Ammonia problem!!!

[OhNeil1969]

I've been testing my tank water weekly and I lately I've been consistently getting a reading of 0.25 ppm of ammonia. As a result I just performed my second water change in the past 3 days thinking that I had to increase my pwc frequency. To be on the safe side I decided to check my readings after my last pwc. My ammonia went UP to 0.50 ppm. I decided to check my source water. I found that my tap water is now reading 1.0 ppm of ammonia. This is a change from a couple of months ago when it was 0 ppm. I suspect with the warmer weather and spring approaching more people are fertilizing their lawns and the increase in ammonia is being caused by the fertilizer rich run off entering our water supply. My question is this: how do I handle the ammonia in my source water increasing my tank readings? Do I have to start dosing the tank with some sort of chemical like Ammo-Lock? Right now it seems like I'm doing more harm by doing water changes! I'm not keen on adding more chemicals to the tank but if that's the only way I'll be able to deal with this problem I will. Any help will be greatly appreciated!!!!

 

[carey]

Is Ro/Di water an option for you? Not sure how big your tank is.

 

[OhNeil1969]

Is Ro/Di water an option for you? Not sure how big your tank is.

I actually have 2 tanks right now, one 29 gallon tank and another 60 gallon tank. To be honest, I don't know a lot about RO/DI water. I've always assumed it was something that saltwater tank owners had to be concerned with. Any more info you could give will be greatly appreciated.

 

[carey]

It usually is. I was just wondering since you know ro water doesnt have anything in it. I'm currently buying it for my sw tank until I can grab a unit for myself.

How is the ammonia in your other tank? Do you use a water prep chemical like prime when you do water changes?

 

[OhNeil1969]

I do use Prime, but primarily as a slime coat supplement. I usually use Top Fin dechlorinator when performing water changes. Unfortunately, both tanks use the same source water and are experiencing the same condition. I originally noticed the consistent ammonia readings in the 29 gallon tank.

 

[ejaramillo01]

It is strange Ohneil

I think that something else is going on, PRIME should take care of the ammonia from the water, and on top of that, if for whatever reason there is a remaining amount of ammonia left in the tank, your biological filter should take care of it in 24 hours......

Sounds to me that besides the water source, something else changed in the tank.

 

[ejaramillo01]

Also I won't recommend you to use the Ammolock from API, I heard that make more harm than good.
Best way to reduce ammonia is , as you know, frequent partial water changes.

No also for the RO water, this water will create a problem to your ph and create an unbalance in the natural salts in the water, which will bring more problems to the fish.

 

[jenatron]

+1 for everything ejaramillo said.

 

[OhNeil1969]

It is strange Ohneil

I think that something else is going on, PRIME should take care of the ammonia from the water, and on top of that, if for whatever reason there is a remaining amount of ammonia left in the tank, your biological filter should take care of it in 24 hours......

Sounds to me that besides the water source, something else changed in the tank.

The ammonia level will eventually go down but not less than 0.25 ppm. I'm wasn't using the Prime when performing water changes. I've been using Top Fin dechlorinator. I guess I need to start dosing with Prime.

Also I won't recommend you to use the Ammolock from API, I heard that make more harm than good.
Best way to reduce ammonia is , as you know, frequent partial water changes.

No also for the RO water, this water will create a problem to your ph and create an unbalance in the natural salts in the water, which will bring more problems to the fish.

Thanks for the info. I thought I would have problems with pH, but I wasn't sure.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

I do use Prime, but primarily as a slime coat supplement. I usually use Top Fin dechlorinator when performing water changes. Unfortunately, both tanks use the same source water and are experiencing the same condition. I originally noticed the consistent ammonia readings in the 29 gallon tank.

Prime is you're best bet to preping water. It removes ammo too and can be dosed at 5X the norm is certain circumstances.

Sent from my Epic 4G using Aquarium

 

[OhNeil1969]

Prime is you're best bet to preping water. It removes ammo too and can be dosed at 5X the norm is certain circumstances.

