Ammonia in tap water

[hurgerburger]

I recently tested my tap water for ammonia, and I found that it was 1ppm. I have one fully cycled 20 gallon tank that is consistently at 0ppm for ammonia, and one new tank that is partially cycled (long story, I thought it was cycled and apparently it's not, however the ammonia levels are less than that of the tap water [between .10 and .25 ppm], so I'm not entirely sure if it's cycled or not). my 20 gallon is a pretty beefy tank, and I have been doing water changes on it periodically for the past 2 years with no problem. What I'm worried about is the 5 gallon. when I'm doing water changes on it, should I use water from the 20 gallon, water from the tap (which has ammonia), or some other kind of water? Also, this is not technically my fish, and I'm going to be giving him back to my old high school next summer (which gets the same tap water, the town adds ammonia for whatever reason). So is there a long term solution for the next caretaker of the betta (I'm assuming they wont go too out of their way to make sure the fish is doing well)? I heard that there is a solution that removes ammonia from water, but I'm not sure if that would starve the beneficial bacteria. I really appreciate all the help everyone has given me over the past couple of days!! I wouldn't have checked the tap water levels without the advice from someone on this forum. Sorry if the grammar is bad, I can't write late at night. basically my main questions are: is my 5 gallon cycled? What is a short term solution for the ammonia both in the tap water and tank? What is a long term solution for someone who wouldn't be as invested in the fish as I am?

 

[Colin_T]

There is ammonia in the tap water because you have chloramine in the water supply and the person adding stuff at the water company stuffed up the mixture and added too much ammonia.

Chloramine is a combination of chlorine and ammonia. They bind together and continue to poison and kill stuff for months. It is used by countries with hot climates or where water has to travel long distances because of this feature (it stays poisonous for months and kills things in the water for that time).

You should contact your water supply company and inform them there is ammonia in the tap water. Hopefully they will adjust the mixture and there won't be extra ammonia in the water.

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There are a couple of things that remove ammonia from water. One is called "Wardley's Ammogon" and the other is called "Zeolite". They are both white granules that adsorb ammonia from water. You put them in a mesh bag and put that in a filter and put the filter in a container of tap water. The Ammogon/ Zeolite will remove the ammonia from the water. Both of these substances can be recharged by soaking in salt water for 24-48 hours.

Plants will also remove ammonia from the water. Floating plants are the best plants for the job and you simply put some floating plants in a container of tap water and they use the ammonia to grow. When the ammonia is 0ppm, you add a dechlorinator and use the water in the fish tank.

Have a container of tap water. Dechlorinate it and add an established filter. Let the filter run for 24-48 hours and it should remove the ammonia. Then the water can be used in a tank.
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If you have an established tank with a cycled biological filter, you can take some of the filter media/ material and put it in a new tank with a new filter and you have an instant cycled tank. This means you don't have to cycle new tanks. You can set them up one day, fill them with dechlorinated water, allow the tank to run for 24 hours, then add some of the established filter media and some fish to the tank and it's done.

 

[hurgerburger]

There is ammonia in the tap water because you have chloramine in the water supply and the person adding stuff at the water company stuffed up the mixture and added too much ammonia.

Chloramine is a combination of chlorine and ammonia. They bind together and continue to poison and kill stuff for months. It is used by countries with hot climates or where water has to travel long distances because of this feature (it stays poisonous for months and kills things in the water for that time).

You should contact your water supply company and inform them there is ammonia in the tap water. Hopefully they will adjust the mixture and there won't be extra ammonia in the water.

--------------------
There are a couple of things that remove ammonia from water. One is called "Wardley's Ammogon" and the other is called "Zeolite". They are both white granules that adsorb ammonia from water. You put them in a mesh bag and put that in a filter and put the filter in a container of tap water. The Ammogon/ Zeolite will remove the ammonia from the water. Both of these substances can be recharged by soaking in salt water for 24-48 hours.

Plants will also remove ammonia from the water. Floating plants are the best plants for the job and you simply put some floating plants in a container of tap water and they use the ammonia to grow. When the ammonia is 0ppm, you add a dechlorinator and use the water in the fish tank.

Have a container of tap water. Dechlorinate it and add an established filter. Let the filter run for 24-48 hours and it should remove the ammonia. Then the water can be used in a tank.
--------------------
If you have an established tank with a cycled biological filter, you can take some of the filter media/ material and put it in a new tank with a new filter and you have an instant cycled tank. This means you don't have to cycle new tanks. You can set them up one day, fill them with dechlorinated water, allow the tank to run for 24 hours, then add some of the established filter media and some fish to the tank and it's done.

THANK YOU!!!!!! this is so helpful. I really appreciate it.

 

[Essjay]

Just to make it clear for anyone reading this - the water should be treated with zeolite/Ammogon before adding it to the tank. If you put zeolite/Ammogon in the tank it will starve the bacteria.


With a cycled tank, you can use a water conditioner that, besides removing chlorine, also detoxifies ammonia. The detoxification lasts aound 24 hours, but in a cycled tank, the bacteria will have removed it long before it can turn back into the toxic form.

 

[AbbeysDad]

@essjay is correct. Any water with chloramine will test as having ammonia because it is a combination of chlorine and ammonia. As Colin_T points out, it is a slightly more powerful, longer lasting germ killer. Many municipalities have switched, or are switching, from chlorine to chloramine.
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Seachem Prime for example, will convert ammonia to ammonium which is not toxic to fish (but will still test as ammonia). The bio-filter will then process it just like ammonia - If you have them, plants, especially fast growing floating plants, will also use ammonia or ammonium.
Unlike water with just chlorine, aging water with chloramine just doesn't work as it just doesn't dissipate like chlorine (which is why it's so effective!)

 

[hurgerburger]

Oh that's really helpful! I think I'll buy the fancy water conditioner, since most of the options that Colin gave were kind of labor intensive. Thank you so much!

 

[hansgruber7]

Maybe not an option for you, but I have the same problem with my tap water and I use RO water which has solved my problem.

 

[hurgerburger]

@essjay is correct. Any water with chloramine will test as having ammonia because it is a combination of chlorine and ammonia. As Colin_T points out, it is a slightly more powerful, longer lasting germ killer. Many municipalities have switched, or are switching, from chlorine to chloramine.
---
Seachem Prime for example, will convert ammonia to ammonium which is not toxic to fish (but will still test as ammonia). The bio-filter will then process it just like ammonia - If you have them, plants, especially fast growing floating plants, will also use ammonia or ammonium.
Unlike water with just chlorine, aging water with chloramine just doesn't work as it just doesn't dissipate like chlorine (which is why it's so effective!)

Just bought the seachem prime! amazing how much water that stuff can treat- 2 drops per gallon!! It'll probably expire before I can use it all lol

Thank you again so much for the advice!