View Full Version : Newly made saltwater has ammonia?
Hello
I've always mixed salt before without any problems. However, I am cycling my new tank and after plenty of water changes and the ammonia still reading at 0.50 I decided to test the saltwater I was making.
Now, it tests out at 0.25!
The RO/DI water tests at 0.00
What gives? Is it the salt I am using?
I just bought it about 2 weeks ago, a whole bucket from marinedepot and its the H2Ocean plus.
Dapg8gt
07/11/2012, 12:51 PM
What brand test and is the date good. I know I have gotten different readings on tests from brand to brand.
ReachTheSky
07/11/2012, 01:03 PM
It's not uncommon for ammonia to sneak it's way into new saltwater or RO/DI water. The stuff is everywhere and small traces of it are nothing to worry about.
reeflovin
07/11/2012, 03:41 PM
Yes, freshly mixed saltwater may have ammonia. Adding saltwater mix with 0.25 isn't going to hurt your fish once the tank is established , as long as you're doing 25% or less WC
Im skeptical, I have never heard of ammonia being safe at any number
disc1
07/11/2012, 08:08 PM
Im skeptical, I have never heard of ammonia being safe at any number
Its not. The point is that a cycled tank will have absolutely no trouble converting that small amount of ammonia rather quickly.
I understand that part, but my question is not whether or not a cycled tank can take it...
Isn't putting ammonia into an un-cycled tank bad? I just started this new pico tank, and this has never happened to me before. I thought that newly made freshwater has to be perfect. Always.
Thisseemsfishy
07/11/2012, 09:21 PM
It does need to be perfect, especially in a small tank uncycled tank.
Okay, so could it be my container that is causing the ammonia? It's brand new.. the orange homer paint bucket from home depot. I'm mixing the stuff for more than 36 hours with a maxi jet before doing water changes.
Thisseemsfishy
07/11/2012, 09:49 PM
Okay, so could it be my container that is causing the ammonia? It's brand new.. the orange homer paint bucket from home depot. I'm mixing the stuff for more than 36 hours with a maxi jet before doing water changes.
Did you rinse the bucket?
Honestly, probably not the cause. Are the RO/DI filters new?
Dapg8gt
07/11/2012, 09:57 PM
Okay, so could it be my container that is causing the ammonia? It's brand new.. the orange homer paint bucket from home depot. I'm mixing the stuff for more than 36 hours with a maxi jet before doing water changes.
To rule out all possibilities I would not use the orange buckets. They have white food grade 5 gal at the depot in the same section. I have Heard that normal buckets will leech into water and cause not so good things. I just bought a white one there it says right on it food grade. Like $1 more. I don't know how it would cause ammonia but it's worth a try.
I just tested my mix for poops and giggles reading this and have zero ammonia. It is in a 55 gal grey brute about two weeks old. I use RO/DI and salinity salt. I agree w/no ammonia in newly mixed water especially in a pico you don't really have any room for error.
Before I have used the orange buckets but I purchased a new one to start this fresh.
The RO/DI water is just store bought or from the LFS. I don't have a unit hooked up nor will I get one because its not necessary for a 4 gallon. But again, the RO/DI is testing at undetectable ammonia levels.
Good thing I have no livestock in here yet!
disc1
07/11/2012, 11:17 PM
I understand that part, but my question is not whether or not a cycled tank can take it...
Isn't putting ammonia into an un-cycled tank bad? I just started this new pico tank, and this has never happened to me before. I thought that newly made freshwater has to be perfect. Always.
A cycled tank can definitely take it.
An uncycled tank needs ammonia to get the nitrogen cycle kicked off. That's why we put the dead shrimp or flake food in, to help create the ammonia. Some people even dump in liquid ammonia (surfactant free always) to their tanks to kick off the cycle.
If the tank hasn't cycled, then you shouldn't have anything in there that would possibly be hurt by ammonia. You should wait until your tank can handle the nitrogen cycle before you are putting in any livestock.
disc1
07/11/2012, 11:21 PM
You're barking up the wrong tree looking at the bucket or the RODI. The ammonia is a contaminant in the salt. It's not uncommon. It is a byproduct of the production process on some of the salts that are in there.
There is absolutely no need to worry. A cycled tank can take it.
bertoni
07/12/2012, 12:36 AM
Adding some ammonia to a tank while it's cycling might kill a few more animals in the live rock, but it's likely not critical at the levels you're reporting. I'd just wait, at this point.
reeflovin
07/12/2012, 02:36 PM
I understand that part, but my question is not whether or not a cycled tank can take it...
