Hey everyone. I just wanted to know if my tank would ever give me a 0 reading for ammonia when my water has .25ppm of ammonia?
These are the results right before I did my water change this afternoon. It's ammonia, nitrite and nitrate respectively. I'm just curious if my tank is truly "cycled" considering I have nitrates and no nitrites, but ~ .25 ammonia.
And for the record, I use Prime as my water conditioner.
Thanks!
Last edited by colorxmexravyne; 11-08-2012 at 03:16 PM.
When your tank is fully cycled it should process out a .25 tap water ammonia given your tank isn't over stocked & you have the right filtration. How long has your tank been set up? What size? How many fish? My 10g took 6 wks to show nitrites & then I had them for 2 wks. Did you use any kind of bacteria booster?
When your tank is fully cycled it should process out a .25 tap water ammonia given your tank isn't over stocked & you have the right filtration. How long has your tank been set up? What size? How many fish? My 10g took 6 wks to show nitrites & then I had them for 2 wks. Did you use any kind of bacteria booster?
I have a five gallon tank with an AquaClear 20 filter. It's been up and running since Februrary. It was fully cycled in April, but since I moved to my apartment complex in August, I've always had a .25 ammonia reading. Prior to moving here, I didn't. There was no ammonia in the water at my previous location(s).
The tank's only inhabitants are a male betta fish and a single mystery snail.
I used Tetra Safestart back in August, but I'm not sure if that's what you were talking about when you said "bacteria booster."
ALSO, my tank has wisteria and anacharis in it, which is another reason I'm not sure why I'm getting an ammonia reading.
Last edited by colorxmexravyne; 11-08-2012 at 07:12 PM.
Did you change the filter when you moved or keep the existing wet until you got it set back up? It's possible you're going through a mini cycle. But being that its been set up since August it should be cycled & like I stated previously, .25 isn't that high so your BB should be processing it out. That's the reading you get right after a water change & 24 hrs later? I know my ammonia reading almost always seems to be about .25 or slightly green but I don't worry about it unless it goes higher. Yours doesn't look quite .25 but definitely shows a trace. Did you test your tap water straight from the tap & then by putting some in a glass, stirring it occasionally & testing it 24 hrs later?
Did you change the filter when you moved or keep the existing wet until you got it set back up? It's possible you're going through a mini cycle. But being that its been set up since August it should be cycled & like I stated previously, .25 isn't that high so your BB should be processing it out. That's the reading you get right after a water change & 24 hrs later? I know my ammonia reading almost always seems to be about .25 or slightly green but I don't worry about it unless it goes higher. Yours doesn't look quite .25 but definitely shows a trace. Did you test your tap water straight from the tap & then by putting some in a glass, stirring it occasionally & testing it 24 hrs later?
I drained MOST of the water out of the tank and put the filter media under the gravel to keep it wet.
The .25 reading was taken right BEFORE my weekly water change. In other words, the water that was test had been in the tank for a week.
When I first tested my water source for ammonia, it was straight from the tap. I just added the solutions, shook it, and let it sit for maybe two minutes.
I was told by someone before that it didn't matter if I had the .25ish ammonia reading because I used Prime and that converted it to something *less* dangerous, but I don't know, it still concerns me.
How dangerous it is depends on the temp and the Ph. Standard ammonia tests dont really give an accurate reading of harmful ammonia in the tank - it measures all the ammonia, both harmful and the not as harmful. Seachem makes their own ammonia tests to be used with Prime and some of the other water conditioners that measures only the harmful ammonia.
How dangerous it is depends on the temp and the Ph. Standard ammonia tests dont really give an accurate reading of harmful ammonia in the tank - it measures all the ammonia, both harmful and the not as harmful. Seachem makes their own ammonia tests to be used with Prime and some of the other water conditioners that measures only the harmful ammonia.
Thanks for your response! If my pH is at 7.6 and my tank is kept at a steady 80 degrees, how harmful is the ammonia that I, for some reason, can't get out of my tank?
Well, it sure looks more yellow than light green to me. You have 0 nitrite & about 5.0 ppm for nitrate. I think your tank is still holding steady, is your ph < than 7 ?
Well, it sure looks more yellow than light green to me. You have 0 nitrite & about 5.0 ppm for nitrate. I think your tank is still holding steady, is your ph < than 7 ?
I agree that it looks closer to yellow than green, but because I know that it used to be WITHOUT A DOUBT yellow, I just wanted to double check.
There are some calculations you have to do to figure it out. I'm horrible at that stuff so I just went ahead and bought the Seachem test kit, altho since my tanks are cycled I hardly use it. Still good to have around tho and I did use it after the hurricane last week.
Here are some links if you are interested in trying to do the calculations:
Check out the eBook Betta Fish Care Made Easy
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