how to fix consistent low ammonia levels?

[Beckybettas]

No matter what I try my ammonia levels in 3 planted flex aquariums (two 15 G and a 32G) stay at .25, Is this harming my fish? I dont get ammonia spikes just a constant .25using API master test kit. Even when cycling I rarely had 0, mostly 0.25. PH in all 3 tanks is constant 7.4. with crushed coral in all 3. Nitrites 0, Nitrates 5. There is 0.5 ammonia in my tap water which isnt helping but it seems adding extra bacteria would fix that but it hasnt. Ive tried new and old bottles of both Seachem and Fritz products, a faucet filter. There isnt room for under sink or whole house filtration. Would adding Purigen to my sponge filters help? Any thing else I should try?

[Ninjoma]

On 1/19/2023 at 11:21 PM, Beckybettas said:

No matter what I try my ammonia levels in 3 planted flex aquariums (two 15 G and a 32G) stay at .25, Is this harming my fish? I dont get ammonia spikes just a constant .25using API master test kit. Even when cycling I rarely had 0, mostly 0.25. PH in all 3 tanks is constant 7.4. with crushed coral in all 3. Nitrites 0, Nitrates 5. There is 0.5 ammonia in my tap water which isnt helping but it seems adding extra bacteria would fix that but it hasnt. Ive tried new and old bottles of both Seachem and Fritz products, a faucet filter. There isnt room for under sink or whole house filtration. Would adding Purigen to my sponge filters help? Any thing else I should try?

My understanding is that this depends on your temperature and PH, but 0.25ppm probably isn't harmful using most parameters. Basically the API test kit is telling you the total amount of Amonia, NH3 (toxic) + NH4 (non-toxic), so you would have to use other parameters to determine what percentage of your Amonia is NH3 to know for sure. If you use this calculator

 https://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/FreeAmmonia.php 

and your NH3 concentration is below 0.05ppm, then it should not be harmful. This is the video I learned this from, for context. 

If you are worried about your current Amonia level, you can use seachem prime or fritz complete to "detoxify" the Amonia for 24ish hours at a time. It will still show up on the test, but it can't harm your fish. About 1 dose worth detoxifies about 1ppm Amonia. 

If you really want to try to lower your Amonia to 0, an Amonia absorbing pad, purigen, feeding less and gravel vaccing more might help. 

[Lennie]

Hey Becky! 

Welcome to the forum.

I don't think Purigen is meant to help ammonia readings. But I wanted to ask if you have ever searched for false positive API ammonia readings. I have never had a chance to use that test kit myself as it is not sold here, but I remember coming across so many topics regarding people having false ammonia readings with API for 0.25.

You may like to search further on that one as there are lots of discussion have been going on. Those might be helpful

Cheers,

[nabokovfan87]

On 1/19/2023 at 11:21 PM, Beckybettas said:

No matter what I try my ammonia levels in 3 planted flex aquariums (two 15 G and a 32G) stay at .25, Is this harming my fish? I dont get ammonia spikes just a constant .25using API master test kit. Even when cycling I rarely had 0, mostly 0.25.

It very well could be a sign of chloramines in the water.  There's a few things that could be at play here, but please feel free to post pictures and break down how your filtration is setup.  Potentially we can add a little bit more ceramic media and that is all you need to do.

 

Please share test results of your tap water vs. your tank water as well.

[Katherine]

When I've gotten a borderline ammonia reading like that I've taken the lid off the tube and looked straight down into it. It makes the color much easier to 'read' when it's iffy on a 0 or not. Most of the time looking straight down into the tube it was obvious that it was actually a 0 reading. Give that a try and let us know if it changes your results.

[JettsPapa]

It's my understanding that 0.25 ppm is within the margin of error on the test.  As far as the 0.50 in your tap water, unless you're doing massive water changes (50%+) it's diluted by the existing tank water, so I wouldn't worry about it.  I don't believe adding any bottled products is necessary (other than something to neutralize chlorine, assuming you're on a municipal or other water system).

[MattyM]

Do you have live plants? A fast grower might gladly eat that up. 

I've cut and wedged a strip of this product in-between my sponge and tank wall (just rinse it first) for extra filtration - it will also change colors depending on what it's absorbing (I think it will turn a light green for ammonia):
https://www.amazon.com/Poly-Bio-Marine-APMPF-9_0200-POLYBIO-Poly-Filter/dp/B00025664C/

I think Purigen needs constant flow to work, whereas the above pad will just absorb stuff no matter what. 

