4ppm Ammonia from tap

[Danger_Chicken]

I recently came into a bunch of pothos. I decided to test my water for the first time in a year to gauge the effectiveness of the pothos. I noticed every tank had .25 ammonia. My kit was 3 years old so I went out and got a new one. Same results .25 on every tank; so, I tested the tap water - 4ppm! I can't beleive my filter managed to deal with most of it. I turned the drip back 75% on each tank and I'll test again in a couple of days.

With the exception of one tank all of the fish look ok. My 180 community ca/sa tank 80% of the fish looked stressed for the last 2-3 weeks. I was thinking it was do to increased breeding and have been working that angle to reduce the stress but it hasn't help. In the last week I lost a small sajica and hrp for no apartent reason. I'm hoping the ammonia levels is the reason the fish have looked like this and the cause of the 2 that died.

Will whole house filter remove Ammonia? The ammonia colors are skewed in the pic, tank water on the left is dead on .25, tap water on right is a close match to 4ppm, maybe higher. Nitrates are 5ppm, Nitrites are 0. I was dripping 1/2g hr in a 180.

Has anyone else had to deal with this? If so, how?

 

[knifegill]

No, nobody has to deal with this. Call your city immediately. Anybody drinking that water is going to need to see their doctor. The city will fix it for free, and beg you not to sue them.

 

[Danger_Chicken]

I'm trying to find info on my local water. I did come across this:
While ammonia and ammonium are not directly an issue for drinking water safety to humans, indirectly they are because of interference in disinfection for control of disease causing organisms.
Apparently it decreases the effects of chlorine.

 

[knifegill]

Really? I was told that any ammonia at all in tap water was extremely dangerous for human health.

 

[Danger_Chicken]

I found this interesting:
1 ppm is the same as one drop in 10 gallons of water.

This is where I found the the first comment:
http://www.extension.iastate.edu/CropNews/2008/0502JohnSawyer.htm

I called the city and they told me yo call a plumber

 

[knifegill]

Wow. Okay, man. I guess it's up to filtration. I'd use a plant refugium to get the ammonia out before using it. That would likely call for a pretty big refugium, though.

 

[Clearwater guy]

This made me curious...VERY curious. 4PPM will kill fish...how can this be ok in city water?

I'm on a well, but I just learned enough where I'm going to test my water here as soon as I am done posting since I live in a rural farm town.

But here is what I learned-

From the WHO drinking water standard...

They are going by the "normal expectations of water" which is, according to their website .2mg/l or .2ppm....

because of this "normal expectation" they say-

Ammonia is not of direct importance for health in the concentrations to be expected in
drinking-water. A health-based guideline has therefore not been derived.

That's all fine and dandy if the City is supplying normal water, but the OP's water treatment facility is spiking the Ammonia levels to 20 times what the WHO considers normal.

I was not able to find a guideline for Ammonia in the USA or Canada. Not sure what that means... the City can add as much as they want?

The E.U. Does have a limit on the amount of Ammonia in drinking water. The EU limit is .5mg/l or .5ppm... The OP is being supplied water that is 8 times what the EU considers safe for ammonia in drinking water.

This really cranks me off. City government is crap just like the rest of the government.

Don't accept this water, don't call your plumber, Call them back. Put your facts together and consider consulting an attorney. Send this info out to your local news agencies.

I didn't take the time to note all of the exact sources, but I found it all in about 20 minutes.

This isn't a simple issue of them killing your fish, they are endangering your entire community...particularly those with weak kidneys or who are on dialysis.

Mike

 

[kallmond]

First, I would ask the neighbors if you could test their water too. If they're the same level, I would collect some samples to send off to a professional lab to be tested.

Then I would call them with professional results from 3 different houses showing 4ppm and see what they're willing to do.

If your neighbors don't have the same 4ppm, then its something in your house, and I'd start by draining your house lines (turn off the main, and open the highest and lowest faucets, flush the toilets several times, etc)

 

[jcardona1]

First, I would ask the neighbors if you could test their water too. If they're the same level, I would collect some samples to send off to a professional lab to be tested.

Then I would call them with professional results from 3 different houses showing 4ppm and see what they're willing to do.

If your neighbors don't have the same 4ppm, then its something in your house, and I'd start by draining your house lines (turn off the main, and open the highest and lowest faucets, flush the toilets several times, etc)

thats what i was gonna suggest. as simple as just getting some samples from people garden hose

4ppm out of the tap sounds ridiculous. somethings gotta be

 

[nfored]

I guess I will start being grateful for my 1ppm. although the city water report shows only 0.4ppm

edit: if the ammonia is that high you should check the chlorine level it my be high also, as your likely detecting the ammonia in chloramine. So you chloramine filter on your drip system might wear out faster.