New member/aging water question

[Hopper]

I have a 125 gal community freshwater aquarium which includes 2 discus and a angelfish. I was using a 36 gallon bow front to store my r/o water until I tested it one day out of curiosity. The result was an ammonia level at 4ppm. Is there something I should be doing something different to store it? Have an airstream and heater set to 80 degrees.

 

[Colin_T]

If the tank is clean there shouldn't be any ammonia.
Has the tank and filter been cleaned?
Is there anything dead in the tank?
Have you checked the r/o water for ammonia?
Have you changed the r/o filters lately?

I used to hold tap water in a spare tank with an undergravel filter and gravel. I added dechlorinator and mineral salts to make up the GH to what I required.

A bare tank or filter tank is fine for water holding. At the shop we held r/o water in a 200 litre plastic wine barrel.

 

[StevenF]

Ammonia can exist as a gas or as an ammonia salt. If it is gas RO probably will not block it. I just did a google search and yet that is indeed the case:



If your utility is using Chloramine this could be a significant issue. In the video they also looked at carbon and DI cartridges. They found DI cartridges worked the best but you might need a special DI reason insead of the general purpose DI resin.

There is an additional issue that could make the problem worse and that is, What do you do with the excess water in the storage tank after a water change. If you do the water change on your tank and then refill from your tank with the RO water from your storage tank and then refill the storage tank with new DI water, The ammonia level will increase. it is best to remove and discard any excess RO water from your storage tank after a water change.

I did a OES-ICP lab test on my RO water in the storage tank and found if had 2ppm Boron. RO systems have a hard time removing Boron. Further test showed my tap water has a little bi of boron in it (0.002ppm at the time I measured it). I now routinely discard any excess water from my storage tank after a water change. Evaporation in the storage tank combined with never discarding excess probably caused the high level. 0.002 of boron is not an issue. But 2ppm is. in fact I added some shrimp shortly before I noticed this and did it the same way i had done it many times before. And I had an unusual die off of that one batch of shrimp in my tank.

I have never noticed any ammonia issues in my tank but tot be honest after years of my tank being in use with ammonia always reading zero, so I often don't check it.

 

[Hopper]

If the tank is clean there shouldn't be any ammonia.
Has the tank and filter been cleaned?
Is there anything dead in the tank?
Have you checked the r/o water for ammonia?
Have you changed the r/o filters lately?

I used to hold tap water in a spare tank with an undergravel filter and gravel. I added dechlorinator and mineral salts to make up the GH to what I required.

A bare tank or filter tank is fine for water holding. At the shop we held r/o water in a 200 litre plastic wine barrel.

Checked ro and tap for ammonia. Nothing in tank. Washed with weak bleach and water mixture and dried with towel and air dried another 24. Would just sun light cause this? Heater set at 80 for transfer to main tank.

 

[Hopper]

Ammonia can exist as a gas or as an ammonia salt. If it is gas RO probably will not block it. I just did a google search and yet that is indeed the case:



If your utility is using Chloramine this could be a significant issue. In the video they also looked at carbon and DI cartridges. They found DI cartridges worked the best but you might need a special DI reason insead of the general purpose DI resin.

There is an additional issue that could make the problem worse and that is, What do you do with the excess water in the storage tank after a water change. If you do the water change on your tank and then refill from your tank with the RO water from your storage tank and then refill the storage tank with new DI water, The ammonia level will increase. it is best to remove and discard any excess RO water from your storage tank after a water change.

I did a OES-ICP lab test on my RO water in the storage tank and found if had 2ppm Boron. RO systems have a hard time removing Boron. Further test showed my tap water has a little bi of boron in it (0.002ppm at the time I measured it). I now routinely discard any excess water from my storage tank after a water change. Evaporation in the storage tank combined with never discarding excess probably caused the high level. 0.002 of boron is not an issue. But 2ppm is. in fact I added some shrimp shortly before I noticed this and did it the same way i had done it many times before. And I had an unusual die off of that one batch of shrimp in my tank.

I have never noticed any ammonia issues in my tank but tot be honest after years of my tank being in use with ammonia always reading zero, so I often don't check it.

It is time for a di filter change. I usually leave a gallon or two in holding tank. If ammonia can be a gas the holding aquarium is in the same room with my pet rabbit. His urine smells I have to change his litter box daily. ??? Just guessing.

 

[StevenF]

It is time for a di filter change. I usually leave a gallon or two in holding tank. If ammonia can be a gas the holding aquarium is in the same room with my pet rabbit. His urine smells I have to change his litter box daily. ??? Just guessing.

I don't know. But Ammonia does bound with water so if there is ammonia in the air the water could absorb it. But I cannot see how you can get the water to 4ppm from the air. But I have never faced this situation so I don't have any experience to guide me.