New Axolotl tank. Tap water shows ammonia!!

[mattmesser]

hello, I purchased an Axolotl for my daughter, I have a 20 gallon tank with glass bottom no sand, I also have a sponge filter. Link is below. I used the API master test kit and noticed that there is between 0.5 to 1.0 PPM of ammonia in my water straight from tap. Now I'm worried that I wont be able to use my tap water at all to fill his tank. Hes been in for 3 days so far so good but I need to get the levels down to be safe. I purchased prime today and put 2ML for the whole tank. Any other suggestions?


https://www.amazon.com/Hygger-Aquar...1-1-5985efba-8948-4f09-9122-d605505c9d1e&th=1

 

[Aiken Drum]

Your tap water is probably treated with chloramine rather than the more common chlorine. Chloramine is chemically bonded ammonia and chlorine and is much more stable in water and therefore a more affective water treatment product. Unfortunately for fishkeepers (or axolotl keepers) chloramine is an ammonia source in your tap water.

This doesn't mean you cant use your tap water, it just presents a problem.

Most water conditioners will break the chemical bond in the chloramine, releasing chlorine and ammonia. The water conditioner will also remove the chlorine leaving the ammonia, which in a cycled tank, the nitrogen cycle will quickly process out the ammonia. Prime as a water conditioner will also detoxify some ammonia for a day or two.

Im assuming you didnt cycle the tank before getting your axolotl. What do you know about the nitrogen cycle? Do you know how to cycle a tank?

Just to give you some short term comfort, ammonia isnt the danger you might have been led to believe. Its toxicity is pH and temperature dependant. The higher these are, the more toxic it becomes. At typical aquarium pH and temperatures, ammonia can get quite high before it becomes an immediate problem.

At your 1ppm ammonia and say 18c water temperature, you would need a pH of 8 for it to become an issue.

 

[mattmesser]

Thank you so mcuh for taking the time. few more (?'s)

It's been a while since you posted and been very busy my Axolotl has been doing great thanks to your help. Just what I needed was confidence that I It was safe with the ammonia levels I've been using prime. Would you recommend only using when adding fresh aquarium water, or also should I use 1 ML (bottle says it will treat one gallon of tap water) every few days in the aquarium to keep the levels. I'm not sure if my tank is cycled yet. I'm not sure how I can tell. I have though been checking all levels Ph, Ammonia you name it. looking good. Although I do have .5 or ( Not more than) 1.0 in Ammonia.