Ammonia In Water!

[GRJ]

Hi again, i am cycling my tank with fish very carefully and someone told me to test my tap water. I am 10 days into my cycle with five platys. My water parameters have been Ammonia 0.5 Nitrite 0.25 Nitrate 20 fairly constantly. I have been doing 20% water changes daily and i am about to up that to 2 20%water changes daily. My PH in the tank is somwhere between 7.8 and 8. After testing my tap water i got the following results. Ammonia changed colour slightly in the test tube, not as high as 0.25 but not negative, nitrite was 0 and nitrate was 20. Does anybody know whats going on and why i get a slight amonia reading in my tap water? Do i have pee pee in my tap water? GRJ

 

[ArauraDiscus]

Hmm the more acidic your water, the less toxic ammonia becomes. If this is a freshwater fish tank and doesn't have a lot of livebearers or african fish, consider first bringing the ph down. Second, the tank should cycle unless you keep removing and cleaning filter media, or have a faulty test kit.

 

[GRJ]

Hmm the more acidic your water, the less toxic ammonia becomes. If this is a freshwater fish and doesn't have a lot of livebearers or african fish, consider first bringing the ph down. Second, the tank should cycle unless you keep removing and cleaning filter media, or have a faulty test kit.

I cleaned the filter out in water from the tank 10 days ago before adding fish after the tank had been running for one week. I have five platys in the tank and its a 108ltr tank. How should i bring the ph down? GRJ

 

[rdd1952]

I wouldn't worry about the pH. Most fish can easily adapt to a pH that is stable even if it isn't the optimum one. Stable is the key word. When you start trying to adjust pH, you can cause major problems. What is the pH of your tap water?

It's not a big deal to have a slight amount of ammonia in your tap water The bacteria will easily handle it after a water cange once the tank is cycled.

 

[ArauraDiscus]

As Rdd said, bringing the ph down fast can cause problems, but I feel a very slow and gradual lowering wouldn't be a problem, hopefully he can agree to that. . One way is a sodium Biosulfate compound which is sold as a ph reducer. Adding very small amounts once a day will help lower the ph over time, causing little top no stress at all to the fish, and the next time you have a small ammonia spike, having a lower ph, it could be slightly less toxic and less stressful to the fish. But for this spike, rdd has the idea.

 

[TylerFerretLord]

Hmm the more acidic your water, the less toxic ammonia becomes. If this is a freshwater fish and doesn't have a lot of livebearers or african fish, consider first bringing the ph down. Second, the tank should cycle unless you keep removing and cleaning filter media, or have a faulty test kit.

Lucky me, then. My ph is 6.6.

 

[rdd1952]

As Rdd said, bringing the ph down fast can cause problems, but I feel a very slow and gradual lowering wouldn't be a problem, hopefully he can agree to that. . One way is a sodium Biosulfate compound which is sold as a ph reducer. Adding very small amounts once a day will help lower the ph over time, causing little top no stress at all to the fish, and the next time you have a small ammonia spike, having a lower ph, it could be slightly less toxic and less stressful to the fish. But for this spike, rdd has the idea.

Actually, I don't think you should ever try to raise or lower the pH. It is extremely difficult to do AND then maintain it at a stable pH. Most all fish can easily adapt to a pH that is outside their optimal range but have major problems when it begins to fluctuate. The only way I would ever attempt to adjust the pH is with natural means, either by adding driftwood to the tank or peat to the filter to lower it or by adding crushed coral or tufa rock to raise it. That is why it is o important to try to keep fish that are a good fit for your water rather than trying to adjust your water to fit the fish.

It is also much easier to raise the pH than it is to lower it, especially if your tap water has a high buffering capacity.