
What am I suppose to do to get rid of the tap ammonia? So I can get rid ammonia in the tank?
This is really frustrating.

Hi there,

I think I read that your tanks are still in the cycling process, is that correct? Although it's not normal to have ammonia in your tap water, it is normal to see ammonia during the cycling process. (It can take anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months).

I also read that you have nitrites in tank #4. This is also normal during the nitrite process, I would expect you will see those nitrites disappear and turn into Nitrates (Which would mean your tank has cycled).

The ammonia in your tap water could be somewhat of a good thing (for now) It will kick start the cycling process as bacteria will start to build to deal with it. (Some people actually put pure ammonia in their tank to start the cycling process, however I would not recommend it).

Hopefully this may help, I would hazard a guess that you will most likely see nitrites spiking on all 4 tanks soon and soon after that you should see nitrates.

Once the tanks have cycled it should deal with the ammonia form your tap water, although you should find a way of eliminating the ammonia before doing a PWC.

I could be on the totally wrong track also, hope this helps a little bit.

Regards,
DG