My tap water tests positive for ammonia?

[zaichev]

I'm not sure what to do.

I'm doing water changes three times a week (two fish, 2.5 gallons) and it's really time consuming but worth it if it protects my fishes.

The problem is that my tap water tests positive for ammonia at .25mg/L. I tested it this morning (ten hours after I changed it) and it was still at .25mg/L.

At this point I'd literally have to change it every day, because it will likely be at .50mg/L by tomorrow night.

What should I do? Are there any drops out there that neutralize ammonia? My fish are terrified of filters, even though I run it for an hour while it is warming up and they are out of the tank. (It just has a sponge in there, not sure if it is effective for ammonia.)

[Oldfishlady]

What kind of testing products are you using and what are the other numbers for nitrite, nitrate and pH...and the test on the source water is without any dechlorinating products added...correct.....

Prime by Seachem is what I would use if you have ammonia in the source water, however, be aware that even with the Prime the water will test positive for ammonia-but it is ammonium since the test products can't tell the difference.....

I would also add live plants...floating is best-like water lettuce, frogbit, duckweed work great when you have ammonia in the source water...stem plants will work well too-like naja grass, water wisteria...etc....this list is endless...but with added plants if they are not thriving with the use of the proper lights- they can make things worse...

How is the Betta tolerating the ammonia level...

[wolfiegreen]

ive got the same issue but it doesnt bother any of my fish, i started useing amquel plus ammonia detoxifer

[Marlboroack]

Upload pictures of the tank and we can see what the problem is.

[Draug Isilme]

I agree with OFL ^.^ I've tested my tap water with and without dechlorinator (with two different kinds of water dechlorinator) and it came out positive... Heck, I even tested some of our tap water that was filtered and still got the same results xD The reason why I kept getting positive even with my tank, though, is 'cause I had a 1.5g. So I had to change the water frequently, which never gave my tank a chance to show a negative result until I started storing water in gallon jugs to have on the side for when I do my water changes and/or emergencies (ammonium eventually goes away after the water sets for a certain amount of time). All of my jugs were testing negative for ammonia.
And yeah, plants are really fantastic with keeping ammonia down, especially the ones that grow fast and/or a tank that's heavily planted ^.^ I have a 5g that's a npt and I honestly don't think I'll ever go back to just rocks and decor!