NH3/NH4 In Tap Water?

[Larry Little]

Hi Y'all --

I just did a 90% water change on my 10-gallon betta tank. Checked the after-change chemistry and found the the NH3/NH4 level to be around 0.5, the nitrites around 0.25, and the nitrates around 5.0.

Then, just for kicks (and because it's raining outside), I checked the chemistry of our tap water. The NH3/NH4 was the same at 0.5! It's been over 40 years since I took my last chemistry course, so my knowledge is more than ancient, but do chloramines (NH2Cl) break down into CL2 and NH3/NH4? I do use STRESS COAT every time I do a water change, but I don't know the chemistry involved. Does it bind up both of the ions or just the chlorine?

This is bugging the crap outta me!!

 

[Delapool]

Here we go. Seachem explains it better than me. From memory API Stresscoat doesn't deal with ammonia (API ammolock does).


Seachem - Prime

 

[coralbandit]

If you are chloramines then the stress coat may not deal with it.
Lets also note that every product that does work on chlorine or chloramine works effectively to a certain level and then may need to be increased if the oxidizer is increased in supply. The levels of chlorine or chloramine in municipal waters changes constantly and even more often and drastically in spring...They often add more to deal with spring run off.. Nitrates go off the charts in the spring for some on wells in agricultural areas.
Some have noted testing for ammonia after using conditioners. IMO this is ammonia from the chloramine that has been detoxified and separated from the chlorine particles but is still detectable by test.
Even if that is how your tap is going to be ,a cycled filter will make short work of those ,so stay on top of changing your water to control the ammonia and nitrite until the filter catches up.

 

[OnTheFly]

I use Prime and believe it is one of the better products on the market for cycling. Not that you are doing that now. Important to note that while it detoxifies the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, it does not remove them so they will still show up on your water testing. Still available for your bacteria to consume, much less toxic to the fish. It dissipates in 24-48hrs so depending on what you are using it for, you may need to administer another dose. It's very concentrated and much less expensive than it first appears vs other products.

 

[Larry Little]

Thanks, Y'all --

I suspected that the chloramines break down to Cl2, NH3, and O2, but not being a chemist, I wasn't certain.