Amonia levels - am I just screwed?

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davdev

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Mar 28, 2010
613
2
33
Somewhere in New England
I have had my tank up and running since early January and I cannot get my amonia levels below .5. I have tried fishless cycling, cycling with fish, just about every single type of bacteria in a bottle, cutting out food etc, and still nothing works. So today, I tested my water straight out the tap, and low and behold it reads .5. Am I just screwed because of this?

I use the liquid API test kit, and my water does have cloromine, which I know contains amonia, so not sure if that is the problem.

My tank is a 75 gallon with an emperor 400 and an ac110 running. The stock right now is just two 3" JD's. The fish appear healthy, though they are always hiding, they don't show any of the signs of amonia poisoning. I have tried adding dithers to bring them out of hiding, but they kill everything that goes in the tank with them. Basically they are remaining in the tank until I can get it cycled then they are getting replaced.

I change 15 gallons of water every other day, I also use a water conditioner that detoxifies amonia and nitrite.

I stopped using any of the bacteria in a bottles about a month ago because I was told this may be messing with the cycle process.
 
and the filter too, water actually contains little beneficial bacteria. What ammonia neutralizers are you using? I can't remember which ones hurt the cycle, but I know certain neutralizers like ammo-lock can harm your cycle. Is your tank cycling at all? Once your tank is fully cycled it should be able to convert the ammonia regardless of it coming from your tap. Have you tested your test kit with a water bottle, or something you know has no ammonia in it?
 
Get a test kit that differentiates between NH3 and NH4+. Seachem makes one.

Are you using a water conditioner that neutralizes chloramines?
 
Use Prime
 
Do you test positive for nitrite and or nitrate? If you don't have any measurable nitrite and you are reading nitrates then I would say your ammonia test is faulty. I'd also contact your water company if you truly are getting ammonia readings out of your tap.
 
jgjoneslaw;5064952; said:
Do you test positive for nitrite and or nitrate? If you don't have any measurable nitrite and you are reading nitrates then I would say your ammonia test is faulty. I'd also contact your water company if you truly are getting ammonia readings out of your tap.
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No nitrite, yes on nitrate (normally around 20). So maybe the kit is bad. I may test it on some distilled water I have and see how that pans out.
 
Chloramines in the tap water will be detected as ammonia.
I think water conditioner will remove the chlorine part of chloramine, leaving behind ammonia. Most water conditioners also neutralize ammonia into ammonium, which is relatively harmless. The ammonium gets oxidized into nitrite and then nitrate by the bacteria.
So, if you're testing immediately after a water change, you'll get ammonia. You'll also get conversion into nitrate.
 
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