Api Ammonia

[Rorie]

Righty, i always struggle with this test! 0 is the figure we all want, but 0.25 is SO close in colour, and thats not the colour we want!

I really struggle to see the difference in colour! Is there away to get confirmation of this? I test nitrate and it IS 0, but i guess this does not mean ammonia is 0 too....

 

[Proxo]

Righty, i always struggle with this test! 0 is the figure we all want, but 0.25 is SO close in colour, and thats not the colour we want!

I really struggle to see the difference in colour! Is there away to get confirmation of this? I test nitrate and it IS 0, but i guess this does not mean ammonia is 0 too....

My 240L does the same (just got out of ammonia problems though), it's yellow but with a slight shade of green but not enough to make it 0.25?
My 90L however, is completely yellow..

Im not sure about it but i thought i'd post to let u know you're not the only one

 

[Rorie]

Righty, i always struggle with this test! 0 is the figure we all want, but 0.25 is SO close in colour, and thats not the colour we want!

I really struggle to see the difference in colour! Is there away to get confirmation of this? I test nitrate and it IS 0, but i guess this does not mean ammonia is 0 too....

My 240L does the same (just got out of ammonia problems though), it's yellow but with a slight shade of green but not enough to make it 0.25?
My 90L however, is completely yellow..

Im not sure about it but i thought i'd post to let u know you're not the only one

I know with the KH and GH you can double dose - i.e. use 10mm and every drop is 1/2 rather than a whole....but wont work in the same way for this as it would still show the same colour haha

 

[marieukxx]

I have the same problem. Someone here suggested filling a tube with bottled water and testing that and hold that against your tank water amonia test and you will see the difference. I haven't done that yet. But the colours are so similar I'm there for ages in all different lights trying to decide!

 

[SLIM]

With the API Nitrate test kit, u need to bang bottle 2 on a hard surface several times and shake really really well to get the correct result. As for the ammonia test kit I cant really help as mine always shows yellow

 

[fluttermoth]

With the API Nitrate test kit, u need to bang bottle 2 on a hard surface several times and shake really really well to get the correct result. As for the ammonia test kit I cant really help as mine always shows yellow

Umm...that's the nitrate test you need to do that with, not the ammonia one!

I have the same problem reading the API ammonia test. I'm thinking of getting a different one next time; maybe the Nutrafin one, as it goes from clear though to pink. It might be easier to see a trace of pink in a clear solution as opposed to a bit of green in yellow; who knows?!

 

[SLIM]

With the API Nitrate test kit, u need to bang bottle 2 on a hard surface several times and shake really really well to get the correct result. As for the ammonia test kit I cant really help as mine always shows yellow

Umm...that's the nitrate test you need to do that with, not the ammonia one!

I have the same problem reading the API ammonia test. I'm thinking of getting a different one next time; maybe the Nutrafin one, as it goes from clear though to pink. It might be easier to see a trace of pink in a clear solution as opposed to a bit of green in yellow; who knows?!

Yes i said nitrate. In the first post Rorie said their nitrate was reading zero which is impossible if the tank has gone through a cycle which suggests to me its not being tested right. Unless they meant nitrIte not nitrAte. Was just trying to help

If you have 0 Ammonia, the yellow is very obvious and cannot be mistaken for 0.25. The colour of the test tube should be compared to the card in natural daylight not artificial light.

 

[Rorie]

dont worry about it paulholman1980 - we know you, as we all are, just trying to help

I always get teh two mixed up. One is zero (the one that should be) and the other is about 40ppm. I made the mistake of not shaking the bottles hard enough right back at the begining which confused me a lot!

I was hoping that there was a simple answer - like there is another test kit which is better, or, nitrite wouldnt be zero if ammonia wasnt zero or what ever haha

 

[ATK!!!]

What was said about putting some more tank water infront of the chart in another glass is a good idea, this lets you get a more accurate result as the chart will then have the colour of the water? (say if your water is very slighty green in colour, you wouldn't be able to see this normally but when you hold it up to the chart it can make a difference)

Sorry if im not making any sense but I can't explain it very well!

 

[coldcazzie]

My thought on it is that if it's not REALLY yellow, then it's probably not 0. But on the other hand, these are home test kits we are talking about, there is going to be a certain amount of ambiguity and unreliability in the tests and the answers we get from them.

