Ammonia In Tap Water

[Fred37]

Hi folks,
I've tested our tap water and its ammonia (NH4) level is showing up at around showing 0.15. As the ammonia level in the tank is supposed to be zero, can anyone offer any advice as to what I am supposed to do in this situation? Are there chemicals I need to add to the tank to combat this or this there another solution?
Thanks.

 

[rabbut]

I'd do a 30% waterchange and make sure dechlorinator is added

There isn't a lot that can can be done for ammonia once it is present, asside from adding media from an established tank, and waterchanges to keep it low

How long has the tank been set-up? What fish do you have in? What are the stats for nitrite, nitrate and pH?

You need to be waterchangeing sufficiently to keep the ammonia (and nitrite) at 0.25 or lower. Twice daily tests untill it clears and waterchanges as required are your caurse of action If there is a reading below that, a 20-30% waterchange is the ammount. 0.25-0.5 = 50%, higher = larger waterchanges and/or two large-ish ones

HTH
Rabbut

 

[Fred37]

Would a water change using demineralised water be a good recommendation? I guess I would still use a dechlorinator with demin water?
Thanks.

 

[Athena]

I'd do a 30% waterchange and make sure dechlorinator is added

There isn't a lot that can can be done for ammonia once it is present, asside from adding media from an established tank, and waterchanges to keep it low

How long has the tank been set-up? What fish do you have in? What are the stats for nitrite, nitrate and pH?

You need to be waterchangeing sufficiently to keep the ammonia (and nitrite) at 0.25 or lower. Twice daily tests untill it clears and waterchanges as required are your caurse of action If there is a reading below that, a 20-30% waterchange is the ammount. 0.25-0.5 = 50%, higher = larger waterchanges and/or two large-ish ones

HTH
Rabbut

I think the point Fred37 is trying to make is that every time he does a water change he is adding water that already has an ammonia reading, since his tap water is reading at .15. So doesn't matter how many water changes he does in a day or week, every time he does one, more ammonia is added to the tank. Therefore, water changes are not going to eliminate the ammonia from his tank.

Sorry, Fred, wish I knew the answer to your dilemma but I've not come across this problem myself. Are you able to contact your water supplier and ask why ammonia is present in your water at that level? Using bottled water could work out pretty expensive.

Maybe someone else on here might have the solution for you...

Regards - Athena

 

[Athena]

Just been doing a bit of Googling for you - have a read up on this product - it might do the trick for you:

API Ammolock 2

(Google it) It says "A unique patented water conditioner that
works instantly, in fresh or saltwater,
to detoxify ammonia and remove chlorine
and chloramines."

I think some water companies add chloramine to the water which contains ammonia, so whatever water conditioner you use must be able to neutralise chloramine.

Regards

Athena

 

[saz326]

indeed - chloramine is an ammonia based molecule. (an amine - chemical names usually describe the components in the chemical)

Tap water conditioners usually state that to remove chloramine, you need to use twice the recomended dose that you would use for chlorine removal. Make sure you read the bottle, as they do vary.

This is why you have to be careful about how you test for ammonia. Ammonia bound up in chloramine is not as toxic to fish as it is when in its free form. So although the tap water reads 0.15, the actual ammonia SHOULD still be zero.

To put your mind at rest. Make up a bucket of water, treated with your tap water conditioner - and then re-test. Your ammonia reading should then be zero.

Just been doing a bit of Googling for you - have a read up on this product - it might do the trick for you:

API Ammolock 2

(Google it) It says "A unique patented water conditioner that
works instantly, in fresh or saltwater,
to detoxify ammonia and remove chlorine
and chloramines."

I think some water companies add chloramine to the water which contains ammonia, so whatever water conditioner you use must be able to neutralise chloramine.

Regards

Athena

Just going back to Athena - detoxifying ammonia is exactly that. It doesnt remove the ammonia, it binds teh ammonia into a form that is less toxic to the fish. Imagine wrapping a razor blade in bubble wrap - the blade couldnt do any harm once wrapped. The ammonia is bound into a form where it is stable, and cant cause problems. It doesnt remove it.

 

[Schmill]

Unless you are doing a fish-in cycle in it really an issue?

