# Ammonia Issue.



## G-Wiz (May 28, 2014)

I recently just switched from a 90g to a 225g tank. I took the filter from the old tank which is a 2217 and put it on the new tank along with a new eheim 2260. I only put 140 gallons into the tank at this point. I picked up on ammonia in the tank through testing. Come to find out it is in the tap water. I did add ammo lock. I also used prime to condition the water originally. The fish seem to be fine and more active than ever. I can't do a water change because of the ammonia issue. What should I do?. There are only 12 fish in the tank.


----------



## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

What are the ammonia readings in your tank? From the tap?

Is the ammonia in the tap water a temporary problem or permanent?

Short-term you could get your water from another source.


----------



## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

I believe Prime will render the ammonia non toxic, but it will still show up in your readings.


----------



## G-Wiz (May 28, 2014)

The ammonia from the tap is somewhere between.25 to .50 ppm. I am not sure the water company changed anything. I never had this issue before. I never added this much water recently either so I never had any ammonia readings previously.


----------



## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

The beneficial bacteria in your tank should take care of .25ppm pretty quick...what is the result from your tank?


----------



## LeeAberdeen (Sep 4, 2014)

My water's exactly the same, up to 0.5 ammonia from the tap. It's not a problem, so no need to stop water changes. If you just use Prime, it'll take care of it and, as mentioned above, will render it non-toxic but usable by your beneficial bacteria, although it can show up on tests. Just add it as soon as the new water's going in, one capful per 200 litres. My water reads zero ammonia doing it that way, and my fish are now breeding, so there's no compromise on water quality.


----------



## firefighter5 (Nov 25, 2014)

The ammonia in your tap is actually ammonium.Your water treatment plant turns ammonia into ammonium which is harmless to you and fish.. It still will show up on a ammonia test kit though..Dont worry about it at all as this is fairly common.


----------



## LeeAberdeen (Sep 4, 2014)

firefighter5 said:


> The ammonia in your tap is actually ammonium.Your water treatment plant turns ammonia into ammonium which is harmless to you and fish.. It still will show up on a ammonia test kit though..Dont worry about it at all as this is fairly common.


If the reading is from chloramines, it needs removing and isn't "harmless" at all. It's harmless to humans, but not to fish. About 20 per cent of Americans have them added to their water, and it's ammonia, not ammonium, which is added to chlorine as a disinfectant. You'll need to use Prime or something similar to get rid of them, or you could use a HMA filter if you feel that's better. Either way, don't follow the advice that it's "harmless", because it isn't. Other than killing all your fish though, great advice...

The US Environmental Protection Agency's advice says:

"Chlorine and monochloramine must be neutralized or removed if used in aquariums.
•
Chlorine and monochloramine can be harmful to fish because they directly enter their bloodstream through the gills.
•
Chlorine and monochloramine can also prevent the growth of beneficial bacteria that are necessary for healthy fish tanks.
•
Chlorinated and chloraminated water can be safely used in aquariums by using products readily available from aquarium supply stores."


----------



## firefighter5 (Nov 25, 2014)

LeeAberdeen said:


> firefighter5 said:
> 
> 
> > The ammonia in your tap is actually ammonium.Your water treatment plant turns ammonia into ammonium which is harmless to you and fish.. It still will show up on a ammonia test kit though..Dont worry about it at all as this is fairly common.
> ...


point was ammonium is quite common in public water supplies.
Still needs to be treated for chloramines.Ammonium is not as reactive or harmful as ammonia.
My point was more so to point out the positive ammonia test is actually in all probability ammonium.Much less harful than ammonia.


----------



## RobsFishTank (Nov 11, 2014)

firefighter5 said:


> LeeAberdeen said:
> 
> 
> > firefighter5 said:
> ...


How is that done safely?


----------



## G-Wiz (May 28, 2014)

Thanks for all the replies guys. Sorry I didn't reply sooner, been so busy with work.Everything seems to be fine now with the tank and the advice has been spot on as usual from this site. Thanks again.


----------



## G-Wiz (May 28, 2014)

Well today I checked my water parameters and the ammonia was 2.0ppm. nitrites 0 nitrates seem to be going up to 30ppm. The water turned a little cloudy also. The fish seem fine and are very active. Any ideas what is going on.


----------



## G-Wiz (May 28, 2014)

I also spoke to Seachem today and they advised to add more Prime to the tank. I added the recommended double dose that they had said to do.


----------



## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Increase the surface agitation when double dosing the Prime, it will help. Just point the spraybar or output of the filters to ripple the water surface briskly.


----------



## G-Wiz (May 28, 2014)

Thanks Dee. I did that .


----------

