ammonia in tap water!!

[leah9798]

I have been having this problem with my tank. 0 nitrites, 30 nitrates, but my ammonia goes back and forth from 0 to a reading somewhere in between 0 and .25 using aquarium Pharmeceuticals. I just did a PWC, cleaned my gravel and did a PWC 2 nights ago. When I tested my ammonia it was higher then before I started. I tested my tap water and it tested 1 for ammonia, is this bad or normal? How can I get rid of the ammonia when every time I do a PWC I'm adding it to my tank? I use Prime which removes .60 ammonia , I wonder if that's why I kept getting the readings. I'm a little worried about myself too considering I drink it all the time. Thanks Leah

 

[wuvmybetta]

Did you test your water straight out of the tap or did you treat it with Prime and then test it?

I use Prime and I love it but it does make it appear that you have an ammonia problem,if you let it settle for about 24 hours and then test your tanks water it SHOULD be at zero. Now for your tap.....high chlorine and chloramines can affect your tests also, my nitrite comes out of my tap a 2.0 ,but my water department assures me it's nothing to worry about and told me to use extra dechlorinator

 

[leah9798]

Hi! I tested straight from my tap. I retested my water this morning in my tank and it's lower than it was . but I also added an extra 20 drops last night. I have a 44 hex and it seems I haven't been using enough. I guess in my area the lfs recommends a double dose because of high chloramine in our water. Hopefully I didn't mess anything up by adding it

Does anyone know what happens to the dechlorinators that are already in there? Do they eventually go away or do they stay in your tank forever? Just out of curiousity. Thanks Leah