Ammonia help

[aquarium 308]

Ok my tank has been going for 8 weeks with fish. I had an issue with ich earlier but that has cleared. I have 3 corys, 2 candy cane tetras and 7 neons in a 20 gallon. My ph is 7.8. Nitrite is 0. Nitrates are 20. My ammonia was .25 ppm. Ive read u dont want any ammonia. What can I do to get rid of it.

 

[fish wrangler]

How are you testing? Water changes can remove ammonia, but if you cycled the tank the BB should also remove it

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[Fishfur]

Persistent low readings like this can sometimes be because of the type of test you're using. API is popular but as with some other brands, it combines both free and bound ammonia to give a total ammonia reading.

Bound ammonia, or ammonium, isn't dangerous, but free ammonia is. Sometimes you get a persistent reading of .25, and it turns out to be ammonium, not free ammonia.

There are other tests that do distinguish between the two, Seachem makes one. To be certain, if you can get a test that distinguishes between them, it will at least give you some peace of mind.

 

[aquarium 308]

How are you testing? Water changes can remove ammonia, but if you cycled the tank the BB should also remove it

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Aquarium Advice mobile app

I am testing with the API freshwater master test kit

 

[aquarium 308]

How are you testing? Water changes can remove ammonia, but if you cycled the tank the BB should also remove it

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Aquarium Advice mobile app

Persistent low readings like this can sometimes be because of the type of test you're using. API is popular but as with some other brands, it combines both free and bound ammonia to give a total ammonia reading.

Bound ammonia, or ammonium, isn't dangerous, but free ammonia is. Sometimes you get a persistent reading of .25, and it turns out to be ammonium, not free ammonia.

There are other tests that do distinguish between the two, Seachem makes one. To be certain, if you can get a test that distinguishes between them, it will at least give you some peace of mind.

I am using the API freshwater master test kit. It shows that I am testing ammonia (NH3/NH4+)

 

[Gsdsar]

Have you tested your tap water?


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[aquarium 308]

Have you tested your tap water?


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Only for ph which showed a 7.4. I will though

 

[fish wrangler]

I am using the API freshwater master test kit. It shows that I am testing ammonia (NH3/NH4+)

I though I read something that said the API kit will read 0 ammonia and .25 ammonia. Not sure which thread I sas that in though.

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[Fishfur]

NH 3 is free ammonia, NH4 is bound, or ammonium. So it's telling you it measures both and provides a reading of both together. It's possible the .25 is free ammonia but I see this question so often, and so often it turns out that it is ammonium, not ammonia, causing the reading.

 

[PNWaquarist]

Free (NH3) and "bound" (NH4+) ammonia are in equilibrium with one another, and their relative concentrations are entirely dependent on pH. If you have an "ammonia" reading of 0.25 ppm from the API kit at normal aquarium pH (7-8), you probably have enough free ammonia (NH3) in the tank water for it to be a problem over the long-term. One would have to go down to less than pH 6 for the amount of free ammonia to be completely negligible.

On the other hand, I've heard of the API kit giving false positives for 0.25 ppm ammonia. This is likely due to the fact that it's a colormetric test where the difference between completely yellow and yellow with a slight hint of green is not always obvious. The nitrite test is much more definitive, IMO. If your tank is cycled and you test your water for nitrites, the very clear blue color of 0 ppm nitrites (rather than the grayish-blue color of low nitrites) will be obvious. If you have 0 ppm nitrites, you probably don't/didn't have an appreciable amount of ammonia in your tank. If the nitrite test shows anything other than clear, light blue, you need to add Prime to your tank and do large daily water changes until your BB colony is re-established.

 

[Fishfur]

Thanks for that.. I understand it better now.

 

[PNWaquarist]

Thanks for that.. I understand it better now.

 

[BBradbury]

Your Tank

Ok my tank has been going for 8 weeks with fish. I had an issue with ich earlier but that has cleared. I have 3 corys, 2 candy cane tetras and 7 neons in a 20 gallon. My ph is 7.8. Nitrite is 0. Nitrates are 20. My ammonia was .25 ppm. Ive read u dont want any ammonia. What can I do to get rid of it.

Hello aq...

Floating plants will help. Anacharis and Hornwort are about the best for helping maintain a healthier water chemistry. They're cheap and available at most pet stores that sell fish. Just drop individual stems into the tank. Large water changes a couple of times a week will help as will ammonia reducing filter media. Acurel makes a good product.

B