Ammonia test help please

[Stacey1990]

Hi everyone, this forum has been very helpful with my tropical questions so I'm hoping it's the same for salt water.
I'm cycling a fluval evo and having a bit of a nightmare when testing for ammonia. I've added dr tims one and only and Dr tims ammonia solution as per instructions.
I tested the water yesterday using the api salt water kit but my ammonia test turned light blue? I emailed api and the response was that my ammonia must be above 8ppm and will eventually turn green when my ammonia comes down.
I decided to order a salifert ammonia test just out of curiosity and have tested the water today. Problem is, my eyes are shocking lol, can anyone tell me what colour they think this is?
Thanks so much and I'm sure I'll be back with plenty of questions.

 

[Sgooosh]

Hi everyone, this forum has been very helpful with my tropical questions so I'm hoping it's the same for salt water.
I'm cycling a fluval evo and having a bit of a nightmare when testing for ammonia. I've added dr tims one and only and Dr tims ammonia solution as per instructions.
I tested the water yesterday using the api salt water kit but my ammonia test turned light blue? I emailed api and the response was that my ammonia must be above 8ppm and will eventually turn green when my ammonia comes down.
I decided to order a salifert ammonia test just out of curiosity and have tested the water today. Problem is, my eyes are shocking lol, can anyone tell me what colour they think this is?
Thanks so much and I'm sure I'll be back with plenty of questions.

0.25 mby

 

[Stacey1990]

Thanks for the reply, so why would the api test be off the chart? In not sure whether I should be adding more ammonia or it will be too much

 

[Sgooosh]

Thanks for the reply, so why would the api test be off the chart? In not sure whether I should be adding more ammonia or it will be too much

Photo of it

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Thanks for the reply, so why would the api test be off the chart? In not sure whether I should be adding more ammonia or it will be too much

Are you sure you did the test correctly? I would test again, and make sure you follow the instructions closely.

 

[Stacey1990]

I've repeated the test at least 4 times, left is normal tap water

 

[PheonixKingZ]

It’s extremely hard to tell colors, from a picture.

Is your tank water 0ppm ammonia? It looks pretty close...

 

[Stacey1990]

I dont know that's the problem, I'm cycling, the api help centre said ammonia must be above 8ppm for it to be turning blue but yet the salifert test is showing low ammonia, at least to my eyes.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

What is the expiration date on your ammonia test?

The only blue that is on the card, is the highest pH and the lowest Nitrite:

Are you sure you grabbed the ammonia liquid, and not the pH or Nitrite?

 

[Stacey1990]

I'm absolutely certain, like I said I've retested 4 times making sure I havnt made some mistake etc. I'll have to check in the morning but its a brand new test kit so can't see it being expired.
This was the response from api,


Thank you for that information. The reagent is precipitating the salt mix which gives the cloudiness and the blue color is extremely high ammonia beyond 8.0ppm.

We would recommend to continue testing and this blue should turn to green than to yellow once the bacteria is established.

 

[Stacey1990]

The thing is, if ammonia is above 8ppm I should be doing a water change. If the salifert test is correct, I should be adding more ammonia, so I'm at a loss lol

 

[PheonixKingZ]

I completely missed this was a saltwater question...

In that case: are you sure the SafeAlert is for saltwater? It may be malfunctioning, if it’s made for freshwater.

 

[Stacey1990]

It's the api salt water test kit

 

[PheonixKingZ]

The Salifert reading looks like 0.25ppm, but I can’t tell for sure.

Thank you for that information. The reagent is precipitating the salt mix which gives the cloudiness and the blue color is extremely high ammonia beyond 8.0ppm.

We would recommend to continue testing and this blue should turn to green than to yellow once the bacteria is established.

The test is most likely faulty. API test kits aren’t known for their precise accuracy.

I would trust the Salifert test over the API test.

 

[Stacey1990]

Ok thank you, I didn't expect them to be spot on the same but there's a huge difference between what I'm seeing. What a nightmare