Ammonia readings

azul17 · 05/23/2019, 02:32 PM

I bought an Ammonia Hanna Checker and my readings were

.7ppm NH4

Or
.66ppm NH3

Which one should I be looking at?
Is my ammonia high? Where should the reading be at?

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mcgyvr · 05/23/2019, 07:34 PM

Is your tank new/cycling?

azul17 · 05/23/2019, 07:36 PM

It’s 3 months old. But it cycled already. I found a few death snails. Could that be it.

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mcgyvr · 05/24/2019, 06:50 AM

Yes that is possible but that IMO is quite a lot of ammonia for a tank at 3 months old with only a few snail deaths..
What size tank? Must be small...

The test levels may also be false..

azul17 · 05/24/2019, 06:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

Yes that is possible but that IMO is quite a lot of ammonia for a tank at 3 months old with only a few snail deaths..
What size tank? Must be small...

The test levels may also be false..

It’s a Red Sea Reefer 250 (65gallon)
Hanna checker read .7ppm
API reads around .25ppm

Not sure which one to believe lol. I did a 20g water change last night and will be doing another one tomorrow. I will test again tomorrow and see what it comes out.

Should I add more beneficial bacteria?

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mcgyvr · 05/24/2019, 07:00 AM

How many pounds of rock in the tank?

Have you been adding bacteria lately? It may be the reason for the higher readings as the supplement may contain a food source

At 3 months you shouldnt need to add bacterial products.

azul17 · 05/24/2019, 07:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

How many pounds of rock in the tank?

Have you been adding bacteria lately? It may be the reason for the higher readings as the supplement may contain a food source

At 3 months you shouldnt need to add bacterial products.

I have about 60lbs of rock. I haven’t added any more bacteria. I bought the IO bio spira last night. I was thinking of adding it tomorrow after the other water change.

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nereefpat · 05/24/2019, 08:01 AM

Could you tell us more about the cycle?

Did you use some sort of nitrogen source to cycle the tank? Did you see a rise in ammonia levels, and then a drop to zero?

azul17 · 05/24/2019, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nereefpat

Could you tell us more about the cycle?

Did you use some sort of nitrogen source to cycle the tank? Did you see a rise in ammonia levels, and then a drop to zero?

I bought this tank from a guy. He had it for a year. He had it in really bad conditions. When I got it I pretty much put new water In with new sand and I used the same live rock he had. It came with a couple fish so I added bacteria to speed up the process since tank was already stablished. Before adding anything else I waited about a 2 months and during that month it I did not see any spikes of ammonia, nitrites or nitrates. Phosphates were a little high.

I figured tank was cycled already so I added a skimmer and a gfo/carbon reactor.

Now I’m having high nitrates, 0 nitrites, 0 nitrates, phosphates 0. Ph 8.4.

My only guess is the dead snails plus over feeding maybe.

Also 2 weeks ago I was in Japan for 2 weeks and I feel like my tank sitter was over feeding because I found gunk on top of the tank.

Those are my two guesses.

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mcgyvr · 05/24/2019, 12:07 PM

At 3 months old ANY tank regardless of the process has "cycled"..
High nitrates in a new tank is also quite normal too..

I would simply ignore the ammonia readings
(Not sure why anyone would measure ammonia on anything but a new cycling tank anyways)
Its very unlikely to be a realistic number IMO at this point..

05/23/2019, 02:32 PM	#1
azul17 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2019 Posts: 43	Ammonia readings I bought an Ammonia Hanna Checker and my readings were .7ppm NH4 Or .66ppm NH3 Which one should I be looking at? Is my ammonia high? Where should the reading be at? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

05/23/2019, 07:34 PM	#2
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	Is your tank new/cycling? __________________ Who me?

05/24/2019, 06:50 AM	#4
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	Yes that is possible but that IMO is quite a lot of ammonia for a tank at 3 months old with only a few snail deaths.. What size tank? Must be small... The test levels may also be false.. __________________ Who me?

05/24/2019, 07:00 AM	#6
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	How many pounds of rock in the tank? Have you been adding bacteria lately? It may be the reason for the higher readings as the supplement may contain a food source At 3 months you shouldnt need to add bacterial products. __________________ Who me?

05/24/2019, 08:01 AM	#8
nereefpat Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Central Nebraska Posts: 3,190	Could you tell us more about the cycle? Did you use some sort of nitrogen source to cycle the tank? Did you see a rise in ammonia levels, and then a drop to zero? __________________ Pat Current Tank Info: 125 in-wall , 40b sump. 6 bulb T5. ASM G2 skimmer. LPS and leathers

05/23/2019, 07:36 PM	#3
azul17 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2019 Posts: 43	It’s 3 months old. But it cycled already. I found a few death snails. Could that be it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

05/24/2019, 12:07 PM	#10
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	At 3 months old ANY tank regardless of the process has "cycled".. High nitrates in a new tank is also quite normal too.. I would simply ignore the ammonia readings (Not sure why anyone would measure ammonia on anything but a new cycling tank anyways) Its very unlikely to be a realistic number IMO at this point.. __________________ Who me?