.50 ammonia in tap water!!

[jmpgop]

AAAHHH! I have been doing daily water changes due to .25 - .50 ammonia levels in my new (week old Saturday) 36 gallon tank (danio and molly in for fish-in cycle due to necessity and aggression in other tank). I have been testing the water daily - .25-.50 ammonia (no nitrites, possible 5ppm nitrates... starting to look slightly orange). I started the tank with an old filter from my 10 gallon and about 2 cups of rock from my 10 gallon...

So I have been doing the water changes to try to help with the ammonia. I started to have a hard time believing this evening that I wasn't cutting down the ammonia with them at all. SO, I tested my tap water - .50 ammonia tonight!

What do I do (besides move)? I am using Prime... What else can I do? I am no going to go buy 36 gallons of distilled water to fill my tank just not an option. Is my tap water not only killing my fish but bad for my other pets too! They drink brita water BUT it doesn't filter ammonia...

I am quite concerned about my tank. What to do?


Janelle

 

[mfdrookie516]

Looks like you have chloramines rather than chlorine in your tap. Nothing to worry about. As long as you use prime (or any brand that detoxifies chloramine) you'll be fine. Prime makes ammonia safe for a day or two, but still available for the biofilter.

 

[jcolon]

Judging by how you described the test ... I'm assuming your using the API test master kit? If so then the Ammonia in tap water's an unfortunate hassle but it is doable. If you haven't already ... do a re-test to see if you get the same number.
Either way, continue to do PWC's and use Prime. It'll lock the tap ammo into a less toxic form, yet the bacteria will be able to consume it. Your not doing anything wrong and using substrate and filter from an established thank is a smart move. Eventually, when our tank is established, the BB will consume the ammo rather quickly.

 

[eco23]

Yep, you've just got to wait it out and stay committed with water changes. The Prime will detoxify ammonia for 24-36 hours, so my recommendation would be to do water changes and redose the Prime at 2x the recommended dosage after that time.

I know it'll be a pain in the butt because it will seem like you never get the ammonia down until the tank is cycled...but just stay on top of the pwc's and Prime doses and everything will be fine.

Let me find an article that goes into specifics of how ammonia toxicity is related to pH and temperature...which can give you some peace of mind during the process.

*Just please use the graph responsibly...and don't consider it a substitute for fresh, dechlorinated water.

Here ya go
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/your-guide-to-ammonia-toxicity-159994.html#post1445732

 

[jmpgop]

Thank you all so much for your info... Yes, I retested the tap water and it was still .50+ppm... I still think I'm going to put a call in to our water provider. I am almost sure that my ammonia in my tap was higher than in my tank (darker green - yes API test kit)... So maybe something good in going on in my tank that is helping settle the ammonia a little! But I'm still upset. However it could explain why I had a 0.0 ammonia test on the 18th. Their water fluctuates! Don't these people understand that we have sensitive fish depending upon water quality...??Jeeeesh!

I'll have to check my ph tomorrow to use the chart as a *guide*. Thanks for that. I'm just going to keep doing what I am doing. Bottom line, the fish seem to be doing well. It may be too soon to tell but I am hoping I'm doing the best I can for them considering my situation!

And I'm ordering more Prime tonight

Janelle

 

[jetajockey]

Gauging when to do water changes is a little difficult when you have ammonia in the tap water. If you are testing a constant .50 ppm then it wouldn't make sense to do a WC if the tank was testing .50 or below. I'd probably wait till it got to 1.0 to do a water change, since a 50% at that point is only going to drop it to .75, and just dose a standard dosage of Prime since the standard dosage is good for 1ppm ammonia.

 

[eco23]

Gauging when to do water changes is a little difficult when you have ammonia in the tap water. If you are testing a constant .50 ppm then it wouldn't make sense to do a WC if the tank was testing .50 or below. I'd probably wait till it got to 1.0 to do a water change, since a 50% at that point is only going to drop it to .75, and just dose a standard dosage of Prime since the standard dosage is good for 1ppm ammonia.

Would you not agree that changing the water at least every 48 hours in order to redose the Prime (assuming it is free ammonia according to your write-up) is not a good idea regardless of if it is .5 or 1?