Is there anyone else who can do your water changes Rorie, or is it just you?

 

[StandbySetting]

Testing for ammonia is difficult, when the reagents are mixed with the tank water, the present ammonia is displaced and is held as a precipitate in the solution, ammonia precipitates are always green, there is always ammonia present in a tank in trace amounts, and this is why it is difficult to get a perfect 0 on the test kit.

 

[coldcazzie]

Yes there is never truely 0 ammonia in the tank. If there were the bacteria in the filter would die off. There may be 0.01 ppm, but it's so close to 0 that it reads as 0.

As I said, the test kits are necessarily inaccurate simply because they are home test kits. You can only use them as a guide.

For example. My local water report states that the tap ammonia in my area is 0.5ppm. But it reads from my test kits as 0. Nitrite is given as being 0.5 but this also tests at 0ppm. Nitrate is given as being 50ppm! Now bearing in mind my test reads it as 0ppm from the tap that's a huge discrepancy!

The kits can at best only give you a vague idea of the levels of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate in the tank, but for most people they are probably better than nothing: more reassuring than guessing what the levels are.

Basically, Rorie, I shouldn't worry too much about whether you can tell if the reading is 0, or sort of between 0 and 0.25, or sort of not sure. Stick with your daily water changes, as large as possible - that's all you can do. If there is someone else who can help you do them then maybe do 2 60% changes per day instead of one 80% change. But if not, don't sweat it. You're doing all you can.

Have you cut back on feeding to bare minimum?

 

[Essjay]

For example. My local water report states that the tap ammonia in my area is 0.5ppm. But it reads from my test kits as 0. Nitrite is given as being 0.5 but this also tests at 0ppm. Nitrate is given as being 50ppm! Now bearing in mind my test reads it as 0ppm from the tap that's a huge discrepancy!

Are you sure the report really does say that? Mine used to give a list of substances with the measured level in one column and the maximum allowed level in the next. Now they only give the max allowed levels. Is your water company doing what mine has just started, and only giving the max allowed levels on their website? That's what the figures you give are - the max allowed levels.


My water company also used to have a pdf with harness, pH and alkalinity listed for each town. That's gone too. Now it's just the hardness when you type in your postcode.

 

[coldcazzie]

For example. My local water report states that the tap ammonia in my area is 0.5ppm. But it reads from my test kits as 0. Nitrite is given as being 0.5 but this also tests at 0ppm. Nitrate is given as being 50ppm! Now bearing in mind my test reads it as 0ppm from the tap that's a huge discrepancy!

Are you sure the report really does say that? Mine used to give a list of substances with the measured level in one column and the maximum allowed level in the next. Now they only give the max allowed levels. Is your water company doing what mine has just started, and only giving the max allowed levels on their website? That's what the figures you give are - the max allowed levels.


My water company also used to have a pdf with harness, pH and alkalinity listed for each town. That's gone too. Now it's just the hardness when you type in your postcode.

You are right, I misread it. Those are the maximums. LOL what an idiot! I blame trying to read the report and type about it with a tired screaming baby on my knee!

However, it does give the number of tests done, the maximum readings, minimum readings and the means for each. I wonder why yours doesn't I did have to download the full report to be able to get those readings: the website only gives a few of them, and ammonia is not one of the ones listed on the site.

Ammonia - 52 tests
Min: 0.01, Max: 0.02, Mean: 0.0112

Nitrite - 8 tests
Min: 0.0052, Max: 0.0093, Mean: 0.0083

Nitrate - 8 tests
Min: 1.3305, Max: 2.6572, Mean: 1.9064

I don't feel nearly so bad about dosing 30ppm nitrate now can't find anything about phosphates though.

And, while my tests do now seem more accurate than I originally said they were, my point is still valid though. The test kits can't be very accurate because of their presentation and usage. Plastic bottles of reagent, used on water from a tank where all the environmental variables cannot possibly be allowed for and controlled, in a test tube that is probably still tainted from the last test. Plus there's human error when actaully doing the tests to take into account. I've miscounted drops so many times I can't remember. There's always going to be a certain amount of uncertainty.

 

[Rorie]

I never have ammonia issues, but adding 6 discus is obviously a good time to do my daily checks haha.

Doing large water changes each day, so hopefully the filter will catch up soon!