If you are doing a fishless cycle, then you will add ammonia to the water anyway to do the cycle.
If it is an established tank then surely the filter will cope with that small ppm of ammonia in a short time anyway? I'd think that actually if you have ammonia in your tap water waht you want to be doing is regular, but small water changes so that each time some water is changed the filter bacteria can quickly remove the ammonia trace. By doing the water changes regularly it should keep the bacteria colony in the filter 'boosted' up that little bit above the level needed to deal with fish waste so that there is always enough to deal with the 'fresh water ammonia'.

Another quicky, what sort of test kit are you using?

There are 2 ways to test for ammonia, the API liquid kit is a GOOD test kit in that it will only detect the harmful 'free' ammonia, whereas some test kits, (those with a single reagent), will also be detecting the safe 'locked' ammonia.

 

[rhostog]

Many people have small amounts of ammonia in the tapwater (we've got nitrite here) - it makes things a bit more complicated, especially when you're starting off, but you should be fine in the long term. Your filter bacteria will process this small amount of ammonia very quickly. Once your tank has stabilised, keep your routine water changes relatively small, say 15%, and frequent, at least once a week, so you're never putting a lot of tapwater in at once.

In the meantime, as Athena says, water changes won't get your ammonia levels below the level in the tap water, but you will need to do more water changes if your nitrite level starts to go up again or if the ammonia goes above the tapwater level. For the short term, it might be a good idea to use something like Ammo Lock which converts ammonia into a form that's less harmful to fish. Check the label that it states that the ammonia remains available to the filter bacteria. There are apparently 2 different products called Ammo lock, but only one of these is suitable; there are also other treatments that do the same thing - check the labels. Depending on the chemical and your test, you might still get an ammonia reading when you test even though the ammonia is in a harmless form.

From your other topic, you seem to have chlorine problems too - you might need to increase the dose of water conditioner to get rid of the chlorine in your water, as it's harmful to fish and may also kill off the bacteria in the filter.

Good luck - hope things improve for you soon.

 

[kcharley]

Hi folks,
I've tested our tap water and its ammonia (NH4) level is showing up at around showing 0.15. As the ammonia level in the tank is supposed to be zero, can anyone offer any advice as to what I am supposed to do in this situation? Are there chemicals I need to add to the tank to combat this or this there another solution?
Thanks.

Hi Fred,

I have the same problem with my tap water, but it has an even higher level. Prime does lock the ammonia into ammonium. I use the API test kit and the ammonia levels are zero an hour after doing the water change.

I wouldn't use demineralized water unless you have to. With .15 in your tap, you shouldn't have to with a good conditioner like Prime or the right Ammo Lock.

Greg

 

[mike os]

0.15 is irrelevant unless you are doing 100% water change any have a high ph, 8+

if you do a 50%wc that equates to 0.07mg/l.......i

if 25% then 0.035mg/l...... i am not sure any test kits can actually read this low accurately.....

 

[raptorrex]

Hi folks,
I've tested our tap water and its ammonia (NH4) level is showing up at around showing 0.15. As the ammonia level in the tank is supposed to be zero, can anyone offer any advice as to what I am supposed to do in this situation? Are there chemicals I need to add to the tank to combat this or this there another solution?
Thanks.

after your tank is cycled, i cant see why it should be a problem. i guess you could spend money on gear to remove it, but eating ammonia is the life blood of your Bio mass. once cycled it should not cause problems.

 

[rabbut]

Miss read above, sorry

As Mikeos says, that level from the tap is irrelivant in a cycled system for adverage waterchanges and water conditions

All the best
Rabbut

 

[OldMan47]

I have a bit more than 0.15 ppm in my tap. It is close to 1 ppm. I just do mostly 25% water changes which means that while I am changing my water the ammonia can get as high as 0.25 ppm. When I go back and test an hour or two later the ammonia always reads zero. I really don't see a problem with your low value if you did a 100% water change. My tank is higher than that after a 25% change and even there the effect is only present for a short time. When I want to help my fish with a water change, I just need to keep in mind that I can't really lower anything that starts out reading less than 1 ppm because a water change won't help.
As far as the suggestion to use DI water, don't do it. DI water needs to be reconstituted before being used or the fish will see a much larger effect than a short term ammonia spike. They will be subjected to water that is too low in minerals which goes way beyond the impact of that short term ammonia.