High ammonia levels in a tank with no fish?

[TacomaToker]

I am using the API test kit. I am setting up a new tank. PH is testing high, about 8.3. But the Ammonia is testing at about .75ppm... How is this possible? There are no fish in there, and never have been. Where did the Ammonia come from? I have put Stress Coat+ in the tank, and I've got a fresh bio wheel spinning away in there. Have not put in Quick start yet. Any help or answers are greatly appreciated.. thank you!

 

[Byron]

Two possibles. One, have you tested your source (tap) water on its own for ammonia (and nitrite and nitrate too, just to be certain)? Two, does the water authority add chloramine rather than straight chlorine to your water?

 

[TacomaToker]

Two possibles. One, have you tested your source (tap) water on its own for ammonia (and nitrite and nitrate too, just to be certain)? Two, does the water authority add chloramine rather than straight chlorine to your water?

Hey, thanks for the answer. I will test my water straight out of the tap. Also, I don't know if they are adding chloramine, but shouldn't Stress Coat be able to take care of either of those?

 

[TacomaToker]

Two possibles. One, have you tested your source (tap) water on its own for ammonia (and nitrite and nitrate too, just to be certain)? Two, does the water authority add chloramine rather than straight chlorine to your water?

Oh, and my Nitrite and Nitrate levels are both 0. My tank is 78 degrees, all I need to do is figure out this Ammonia and its ready to go!!

 

[TacomaToker]

Two possibles. One, have you tested your source (tap) water on its own for ammonia (and nitrite and nitrate too, just to be certain)? Two, does the water authority add chloramine rather than straight chlorine to your water?

Okay I learned that my water provider is adding Chloramine, which means I could be getting ammonia from that. Maybe I did not put enough Stress coat.....

 

[Byron]

Okay I learned that my water provider is adding Chloramine, which means I could be getting ammonia from that. Maybe I did not put enough Stress coat.....

First, chloramine is a bond of chlorine and ammonia. Many water authorities esp in NA are now using this because it does not dissipate out of the water quickly like chlorine does. Most conditioners will detoxify chlorine and chloramine (it will say on the label) so that is OK. But, the ammonia remains as ammonium for a time, which is harmless, and eventuaslly the plants/bacteria will be able to deal with it. We have had several threads about this in the past few months, with very low ammonia levels consistently. Knowing it is chloramine, no need to worry. Have some floating plants (these are especially good at taking up ammonia) and/or other plants. Do not ever use more conditioner that is needed for the water to be treated, and adding more willnot do anything here as I've explained, but it will mean more chemicals in the water and when you have fish this is not good for them.

Next issue, Stress Coat. This contains aloe vera, which scientific studies are now suggesting will harm fish gills over time. I would find another conditioner. If all you have to deal with is chlorine/chloramine, the best is API's Tap Water Conditioner. It is highly concentrated so you use very little (another plus for the fish), and a small bottle will last months.

Quick Start is a bacterial supplement intended to get the nitrifying cycle going faster. Some of these products do interact with conditioners that detoxify chloramine; I beelieve the general consensus is to wait 24 hours...others will be able to advise you better on this. Fortunately I don't have this issue...yet.

Something else now...you are in Western Washington state, and you have very soft water as I do up in Vancouver. This means the pH will be acidic once the tank is running. The water authority likely adds something to raise the pH (they add soda ash in Vancouver), it will dissipate out. Point here is that the "cycle" may not even start, but that is not a problem. Ammonia in acidic water is ammonium which is basically harmless to fish, and plants will take it up rapidly without producing nitrite which is a bonus.

 

[Retired Viking]

I agree with @Byron, Some good floating plants are hornwort, anacharis, frog bit, moneywort and water sprite which will help deal with the ammonia/ammonium. They will also improve the quality of your water and add oxygen while absorbing CO2. Many of us try not to add more chemicals to the water, the more you add the more that ends up in the fish.

 

[Essjay]

Water conditioners which say they remove ammonia to not actually remove ammonia, they temporarily convert it to a non-toxic form. After around 24 hours the non-toxic ammonia reverts to the toxic form by which time the filter bacteria or plants will have removed it..
But this non-toxic form still shows up in the ammonia test.

These conditioners are intended to detoxify the ammonia part of chloramine until the filter bacteria or plants have time to remove it. You don't say whether you have plants or not, but as the tank is not yet cycled there is nothing in the tank yet to remove the ammonia.

 

[Jan Cavalieri]

It's really a shi&&y deal too - you never can be 100% sure your ammonia is ammonia or ammonium. Talk about confusion for newbies starting a tank or even others that haven't heard the news about ammonium.

There is, however, a test kit that will tell you how much "free" (real) ammonia you have in your tank versus how much is ammonium. I have some on hand all the time. It's also made by API - if you are new to cycling a tank I'd get some for peace of mind.

Geeze never enough products. I have used Tetra Safe Start Plus to re-cycle an aquarium with fish in it (I bought more fish than my bacteria could handle) - and I put a capful of this in the tank every water change for about a month (and I do weekly water changes) - it cycled my tank beautifully. It also reduces ammonia and nitrite just like any water clarifier it just has a big load of good bacteria to add to your water/filter. I tried the one made by Seachem who I usually trust but it did not work.

 

[Essjay]

Yes, test kits do measure total ammonia. It's the pH of the tank which is the main determining factor as to which form it is in.

Ammonia exists as two forms in water, ammonia and ammonium. They are in equilibrium with each other and they are continually swapping back and forth between the two forms. But the amount in each form at any instant is always the same.
The amount that is in each form depends on the pH. At low pH more is in the ammonium form; at high pH more is in the ammonia form.
That's really all you need to know. At pH under 7.0, there will be little in the ammonia form so the total ammonia reading will need to be quite high to harm fish. At pH above 7.0 there will be more in the ammonia form so even a tiny amount of total ammonia will harm the fish.