I posted something similar earlier but I think I made it too complicated.
I have two tanks that show ammonia levels of 8.0ppm - obviously enough to kill the fish yet all are doing fine. Why? Because I add Seachem Prime every other day and sometimes AmGuard as well. These chemicals convert Ammonia (which can kill your fish) to Ammonium which will NOT kill your fish.
The problem is the API test kit for Ammonia continues to show ammonia levels of 8 ppm because it doesn't differentiate between Ammonia and Ammonium
There is another kit you can purchase that will show you how much active ammonia you have in your tank vs Ammonium. When I run this test it shows Ammonia levels as zero ppm yet the API kit for Ammonia still shows ammonia as 8.0 ppm because the API kit doesn't tell the difference between Ammonia (toxic) and Ammonium (non toxic).
What is so frustrating is that every day the water still registers Ammonia as 8.0 on the API kit. The other test kit is a bit tedious to run so I do that ever so often and the Ammonia always zero. It's the harmless Ammonium that is showing 8.0 PPM. What is really weird is that even large water changes may drop the API test kit to showing Ammonia as 4.0 instead of 8.0 but within a couple of days it's back up to 8.0. Again - it's REALLY showing Ammonium but it can't show you the difference.
So for you chemists out there - how do I get rid of the Ammonium in the water so my API test kit shows what is truly going on - that the Ammonia levels are actually zero NOT 8.0? In other words I want a "reset" of the ammonia readings in my tank - otherwise I fear I'm actually overtreating my water. I get really tired of seeing that 8.0 reading even though I know it's likely ammonium and NOT ammonia.
The only thing I can think of is that the Ammonium needs to start converting to Nitrites - which it is not - Nitrate levels run from zero to .25. Does Ammonium convert to Nitrites or just Ammonia?
ALL these tanks were extremely well cycled with Ammonia before fish were ever added - it's so frustrating to see that those test results are now all messed up and invalid with regard to Ammonia, I find a LOT of things on the Internet about the Ammonia vs Ammonium issue but none of them tell you how to get rid of Ammonium so your API tests show the actual rating of zero Ammonia.
HELP please.
I have two tanks that show ammonia levels of 8.0ppm - obviously enough to kill the fish yet all are doing fine. Why? Because I add Seachem Prime every other day and sometimes AmGuard as well. These chemicals convert Ammonia (which can kill your fish) to Ammonium which will NOT kill your fish.
The problem is the API test kit for Ammonia continues to show ammonia levels of 8 ppm because it doesn't differentiate between Ammonia and Ammonium
There is another kit you can purchase that will show you how much active ammonia you have in your tank vs Ammonium. When I run this test it shows Ammonia levels as zero ppm yet the API kit for Ammonia still shows ammonia as 8.0 ppm because the API kit doesn't tell the difference between Ammonia (toxic) and Ammonium (non toxic).
What is so frustrating is that every day the water still registers Ammonia as 8.0 on the API kit. The other test kit is a bit tedious to run so I do that ever so often and the Ammonia always zero. It's the harmless Ammonium that is showing 8.0 PPM. What is really weird is that even large water changes may drop the API test kit to showing Ammonia as 4.0 instead of 8.0 but within a couple of days it's back up to 8.0. Again - it's REALLY showing Ammonium but it can't show you the difference.
So for you chemists out there - how do I get rid of the Ammonium in the water so my API test kit shows what is truly going on - that the Ammonia levels are actually zero NOT 8.0? In other words I want a "reset" of the ammonia readings in my tank - otherwise I fear I'm actually overtreating my water. I get really tired of seeing that 8.0 reading even though I know it's likely ammonium and NOT ammonia.
The only thing I can think of is that the Ammonium needs to start converting to Nitrites - which it is not - Nitrate levels run from zero to .25. Does Ammonium convert to Nitrites or just Ammonia?
ALL these tanks were extremely well cycled with Ammonia before fish were ever added - it's so frustrating to see that those test results are now all messed up and invalid with regard to Ammonia, I find a LOT of things on the Internet about the Ammonia vs Ammonium issue but none of them tell you how to get rid of Ammonium so your API tests show the actual rating of zero Ammonia.
HELP please.