Am I doing something wrong?

[koocmada]

Hi, I am new to the hobby.

I am using the api ammonia liquid test kit, and im wondering if i've been doing something wrong. I am reading a level of .25 to .5 in my tank which could be fine, its been running about 3 weeks. What concerns me is that I am reading a level of .5 to 1.0 in my reserve salt water I have mixing in a new bucket. I am using the dreaded tap water and stress coat before I adding the coralife salt mix to the bucket. The specific gravity in the bucket is 1.022, is there a reason why the ammonia level would be so high?

Also, I have tested the tap water after adding the stress coat and it was ammonia free.

[Kay Tickle]

I read about this a few days ago:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1931710&referrerid=243002

FYI, I have NO experience with mixing saltwater. I just remembered reading about the ammonia question and did a search. Maybe you could contact the people on that thread for more info. Hope that helps!

[Agu]

[welcome]

Since you're using tap water there is no way to diagnose the issue. Tap water has all kinds of natural and added elements that vary all over the world.

[koocmada]

Is it ok to add stress coat again after the salt is mixed in?