Is There Ammonia In My Water?

[Tolak]

Prime is water conditioner, and works nearly instantly. Think about making a glass of chocolate milk or iced tea from a mix, as quick as the color changes with a stir is as quick as a water conditioner/dechlorinator works. It will work at any reasonable temperature, as far as boiling hot water that is an interesting question, one for me to look in to.

Most importantly it should remove chlorine and chloramine.

Any dechlorinator labeled as such should remove both chlorine and chloramine. Sodium thiosulfate, which is the most basic and cheap dechlorinator removes chlorine and splits the ammonia/chlorine bond in chloramine removing that chlorine as well. The problem there is that you are left with some level of ammonia, dependent upon the size of the water change as well as the level of chloramine added. Hydromethane sulfinate or a similar compound is added to you better dechlorinators to convert this ammonia to ammonium, which is harmless to fish at levels found in an aquarium.

Bottom line, without getting even more technical to someone new to all this is to use Prime as a dechlorinator/water conditioner.

 

[JBetta]

Alright thanks! I did my first 50% water change yesterday. I will keep doing this everyday for do you think 1 1/2 months? Also ever since I got my Betta (Tuesday last week) he has been frantically ramming up against the side of the tank and swimming up and down pushing his head on the glass like he is trying to escape and he doesn't flare at his reflection. Should I be worried about him? He is definitely not lazy though. He doesn't bite his tail or show any signs of stress beside pushing on all sides of the tank 90% of the day.

 

[bassbonediva]

It's probably due to the ammonia poisoning he's suffering. He is try to escape the pain. The water changes should help quite a bit.

There's no way to tell exactly how long it'll take your tank to cycle. That is why you need a test kit, so you can monitor your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate and know exactly when your tank is cycled and you can cut back on your water changes.

 

[JBetta]

It's probably due to the ammonia poisoning he's suffering. He is try to escape the pain. The water changes should help quite a bit.

There's no way to tell exactly how long it'll take your tank to cycle. That is why you need a test kit, so you can monitor your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate and know exactly when your tank is cycled and you can cut back on your water changes.

Alright thanks! So how long do you think he will keep doing that? It hurts me to see him in pain Is there anything else I can do for him? He is a pretty tiny boy since he is only 3.5 months, and he is in a five gallon tanks. About how long should it take? And how will I know when the cycle has started?

 

[KittyKat]

The cycle started the moment you added the fish to the tank. It normally takes 4-6 weeks, but can take 10 or more.. the only way to know for sure is to keep testing the water. Keep up the water changes and keep the feeding low, that is the only thing you can do now.

 

[JBetta]

The cycle started the moment you added the fish to the tank. It normally takes 4-6 weeks, but can take 10 or more.. the only way to know for sure is to keep testing the water. Keep up the water changes and keep the feeding low, that is the only thing you can do now.

Okay thanks everyone for the advice I will definitely do everything I can for my Betta. So when the cycle has started the ammonia levels should come up with zero?

 

[KittyKat]

In a 4 week cycle, ammonia will be at 0 after 2 weeks usually. At this point, your nitrites will be high which are as toxic as ammonia.

 

[JBetta]

In a 4 week cycle, ammonia will be at 0 after 2 weeks usually. At this point, your nitrites will be high which are as toxic as ammonia.

Thanks so much! My Betta has already started to show improvement. He has been swimming around and not slamming himself into the side of the tank and he's now flaring at his reflection (and everything else! haha). I really appreciate the help. I will update you guys and tell you how he is doing often.