ok thanks guys i will test the water tomorrow i added some bic and some ammonia Neutralizer from Aqueon
Color
- Thread starter The Real 118
- Start date
jp80911;3612480; said:
I agree with what he said. Also there's another possibility.
If there's uneaten food in the tank, NH3(4) aka ammonia(ammonium) could be a result of decomposing food that your biological filter can't handle. You need to do big water changes, big gravel vacs, and move decor around to see if there are any pieces of rotting food hiding out or stuck in plants etc. A little bit of ammonia can cause gill burns, and permanent respiratory problems for the fish.
NH3 -> NO2 -> NO3 -> NO3 removed with water changes, and plants.
Ammonia -> NitrItes -> NitrAtes
most toxic -> less toxic -> least toxic
3 different species of nitrobacter colonize your tank and each is responsible for one aspect of the cycle.
oh wait....
What do you dechlorinate with? Prime and Amquel will give a false positive NH3 reading of .25ppm using certain (most) reagent kits. If you dechlor with either of those, you shouldn't worry about it too much. It's probably a false reading.
There's a good bit of info out there about this phenomenon. A chemistry background helps if you want to seriously investigate its cause.
Diogenes;3612830; said:
I disagree with the Prime part. I use Prime in all my tanks and my pond, and never show ammonia in the tests. I use API liquid test kits. I have, however, heard this frequently about Amquel.
justonemoretank;3613328; said:
http://www.seachem.com/support/FAQs/Prime.html
says right there on seachems web site that with some test kits you get a false NH3 reading.
Q: I am using Prime® to control ammonia but my test kit says it is not doing anything, in fact it looks like it added ammonia! What is going on?
A: A Nessler based kit will not read ammonia properly if you are using Prime®... it will look "off scale", sort of a muddy brown (incidentally a Nessler kit will not work with any other products similar to Prime®). A salicylate based kit can be used, but with caution. Under the conditions of a salicylate kit the ammonia-Prime complex will be broken down eventually giving a false reading of ammonia (same as with other products like Prime®), so the key with a salicylate kit is to take the reading right away. However, the best solution ;-) is to use our MultiTest: Ammonia™ kit... it uses a gas exchange sensor system which is not affected by the presence of Prime® or other similar products. It also has the added advantage that it can detect the more dangerous free ammonia and distinguish it from total ammonia (which is both the free and ionized forms of ammonia (the ionized form is not toxic)).
more about how it works:
Prime® also contains a binder which renders ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate non-toxic. It is very important to understand how those two functions work together. All dechlorinators operate through a chemical process known as reduction. In this process, toxic dissolved chlorine gas (Cl2) is converted into non-toxic chloride ions (Cl-). The reduction process also breaks the bonds between chlorine and nitrogen atoms in the chloramine molecule (NH2Cl), freeing the chlorine atoms and replacing them with hydrogen (H) to create ammonia (NH3).
Typically, dechlorinators stop there, leaving an aquarium full of toxic ammonia! Seachem takes the necessary next step by including an ammonia binder to detoxify the ammonia produced in the reduction process.
Okay, but I'm saying that I don't see an ammonia reading, and I use it. I have many, many gallons treated with Prime, and no ammonia level on any of my tests. So I would advise against the OP not trying to see if something's wrong with the biological filter just because he may use Prime, because I see no ammonia on my tests -- it may not be the cause of the detectable ammonia.
ok i juset retested and it was...
Amm 0ppm
rate 0ppm
rite 0ppm
PH 7.8
The last test was on 10/26/09 (what i posted earlyer)
Amm 0ppm
rate 0ppm
rite 0ppm
PH 7.8
The last test was on 10/26/09 (what i posted earlyer)
sounds good. pretty alkaline, but I bet they don't mind all that much. You can always lower the ph with driftwood, peat moss, etc. I wouldn't use chemicals though. Do you have any rocks in the tank? Some rocks my have a buffering action that increases ph. You can test your rocks by taking them out of the tank, pouring a little vinegar on them and seeing if there's any bubbling or other reaction. P's prefer soft acidic (low ph) water naturally, but I bet they can adapt to most anything as long as there aren't frequent fluctuations.
The Real 118;3615604; said:
before you pull the rocks out and test them, save yourself some trouble and test a sample of water straight out of the tap. You may just have alkaline water. If that's the case then there's no need to test the rocks.
