Ammonia level in tap water

[Deborah]

I have been a little stumped by the ammonia level in my 60g tank. It has been sitting at 0.50 with only one small spike. I finally decided to test my tap water and it is reading 1.0 level. Does this mean the tank technically doesn't have ammonia? I use prime water conditioner with water changes. Is tap water ammonia harmful to the fish?
7.6 ph, 0 nitrite, 5.0 nitrate. API test kit.

[shelle]

Hi!
A few questions-did you dechlorinate your tap water before testing it? I read somewhere that chlorine can cause false test results when checking for ammonia.

Also, are you waiting at least 24 hours after adding the Prime before testing the water? Same thing here-the Prime can cause false test results if you don't wait.

If there is actually ammonia in your tap water, the Prime will detoxify it for you.

Good luck!

[eco23]

The presence of ammonia in the tap water says that your municipality uses chloramines which is a chlorine / ammonia mix. Prime temporarily converts the ammonia to a non-toxic form...but it does not remove it, so it still shows positive on your test kit. Assuming the tank is fully cycled, the ammonia in the tap water should be converted within hours...long before the Prime's neutralizing effect wears off. If there is still ammonia levels showing after 24 hours...that would show there is another problem that needs to be addressed.

[Deborah]

I did not dechlorinate the tap water first. Is there any easy way to do that?

The results were reading 0.50 before adding fish. I will be working on setting up the 30g this week. I am curious to see what readings I obtain while it is cycling.

[eco23]

Originally Posted by Deborah

I did not dechlorinate the tap water first. Is there any easy way to do that? With Texas being so dry right now who knows what they are putting in our water.

Prime is a dechlorinator, as well as the fact it temporarily converts the ammonia to a non-toxic form until it is consumed by the bio-filter. It's really the only chemical you should ever need to add to a healthy aquarium.

[eco23]

How long has the tank been set up? Is it currently cycling? If so-
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/articl...now/Page2.html

As for the new tank-
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums...ng-148283.html

[Deborah]

I am going to go with the fish less cycle on the 30g since it is a completely new setup, except the tank, hood, and light. Water leak test before anything else on it since it has been sitting in a bedroom dry.

[eco23]

Originally Posted by Deborah

I am going to go with the fish less cycle on the 30g since it is a completely new setup, except the tank, hood, and light. Water leak test before anything else on it since it has been sitting in a bedroom dry.

Sounds good . Feel free to post any questions you have. A lot of people also start new threads to create a log of their process, that way we can follow along and help out when needed. Good luck!