Should also note this aquarium has been established for almost 2 years. And yes I am experiencing fish illness and death which I believe to be related to this ammonia issue.
Can't get ammonia below 0.25 ppm
I have a 75 gallon aquarium stocked with 1 venustus hap, 2 red zebras, and 1 strawberry peacock, so plenty of room for them. I run a Fluval FX4 and a sponge filter, also 1.5 cups of zeolite blend and change 50% water once weekly and condition new water with Prime. Despite this, I can NEVER for the life of me get the ammonia to read below 0.25ppm. Is this just a ghost reading? I've heard in some places that 0.25 can be equal to unreadable. Is there anything else I can do to lower the ammonia? The only other idea I have is more frequent/larger water changes but I don't have time or resources for that
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Read the fine print on your Prime. I believe it can show 0.25 ammonia.
I have a super overstocked 68 gallon, and had the same issue with "Prime". It caused me to make disastrous changes only to find out I was fighting a "small print" issue.
The larger your water changes, the more you "shock" your fish.
Large water changes do not have to shock your fish if you match parameters (including nitrate, in other words, keep nitrate low always so clean water from a change does not change nitrate much...ideally from 20ppm to 10ppm.
Locality challenges (freshwater availability), can definitely influence fish-keeping practices.
Im at a loss | Cichlid Fish Forum (cichlid-forum.com)
And no, that situation doesn't make it 'right'. But, I do understand the problem.
Im at a loss | Cichlid Fish Forum (cichlid-forum.com)
And no, that situation doesn't make it 'right'. But, I do understand the problem.
My tap water tests .25 ammonia as well……When I lived in AZ it was the same thing. I cannot recall when my NH3s have ever been 0.0….
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