HELP! Water is a mess.

[Ridgerunner]

This are my tested tank numbers:
PH - 6.0
Hi Range PH - Bright Yellow Color not on chart
Ammonia 1.0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
This is the TAP WATER on Water Plant site
Hardness 4.3 to 6.2 Ave 5.1
Alkalinity 4.4 - 10 Ave 8
Ammonia 5.3

This is going on three months. I did a 45% water change this evening. I can't get rid of ammonia! I need advice.
Ridgerunner

 

[NannaLou]

I’m not sure on all the Ph and stuff but plants, lots of fast growing plants will absorb the ammonia. Floating plants are especially good as they draw the food they need directly from the water.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Anacharis (sp) died. Frogbit died. I'm not having much luck with plants except Java Fern and Dwarf Red Lilies. I did try tablets under and liquid added to water for fertilizer.

 

[NannaLou]

I’m still very new and only buy plants labelled, “easy” and they seem to be doing well, I’ve got: hemianthus micranthemoides, Anubis’s nana, hygrophila stricta, bacopa monnieri, Ludwigia mini super red, limnophila sessiliflora, red tiger lotus, elodea densa and water spangles. These are all going well in a tank that only has natural light. (The list of names is from the packing checklist…otherwise I wouldn’t have a clue

 

[Dephea]

Do you have any fish in your tank?
Do you have any decaying food / dead fish in your tank?
did you use ammonia removers? Some can give false positive result on tests

 

[Essjay]

With a pH that low, you don't need to worry about ammonia as it will all be in the non toxic form.

High range pH won't give an accurate reading as the pH is off the bottom of the scale so all it can show is the lowest number on the card.

This is the TAP WATER on Water Plant site
Hardness 4.3 to 6.2 Ave 5.1
Alkalinity 4.4 - 10 Ave 8
Ammonia 5.3

I don't understand this - is it from your water supplier? Do they really say your ammonia is 5.3? If that is what you mean, that ammonia level is way too high. I'm in the UK and the maximum level permitted in drinking water is 0.5 ppm. The USA will probably be similar.

 

[AbbeysDad]

I'm not sure I can believe a source water with ammonia of 5.3???

 

[kribensis12]

I would concur with others - Ammonia that high would be WAAYYY over the US levels for safe drinking water. If you can tell us what city you are in, maybe one of us can try to find a recent water report and see if there is more data.

 

[Ridgerunner]

With a pH that low, you don't need to worry about ammonia as it will all be in the non toxic form.

High range pH won't give an accurate reading as the pH is off the bottom of the scale so all it can show is the lowest number on the card.



I don't understand this - is it from your water supplier? Do they really say your ammonia is 5.3? If that is what you mean, that ammonia level is way too high. I'm in the UK and the maximum level permitted in drinking water is 0.5 ppm. The USA will probably be similar.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The Ammonia is .53

 

[Ridgerunner]

This are my tested tank numbers:
PH - 6.0
Hi Range PH - Bright Yellow Color not on chart
Ammonia 1.0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
This is the TAP WATER on Water Plant site
Hardness 4.3 to 6.2 Ave 5.1
Alkalinity 4.4 - 10 Ave 8
Ammonia 5.3

This is going on three months. I did a 45% water change this evening. I can't get rid of ammonia! I need advice.
Ridgerunner

The ammonia is .53 from the water company.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Anacharis (sp) died. Frogbit died. I'm not having much luck with plants except Java Fern and Dwarf Red Lilies. I did try tablets under and liquid added to water for fertilizer.

Red Dwarf Lotus (sorry)

 

[Ridgerunner]

Do you have any fish in your tank?
Do you have any decaying food / dead fish in your tank?
did you use ammonia removers? Some can give false positive result on tests

 

[Ridgerunner]

Yes, I have 3 reddish pink gouramis, 1 blue gourami, 3 corys, 1 pleco.
About a month or more ago, I used Ammo Lock, then realized I'd never get an accurate reading using that so I stopped. The only decay was from the plants that melted.

 

[Slaphppy7]

The ammonia is .53 from the water company.

That decimal point makes a helluva difference