Ammonia in my tapwater

[Adaptingfate]

So i purchased a 75 g tank used and was able to keep everything wet and cycled. I was adding ammonia daily and getting 0 readings on ammonia nitrite and nitrate was low for a full week.

I assumed the cycle was good and strong so i added 10 cories and 9 praecox rainbows. The day i brought the fish home i did one last test before adding them. Ammonia read about .4 ppm.

I already had the fish home so i did a 40 % pwc added prime and the fish. Next day i got .25 ppm.

I decided to test the tap and it reads .4 ppm.

This is at my dad's house which is about 5 miles from mine, so i assumed the water would be the same.

My plan is to treat with prime. As i understand it will nullify the toxicity to the fish, but still allow the bacteria to process it. I'm expecting to see a cycle of sorts start in about a week.

When i start seeing the nitrite, can i just treat with prime as well?

Do you guys forsee any problems with my plan?

Thanks

 

[Berylla]

If you treat with Prime every water change, that should neutralize any ammonia from your tap water. Sucks that there is ammonia in there at all. The day after a water change, test your water again to check to see if your bio filter is getting rid of the ammonia.

 

[Adaptingfate]

Will the ammonia neutralized by prime still show up on the test reading?

Would an ro system solve the problem for the future?

 

[Berylla]

If you tank is cycled, your water should read 0 the following day. If you still read ammonia then you probably aren't fully cycled yet. You need to change 50% or more of your water every day for a week or 2 to finish the cycle. RO is great, except that its expensive and takes too many minerals out of the water so you need to add it back later with additives.

I put my tap water through a 2 stage water filter, which is like an RO system, except:

1. you can run warm water through it
2. chemicals such as ammonia and chlorine filtered out, but not the beneficial minerals
3. cheaper to set up since you are only using potable garden hoses and don't need it plumbed in. I did a writeup of my water change system in my blog if you are interested:

Many Hats of Me: Aquarium Water Change System