Sent from my Epic 4G using Aquarium

I've done that in the past for nitrites and it worked great. My question is will the ammonia reading still remain the same even after dosing the tank with Prime? I've always had the impression that the Prime will bind with the ammonia rendering it harmless, but the ammonia will still read as present during a water test.

 

[jenatron]

Yes, it will still be present, and readable in tests, it just won't be toxic (I think for 24 hours).

 

[OhNeil1969]

BTW, I'm still curious as to any solutions that don't require dosing my tank. Or am I just being foolishly hopeful?

 

[Mr. Limpet]

RO water?

Sent from my Epic 4G using Aquarium

 

[OhNeil1969]

RO water?

Sent from my Epic 4G using Aquarium

I'm concerned with what RO/DI water will do to my pH. Besides, there is still a lot I don't know about getting/making RO/DI water. Any info you can give about it will be greatly appreciated. I would love to learn more about it even if it's not a solution to my current problem (can never have too much info).

 

[Mr. Limpet]

I'm concerned with what RO/DI water will do to my pH. Besides, there is still a lot I don't know about getting/making RO/DI water. Any info you can give about it will be greatly appreciated. I would love to learn more about it even if it's not a solution to my current problem (can never have too much info).

This is where I'm looking at getting a system.

http://filterdirect.com/index.php

Usually it's reserved for SW but my plan is to use RO and Seachem's Neutral Regulator to get a perfect 7.0 pH (it works as Prime too). My hard water and strong buffers are tough, plus the high pH is making it impossible to breed my Moors. Seems to have an affect on some plants too. I'm not recommending anyone try this, as I've been warned about messing with the pH.

On a positive note, it'll motivate me to get my first SW tank going!

Sent from my Epic 4G using Aquarium

 

[jenatron]

I don't know exactly what it is, but RO/DI is bad for freshwater for more than just messing with PH. It's like what was mentioned about lacking other naturals "elements" in the water. If you supplement those as well, then you're good.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

I don't know exactly what it is, but RO/DI is bad for freshwater for more than just messing with PH. It's like what was mentioned about lacking other naturals "elements" in the water. If you supplement those as well, then you're good.

Correct Jena, Seachem's Fresh Trace does that. The buffers in my local water are harsh and my theory is, if I'm going to add anything to the water in my tanks, I'd rather know/control what they are.

Keep in mind that I'll use my spare (QT) to test all of this before I use it on my DT's.

 

[Durvish]

Check the batch numbers on your test kits -- when mine was getting on in age it started to show a consistent .25 ppm, when checked with a new API it was wrong. I actually had 0 ppm. Also unless you are on well water you shouldn't be getting any kind of infusion because of people using fertilizer. All your water should be coming from a treatment plant if you are on city water.

 

[OhNeil1969]

Check the batch numbers on your test kits -- when mine was getting on in age it started to show a consistent .25 ppm, when checked with a new API it was wrong. I actually had 0 ppm. Also unless you are on well water you shouldn't be getting any kind of infusion because of people using fertilizer. All your water should be coming from a treatment plant if you are on city water.

That was the first thought that came to my mind, but my API Master kit is dated November 2010 (hope I'm reading that correctly - lot number is 83A1110). What caused me to suspect my source water was the test reading I got right after performing a pwc. I tested the tank prior to doing the pwc. It read 0.25 ppm. This reading was present 3 days after an earlier pwc (that's what made me worry about the test kit). To be on the safe side I performed another test after performing the pwc. It actully went UP to 0.50 ppm. I then rechecked the tank water and performed a test of my tap water at the same time. Within 30 minutes of the last test, the tank reading dropped to ~0.25 ppm. My tap water, on the other hand, tested at 1.0 ppm.

I'm sure my tank is cycled and was glad to see that the bacteria was actually doing it's job so quickly. My worry is what to do about the ammonia in my tap water. Fertilizer run-off is the only idea I could come up with as to the source of the ammonia. We get a lot of PSA's asking residents in our area not to fertilize our yards in the spring because of the run-off.