 

[jetajockey]

you could just redose the prime and forego the water change all together if it's sitting at .50, if needed. I'd check the chart though, because ph ranges in the 7s or below are fine at .50 and don't need technically need a detoxifier at all. I'd probably still add one for good measure though, since it costs next to nothing to do so.

 

[jmpgop]

Bummer... My ph is high too. 8.2 ish. So, I get my ice mountain delivery tomorrow. I just tested it. The ph is 7.0 and 0.0 ammonia! It wouldn't cost me much to get like 6 more 5 gallon bottles. With doing all these water changes daily, I'm probably raising my water bill as much as I would to get an extra 7 bottles of water this month. I really think that my tank is doing something as my ammonia in the tank tests lower than it does out of the tap. It could just be the Prime BUT my nitrates are between 0 and 5. So would ya'll get the Ice Mountain?

 

[jmpgop]

OH BTW - my 10 gallon tank, we did a 10% water change on it yesterday with tap water and there are zero ammonia today. So once the 36 tank has enough bacteria I can only assume it will eat the ammonia. BUT I feel ike I'm fighting a losing battle by putting ammonia in the tank with a water change.

 

[tropical-fish]

hi jmpgop, i'm in the same boat, my tap water ammonia reading is .5ppm. i was worried about it at first but the members on this site were quick to put my mind at ease. once the tank is cycled you will have no prob, the prime will detox the ammonia long enough for the bacteria to break it down. if you are getting a 0 reading after 2 days then no worries.

it's the high ph that you will need to watch out for. but from what i've read you need to let the water sit overnight before testing. testing straight from the tap is not accurate.

 

[jmpgop]

jeta jokey - I have 2 fish in - a molly & a danio. Are you saying add another? (Yes, when the tank is cycled I am going to get a school for the danio - but I go the original tank - the 10 gallon from my sister in law with a danio, molly, and 2 CAE's. - I added a gourami and an angel and the molly attacked the gourami. SO, this is why the new tank...)...

Or being that I have 2 in, that is what you mean. And my ph is high as I just posted so that probably isn't good. Thank you all for the info!

 

[jmpgop]

tropical-fish... My ph is a bit high to... 8.4.

 

[tropical-fish]

adding some driftwood will help to lower the ph. this is probably a better option than using chemicals to try and 'balance' the ph. only thing is tannins from the wood may cause the water to go brownish, a bit like mild tea.

 

[jmpgop]

Thank you tropical-fish. Any suggestion as to where to get good aquarium driftwood? There are a couple of online sites, but it is tought sometimes stabbing in the dark

 

[eco23]

Is the 8.4 the value directly from the tap? Does it remain at that level once it has been in the tank for a while?

 

[jetajockey]

jeta jokey - I have 2 fish in - a molly & a danio. Are you saying add another? (Yes, when the tank is cycled I am going to get a school for the danio - but I go the original tank - the 10 gallon from my sister in law with a danio, molly, and 2 CAE's. - I added a gourami and an angel and the molly attacked the gourami. SO, this is why the new tank...)...

Or being that I have 2 in, that is what you mean. And my ph is high as I just posted so that probably isn't good. Thank you all for the info!

No, don't add any new fish until the tank is cycled. The more of a fish load in there the harder it is to maintain good water conditions, so during this period, less is better.

Once you start getting 0's on your ammonia/nitrite tests for a week or two then consider adding a few fish at a time and giving them another week or two in between additions for the biofilter to compensate.

 

[jmpgop]

the 8.4 ph is directly from the tap. I had a discussion with our Village today and they said - yeah - the water is really hard and ph is high and yes the ammonia is .50ish but well within EPA guidelines (blah blah blah). No wonder everything we cook with that water tastes rather bad...

I have only tested the ph 3 times and yes, it was always high, but I'm doing daily partial (75%ish) water changes. I have been trying to get the ammonia down but I just keep adding it! Grrrr...

The guy was very nice but... Eh... Whatever.

I am going to use ice mountain from my delivery tomorrow (getting 6 extra 5 gallon jugs) to do a water change. Cost is about 25.00. But if it helps, it'll be worth it I guess - ph is perfect and ammonia is 0.

Just crazy!

 

[eco23]

As long as you're using a good dechlorinator like Prime...I don't think it's necessary to use bottled water.

If you decide to do it...introduce the new water supply very slowly. A large water change with water that is drastically different in pH, hardness, etc...can be detrimental to your fish.