Ammonia in tap water?

[captaincritical]

Hi all,

I've just tested my tap water for the first time with my API freshwater kit. The pH seems relatively normal (7.4ish), but I'm showing a pretty significant ammonia reading, which is troubling me.

I know there are some chemicals added to tapwater which could affect my results, but is it normal for me to get a reading this high straight out of the faucet?

That reads pretty clearly to me as 0.5ppm. Help?

 

[Fishperson]

It also looks around .5 to me, and that's okay for most fish. If you were keeping discus or something then you'd need RO/DI, but with most fish you should be fine. Just use Prime as your conditioner and you'll be good to go. It could just be a temporary thing though, because I know that my town adds ammonia to the water in the spring because the warming temperatures promotes bacterial growth or something. I don't know why or how exactly that helps, but the water tastes bad for about 3 weeks and then it's gone.

 

[captaincritical]

That's interesting! I'll have to keep my eye open for any annual "Springtime Ammonia Spikes".

I think I'll fill up a bucket, treat it with water conditioner, and test it tomorrow to see if anything changes.

Thanks again Fishperson, you've been a Godsend since I got here.

 

[Fishperson]

That's interesting! I'll have to keep my eye open for any annual "Springtime Ammonia Spikes".

I think I'll fill up a bucket, treat it with water conditioner, and test it tomorrow to see if anything changes.

Thanks again Fishperson, you've been a Godsend since I got here.

Haha, your welcome!

Just so you know, prime doesn't actually take away ammonia, it turns free ammonia into ammonium, which is less toxic, so it doesn't make a difference on the API test. So prime treated water will test the same as tap water.

 

[captaincritical]

I did another test today for pH, ammonia, and nitrites (just to see how my tap water is).

Strangely, after adding my water conditioner, the ammonia now reads 0.0ppm. Whatever was causing the 0.50 ppm reading in my tap water was successfully neutralized by the conditioner. I know that ultimately that's a good thing, but now I'm even more confused. I thought it wasn't supposed to change my reading? I even tested twice in case it was a fluke.

Also, is it possible for water conditioner to raise pH? I got a slightly higher reading today, which is kind of worrisome as my tap water is already a little alkaline. Yesterday it read 7.4; today I couldn't decide if the colour was closer to 7.4 or 8.0. Will I still be able to keep fish that require slightly more acidic water (provided I acclimate them slowly) or should I rethink my stocking plan altogether?

Insights, anyone?

 

[Fishperson]

Most fish can adapt to lower or higher pH levels, the main exceptions are discus and both african and south american cichlids. There are some others though.

I don't know why conditioner would do either of those things though.