Hello, I'm setting up a 30 gal tank and doing fishless cycling for the first time. My tap water tests positive for ammonia in the under 1 ppm range; I have read that might be due to chloramines and therefore a false positive. I added Prime with the water. I use drops of ammonia to cycle and measure daily. I've been cycling for awhile and watching the nitrites go up and now the nitrates are starting to show up, but the ammonia never tests zero. My question: If I have this false positive in the tap water, will my ammonia ever test zero? When it's low (under 1 ppm) should I go ahead and add more drops of ammonia to keep feeding my bio-filter?
tap water testing positive ammonia
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Caliban07
Aquarium Advice Addict
You should test your parameters 24 hrs after a water change. Your ammonia should be going to 0ppm. If not then just stop dosing ammonia for a couple of days until it reaches 0ppm. It will go down. Once it does. Dose a higher amount of ammonia and wait again until it reaches 0ppm.
Usually a fishless cycle is complete when 4ppm ammonia can be brought down to 0ppm in 24 hours.
In the meantime have a look on your water suppliers website for the true value of ammonia.
Usually a fishless cycle is complete when 4ppm ammonia can be brought down to 0ppm in 24 hours.
In the meantime have a look on your water suppliers website for the true value of ammonia.
Thanks for the replies. My question is, if the ammonia reading in my tap water is a false positive from chloramines (I read that can happen), will that ever zero out? Because I don't know if my bio-filter will metabolize chloramines?
I would be using Prime to neutralize them so I'm not worried that they are there, I just don't know what to expect on testing--will the reading ever reach zero?
It seems like when I dose ammonia up to the 4 ppm range it drops quickly (in 24 hours) to under 1 ppm but doesn't go to zero.
Thanks!
I would be using Prime to neutralize them so I'm not worried that they are there, I just don't know what to expect on testing--will the reading ever reach zero?
It seems like when I dose ammonia up to the 4 ppm range it drops quickly (in 24 hours) to under 1 ppm but doesn't go to zero.
Thanks!
Fishfur
Aquarium Advice Addict
Is this an API test kit ? If so, the problem may be that the test does not distinguish between ammonium, which is chemically bound, and free ammonia, which is the toxic one. This is because of how the test works. It raised the pH of the sample very high, and then reads it. This gives a 'total' ammonia reading, which can include ammonium.
The only test I know of that does make a distinction is the Seachem one.. it gives you separate readings for ammonium and ammonia.
Once you add the Prime, chloramines are neutralized, as is any chlorine and any free ammonia that may remain in the water will be turned to ammonium.
If you get consistent readings of very low ammonia, .25 or less, when you think there should not be any, chances are very good it's the 'false positive' caused by ammonium.
Edit. Btw.. chloramines gas off in the same way as chlorine does, but it takes them much longer to do it, which is why water companies add ammonia to make them. They work longer in the system.
Free chlorine is usually gassed out of water in 24 hours.. chloramines can take a week to gas out completely, passively. That means leaving the bucket of water out to age, as we used to when I was a kid keeping fish. No chloramines then to worry about. The bio filter uses ammonia from any source, but if you are treating properly with Prime, there are no chloramines left in your water when you add it to the tank.
The only test I know of that does make a distinction is the Seachem one.. it gives you separate readings for ammonium and ammonia.
Once you add the Prime, chloramines are neutralized, as is any chlorine and any free ammonia that may remain in the water will be turned to ammonium.
If you get consistent readings of very low ammonia, .25 or less, when you think there should not be any, chances are very good it's the 'false positive' caused by ammonium.
Edit. Btw.. chloramines gas off in the same way as chlorine does, but it takes them much longer to do it, which is why water companies add ammonia to make them. They work longer in the system.
Free chlorine is usually gassed out of water in 24 hours.. chloramines can take a week to gas out completely, passively. That means leaving the bucket of water out to age, as we used to when I was a kid keeping fish. No chloramines then to worry about. The bio filter uses ammonia from any source, but if you are treating properly with Prime, there are no chloramines left in your water when you add it to the tank.
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