What ammonia level is critical?

[puks]

Hi guys,

I know that ammonia level must be 0. But actually Salifert Ammonia Aquarium Test Kit gives us possibility to measure <0.25 and the next is 0.25, 0.5 etc.

It means that
- we notice Ammonia when its level has already reached 0.25 and who knows how long it was 0.2 for example
- The test is not very useful if we use only 10% of its range

Therefore I'd like to understand
- at which level Ammonia its high and critical for a main tank
- at which level Ammonia its high and critical for a quarantine tank


Thanks

[brandon429]

Any free unoxidized ammonia is harmful. Humans with kidney failure can tolerate elevated bun levels initially as well but that doesn't mean there isn't damage that must be healed, so whether or not you are from the camp that .25 is no big deal, or anything higher than zero is a big deal, its not debatable whether or not free ammonia in our reef water is harmful at the cellular level to higher animals adapted to converting it rapidly and excreting it fully as a core biological system.


Different animals have different max tolerances, the question is how much harm do you want to do.

I like to play devils advocate in threads that claim to have registered ammonia levels where no animal death exists and the rocks show signs of being fully cycled. Exposing test errors by looking for clues and details that show there really wasnt any ammonia in established tanks, or that ammonia was present due to using a dead shrimp when one was never needed, is the second most fun venture one can take in this forum.

[billsreef]

Instead of going with guesswork, here's (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-02/rhf/) some solid information on the subject of ammonia and ammonium.

[brandon429]

Regarding today's common reef ammonia tests, I wonder how many of them show the .1 figure Randy suggested. And if we compared three of the common kits at the same time, what the range would be...Seems like a safe bet is allowing none.

I wonder if there are digital ammonia tests for reefing purposes that would be nice to see vs color charts as the norm. Its nice to know that without fish death, unreasonable organic stores or source water concerns in a mature tank you won't have a problem

[billsreef]

YSI does have ammonia/ammonium (http://www.ysi.com/accessoriesdetail.php?6882-6883-6884-Nutrient-Ion-Selective-Electrode-Sensors-6-Series-96) probes as options for some of their meters.

[bertoni]

The SeaChem test, I believe, goes down to 0.10 ppm, according to the instructions, anyway.

[tmz]

Puks, your question:Therefore I'd like to understand
- at which level Ammonia its high and critical for a main tank
- at which level Ammonia its high and critical for a quarantine tank

These excerpts from the cited article by Randy Farley respond to those questions:

acutely lethal to fish (..... 1.3 to 50 ppm total NH₄-N at pH 8.2),



because some organisms in a reef aquarium may be more sensitive than the few organisms that have been carefully studied, it is prudent to err on the side of caution when deciding what concentrations of ammonia to allow in a reef aquarium or related system. My suggestion is to take some sort of corrective action if the total ammonia rises above 0.1 ppm. This suggestion is also made by Stephen Spotte in his authoritative text, Captive Seawater Fishes.⁶ Values in excess of 0.25 ppm total ammonia may require immediate treatment,...

The article has a good deal more useful information.For example toxcity inccreases at higher pH and decreases at lower pH.

There's no difference between a quarantine tank and a display tank in terms of potentially damaging levels.
If you don't have cycled tank available for quarantine; it's best to wait until you do before acquiring fish.
Alternatiely , qt and prentative treatment for cyrptocaryn irritans can be accomplished in uncyled tanks used in tank transfer method where the fish is moved to new water every 3 days for atotal of 4 transfers. Ammonia just doesn't buildup that quickly in clean new salt water aerated overnight ,ime, and a little detoxifier added on the second day provides a nice safety just in case. Then the fish can be moved to a cycled tank for longer observation if desired or to a tretment tank for other maladies if necessary.