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	ammonia in tap water...
ontariobetta Enthusiast Posts: 227 Kudos: 243 Votes: 2 Registered: 17-Jul-2004	My tap water has about 1.0 ammonia in it, is this bad to be doing water changes with? Like will it affect my tank/fish? The LFS guy said i should buy some product to remove it, but I've been told that they don't work/arn't good. Is this true? I use Prime by Seachem to remove chlorine, it says it removes ammonia but i havn't seen any changes. I hate my tap water] ashley
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:19
Alucard Small Fry Posts: 10 Kudos: 15 Votes: 1 Registered: 27-Aug-2004	Should be okay as long as you dont do large water changes . Stick to a maximum of 25-30 % . The bacteria will consume the ammonia rather quickly I Suppose your tank is cycled right? I wouldnt worry about it
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:19
DoctorJ Big Fish Posts: 344 Kudos: 1159 Votes: 191 Registered: 13-May-2003	Is it possible that your tap water is treated with chloramine. If so, Prime neutralizes the chlorine and binds with the ammonia. So, it's there, but it's in a non-toxic form. The problem is that most test kits will give a positive ammonia reading, even if the ammonia is neutralized by the Prime. Seachem has a good FAQ on Prime that explains this: http://www.seachem.com/support/FAQs/Prime_faq.html.
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:19
garyroland ---Prime Fish--- Posts: 7878 Kudos: 4010 Votes: 103 Registered: 31-Dec-2001	"Chloramine" is a combination of ammonia and chlorine... A very tiny amount of ammonia is added at the water treatment department if, after testing, the department determines the bacteria count is a little too high. Ammonia should not be testable in tap water by the time it reaches the customer. Try a different method of testing. I believe yours is not accurate. --garyroland. [span class="edited"][Edited by garyroland 2004-09-02 13:16][/span]
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:19
DoctorJ Big Fish Posts: 344 Kudos: 1159 Votes: 191 Registered: 13-May-2003	Here, they treat with chloramine and I get a very faint positive for ammonia when I use Prime and a normal test kit (but well below 1 ppm). It is detectable, but not at very high levels. I agree with garyroland that you might want to get a different test and verify your results.
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:19
ontariobetta Enthusiast Posts: 227 Kudos: 243 Votes: 2 Registered: 17-Jul-2004	ok thanks, i'll try another tester. But the one i use (by aquarium pharmicuticles) gives accurate tests to my tanks... My tap water is treated with chloramine, along with a bunch of other bad junk. I live in a small town and we have really bad water. thanks! ashley
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:19
garyroland ---Prime Fish--- Posts: 7878 Kudos: 4010 Votes: 103 Registered: 31-Dec-2001	Call the water treatment plant and ask what ingredients are added to the water... Ask them if they have a large bacteria count in the pre-treated water. --garyroland. [span class="edited"][Edited by garyroland 2004-09-03 09:14][/span]
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:19
ontariobetta Enthusiast Posts: 227 Kudos: 243 Votes: 2 Registered: 17-Jul-2004	ok i'll do that. thanks a bunch! ashley
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:19
Gomer Ultimate Fish Guru Small Fry with BBQ Sauce Posts: 3602 Kudos: 1709 Votes: 106 Registered: 29-Mar-2002	Let a sample of tap water sit overnight, and then test the ammonia levels. -- Gomer
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:19
trystianity Mega Fish Posts: 1028 Kudos: 926 Votes: 49 Registered: 20-Mar-2004	If in fact the ammonia is 1.0 ppm out of the tap, would it be advisable to dose some NIC with every water change just to be safe?
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:19
DoctorJ Big Fish Posts: 344 Kudos: 1159 Votes: 191 Registered: 13-May-2003	I don't use NIC, but if I recall, it says on the label to use it with every water change.
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:19


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