Isn't putting ammonia into an un-cycled tank bad? I just started this new pico tank, and this has never happened to me before. I thought that newly made freshwater has to be perfect. Always.
It's not bad to put ammonia into an uncycled tank. That's the point of cycling -- to build up the population of bacteria that feed on ammonia. If there were no ammonia in there it'd take a lot longer to build up that population to levels that would support fish life.
I see. But I want to have perfect water for water changes in the future =|
I went to my LFS (World wide corals) and they told me that a possibility of my ammonia is that I am mixing my water for too long. They said that twenty minutes was plenty.
disc1
07/12/2012, 06:36 PM
I see. But I want to have perfect water for water changes in the future =|
I went to my LFS (World wide corals) and they told me that a possibility of my ammonia is that I am mixing my water for too long. They said that twenty minutes was plenty.
That's a crock. The ammonia is a very common contaminant in salt mix. No matter how long you mix it will be there until the bacteria have a chance to clear it out.
If you have a few fish, you are already putting way more ammonia into your tank every day through the waste from the fish than you are with a water change. Don't worry. It's OK.
bertoni
07/13/2012, 02:24 AM
I agree that the ammonia content of saltwater is unlikely to rise due to mixing. That'd be possible only if there were a significant amount of protein contaminating the salt mix.
Ok, thank you guys.
So that ammonia is nothing to worry about, everyone's new saltwater has it and it clears away when placed in the tank.
bertoni
07/13/2012, 11:00 AM
Yes, that's about the sum of it. :)
Never knew that.
So just to wait it out now.
Tank just tested at zero ammonia.
Woop :D
bertoni
07/14/2012, 01:13 AM
Congratulations! :)
acbaro
07/14/2012, 05:17 AM
GREAT! Here I am doing WC's every other day to get rid of my .025ppm ammonia and it's my own fault cause the new SW?
Not trying tO thread jack!
Could it also be the possibility of me stirring my sand up when I re-aquascaped so I can get rid of the diatoms in my sand. I also used a 2 part putty called aquascape, I dont know if that could be a reason for the ammonia also. It's been a bout a week since the aquascape and I've pretty much done a WC every other day of the week. About 15% of a 30 for WC! Tank is about 4 months! And it took 2 weeks to cycle!
disc1
07/14/2012, 08:22 AM
GREAT! Here I am doing WC's every other day to get rid of my .025ppm ammonia and it's my own fault cause the new SW?
Not trying tO thread jack!
Could it also be the possibility of me stirring my sand up when I re-aquascaped so I can get rid of the diatoms in my sand. I also used a 2 part putty called aquascape, I dont know if that could be a reason for the ammonia also. It's been a bout a week since the aquascape and I've pretty much done a WC every other day of the week. About 15% of a 30 for WC! Tank is about 4 months! And it took 2 weeks to cycle!
Thatittle ammonia should disappear really fast when you do your water changes. If it isn't then your nitrogen cycle isn't up to speed yet. Changing in 15% at 0.25ppm should leave you with at most less than 0.05ppm in the tank after the dilution.
acbaro
07/14/2012, 06:32 PM
I don't understand though, when I do my water test with my API saltwater kit it turns out a light green showing it's still at 0-.25ppm. Its like it wont go down. I've definitely cut way back on the feeding.. Should i stop the WC for a few days and see what happens?
naterealbig
07/14/2012, 08:52 PM
When the API test kits get old, they always show ammonia. If your fish and corals are happy, there is an acceptable amount of ammonia, which disc01 has said enough times to be annoying.
Fish and corals are producing ammonia directly and indirectly 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so some amount of ammonia is completely normal at any given time.
Lastly, if your test is reading 0-.25 ppm, then it could be 0 or it could be .25, or it could be anywhere in between. Again, if the fish and corals are OK, stop chasing. Trying to fix the problem that isn't there is likely causing more problems.
Just think of it like this...
Little janitors in your water will destroy that ammonia once they see it. My tank tested at Zero with API after 2 weeks without any livestock.
Further proof is that none of my invertebrates have died - Snails, hermits, pom pom crab, and a few zoas and ricordeas.
Still testing at zero, with API. Although my new salt water still tests at 0.25
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