Cichlid Fish Forum banner
Cancel

Ammonia in the tap water

1849 Views 11 Replies 2 Participants Last post by  kewlkatdady, 
T
So I tested my ammonia yesterday for the first time in several weeks and was shocked to find out I actually had ammonia in my water (about .75). This was surprising to me as I do regular water changes (60% every two weeks), I have ample filtration (fluval FX5 and Fluval 4 internal filter) and my fish seem to be thriving.

Upon further research, I discovered that my tap water actually has about .50 ammonia in it. This must be a fairly new development since I know I have tested my tap in the past and it did not have ammonia.

Is this cause for alarm? I treat my water with Prime before I add it to my tank, and I believe Prime detoxifies ammonia. Will my biological filter then remove the ammonia?

220 Gallon aquarium .75 ammonia; 10ppm nitrate; 0 nitrite

Tank Dwellers
Green Severum
Firemouth Cichlid
Keyhole Cichlid
Convict Cichlid
1 Bala Shark
6 Clown Loaches
1 Pleco
2 Corys
5 Giant Danios
4 Austrailian Rainbowfish
Reply
Save
Like
1 - 12 of 12 Posts
K
its prolly chlromines in your tap water...
this is usually added to tap water by the city.
Chlorimines will give a false positive ammo test.

It take a double dose of Prime to get rid of the chlorimines.

I wouldn't worry too much about it...
Did you just do a water change?
Reply
Save
Like
T
Yes, I did a large 60% water change about 5 days ago. I checked my water parameters yesterday and that is when I noticed the ammonia. I did a 15 - 20% water change last night in hopes to start lowering my ammonia.

I then realized that my tap water had ammonia in it as well. If I double dose the prime should it still show false ammonia readings?
Reply
Save
Like
K
personnally with such a low reading, I'd leave it alone for a week or so and test the water...

your bio colony will process the ammo.

If your ammo stays high, I'd start looking at building up my bio culture. You have a big tank...I think I remember you saying you have an FX5? What media and how much is in it? Any other filters with bio media?
Reply
Save
Like
K
personnally with such a low reading, I'd leave it alone for a week or so and test the water...

your bio colony will process the ammo.

If your ammo stays high, I'd start looking at building up my bio culture. You have a big tank...I think I remember you saying you have an FX5? What media and how much is in it? Any other filters with bio media?
Reply
Save
Like
K
personnally with such a low reading, I'd leave it alone for a week or so and test the water...

your bio colony will process the ammo.

If your ammo stays high, I'd start looking at building up my bio culture. You have a big tank...I think I remember you saying you have an FX5? What media and how much is in it? Any other filters with bio media?
Reply
Save
Like
K
personnally with such a low reading, I'd leave it alone for a week or so and test the water...

your bio colony will process the ammo.

If your ammo stays high, I'd start looking at building up my bio culture. You have a big tank...I think I remember you saying you have an FX5? What media and how much is in it? Any other filters with bio media?
Reply
Save
Like
T
Yeah, my FX5 has one chamber packed with bio-max. The other two chambers are mechanical and chemical (packed one chamber with carbon).

My wife decided to surprise me by cleaning my filter (a job I always fuss about) and she rinsed the bio max rings with tap water. That may have wiped out some of my bacteria and be part of the problem.

I also run a fluval 4 internal filter but it is only mechanical filtration.
Reply
Save
Like
K
tap water + bio media = new cycle...

watch the ammo reading very closely... do water changes as needed to keep ammo down.

Good luck.
Reply
Save
Like
T
Yeah, I'm hoping the bacteria in my gravel will prevent the disruption of the culture growing on my bio rings from being a major issue.

Cheers
Reply
Save
Like
T
Yeah, I'm hoping the bacteria in my gravel will prevent the disruption of the culture growing on my bio rings from being a major issue.

Cheers
Reply
Save
Like
K
wec ould have saved ourselves alot of time if the title of this thread was...

my wife tried to help but.... :lol:
Reply
Save
Like
1 - 12 of 12 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Cichlid Fish Forum
A forum community dedicated to Cichlid Fish owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about breeding, health, behavior, housing, adopting, care, classifieds, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
Lake Malawi Species Aquarium Setup Lake Tanganyika Species Equipment & Supplies South American Cichlids
Top