[Beckybettas]

On 1/20/2023 at 12:50 AM, Ninjoma said:

My understanding is that this depends on your temperature and PH, but 0.25ppm probably isn't harmful using most parameters. Basically the API test kit is telling you the total amount of Amonia, NH3 (toxic) + NH4 (non-toxic), so you would have to use other parameters to determine what percentage of your Amonia is NH3 to know for sure. If you use this calculator

 https://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/FreeAmmonia.php 

and your NH3 concentration is below 0.05ppm, then it should not be harmful. This is the video I learned this from, for context. 

If you are worried about your current Amonia level, you can use seachem prime or fritz complete to "detoxify" the Amonia for 24ish hours at a time. It will still show up on the test, but it can't harm your fish. About 1 dose worth detoxifies about 1ppm Amonia. 

If you really want to try to lower your Amonia to 0, an Amonia absorbing pad, purigen, feeding less and gravel vaccing more might help. 

thanks for the calculater, that helps. At ph 7.4 and temp 78-79, it says my NH3 level is 0.06 ppm so I guess its borderline. I have noticed that my harlequin rasboras do seem more sensitive then my other fish. I had some overnighted to me, a couple were DOA (they were handled roughly during delivery- juggled actually) , but the others became lethargic, quit swimming and died off over several weeks. I bought some from LFS and Im seeing same behaviors, but if I do an extra waterchange with primed tap H20 or simply just add prime to their water they become active again and even start spawning. I havent lost any and its been months now. I gravel vac every 5-7 days, feed just once a day and food  disappears with in a minute. I am probably overfeeding in the 32 G as I just added kuhli loaches Im unsure about how much to feed them. I feed them at night before I go to work, so I dont get to see how much they are actually eating. The snails are eating a lot of their food. Im hoping the loaches will eventually get the snail population under controll. 

[Ninjoma]

On 1/21/2023 at 8:48 AM, Beckybettas said:

thanks for the calculater, that helps. At ph 7.4 and temp 78-79, it says my NH3 level is 0.06 ppm so I guess its borderline. I have noticed that my harlequin rasboras do seem more sensitive then my other fish. I had some overnighted to me, a couple were DOA (they were handled roughly during delivery- juggled actually) , but the others became lethargic, quit swimming and died off over several weeks. I bought some from LFS and Im seeing same behaviors, but if I do an extra waterchange with primed tap H20 or simply just add prime to their water they become active again and even start spawning. I havent lost any and its been months now. I gravel vac every 5-7 days, feed just once a day and food  disappears with in a minute. I am probably overfeeding in the 32 G as I just added kuhli loaches Im unsure about how much to feed them. I feed them at night before I go to work, so I dont get to see how much they are actually eating. The snails are eating a lot of their food. Im hoping the loaches will eventually get the snail population under controll. 

Hmm, that doesn't sound right to me. When I plugged in those numbers I got 0.0039. 0.25ppm Amonia shouldn't be very toxic. Anyways, best of luck with your tank! 

[Beckybettas]

On 1/20/2023 at 1:36 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

It very well could be a sign of chloramines in the water.  There's a few things that could be at play here, but please feel free to post pictures and break down how your filtration is setup.  Potentially we can add a little bit more ceramic media and that is all you need to do.

 

Please share test results of your tap water vs. your tank water as well.

I removed the built in filters and replaced them with sponge filters. My tap water has 0.5 ammonia and the aquariums are almost always 0.25 (rarely 0.5). Im having trouble posting pics

[AndEEss]

Adding more bacteria in a bottle isn’t going to do anything. The bacteria living on surfaces are already established, living and eating and reproducing there. Pouring more BB into the tank might actually contribute to your ammonia as most of those bacteria likely don’t survive, and then decompose. 

[Beckybettas]

On 1/21/2023 at 11:10 AM, AndEEss said:

Adding more bacteria in a bottle isn’t going to do anything. The bacteria living on surfaces are already established, living and eating and reproducing there. Pouring more BB into the tank might actually contribute to your ammonia as most of those bacteria likely don’t survive, and then decompose. 

Good point! Thankyou

[nabokovfan87]

On 1/21/2023 at 10:00 AM, Beckybettas said:

I removed the built in filters and replaced them with sponge filters. My tap water has 0.5 ammonia and the aquariums are almost always 0.25 (rarely 0.5). Im having trouble posting pics

Ammonia showing in the water like that could be a sign of chloramines before the water gets to you. Easiest way to handle that is to add a double dose of dechlorinator when you do water changes. (Some will specifically mention it on the bottle)

Up to 5x dose is often deemed as very safe for the tank. Higher doses (2-5x) are used when you run into issues or when you have something severe like a heavy metal issue in the water.

It will take time to cycle. You can dose in bacteria and then you can dose in dechlorinator once every 24 hours.