ammonia spike after water change

[puprrgard]

hello all,

i've had my tank + betta for about a week now, and just did a water change after being advised to make sure i'm doing weekly 50% water changes.

i did a water test with my masterkit, and here are the results after a fresh water change:

pH: 6.6
ammonia: 1.0 ppm
nitrites: 0 ppm
nitrates: 0 ppm

the ammonia before was roughly 0.25 ppm, but went up after the water change. i decided to test the water with just the API tap water conditioner in it (the water i used for the fresh change), and the ammonia was the same— 1.0 ppm.

what should i do to fix this?

here is my 5 gallon tank and my betta, Aries. the current temperature of the tank is 80.4. there are live wisteria, java moss, and anubias plants within it. i also have one nerite snail. any help is super appreciated!!

 

[Byron]

There is likely nothng here to worry about, as I'll explain. First, with an acidic pH the "ammonia" is largely ammonium which is basically harmless. Plants and nitrifying bacteria take up both when present.

As for the increase after a water change, I suspect your water authority uses chloramine instead of chlorine. Chloramine is a mix of chlorine and ammonia, and many places in the US use this as it is said to be a stronger disinfectant. The ammonia component reads as ammonia, and we have had several threads over the past months from members who see much the same.

I would also suggest that the plants you have will easily handle this within a few hours.

 

[puprrgard]

There is likely nothng here to worry about, as I'll explain. First, with an acidic pH the "ammonia" is largely ammonium which is basically harmless. Plants and nitrifying bacteria take up both when present.

As for the increase after a water change, I suspect your water authority uses chloramine instead of chlorine. Chloramine is a mix of chlorine and ammonia, and many places in the US use this as it is said to be a stronger disinfectant. The ammonia component reads as ammonia, and we have had several threads over the past months from members who see much the same.

I would also suggest that the plants you have will easily handle this within a few hours.

thanks so much for the info!!!