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09/21/2011, 05:15 PM
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#1 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Boulder, Colorado, USA
Posts: 117
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Do my Reef Crystals have ammonia or is it my test kit?
I've been having trouble with small ammonia spikes in my tank for the last couple of weeks. The ammonia will spike up to .25 ppm with no warning, hover at around .10 for a day or two, and then drop to 0. I never see a measurable nitrite or nitrate spike afterwards.
I initially thought it was because of a dead snail, but removing said snail didn't make much difference. I've been doing some research about what could be causing this, and I came across a page that said that contaminated RO or salt mix could cause ammonia problems. When I started thinking about it, I realized that the ammonia was always spiking a day or two after water changes. To figure out if that could be my problem, I tested some RO water - 0 ppm. I then went on to add a fingerful of Reef Crystals to the test vial. To my surprise, the color almost immediately turned light green - .50 ppm. What's going on here? Could my test kit be expired or does my salt really have that much ammonia in it? Other tank parameters - Nitrite: 0 ppm Nitrate: about 20 ppm (can't seem to get it down) pH: 8.2 SG: 1.025 Temperature: 78 F The current inhabitants of the tank are two mushrooms, two hermit crabs, one snail, and a 15-polyp zoa colony. All of them seem to be doing great; they certainly don't act like there's ammonia in the water. The tank was set up in late August and was finished cycling by the 5th of this month. I'm using an API SW test kit that I bought in August. Thanks for your help!
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-Mame "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Give a man a reef aquarium, and he'll starve from staring at it for too long." Current Tank Info: 3g JBJ pico, started August 24th, 2011 |
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09/21/2011, 05:43 PM
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#2 |
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-RT * ln(k)
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Little Rock
Posts: 9,705
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Try testing some freshly made up salt water.
Ammonia is a common contaminant in the process of making some of the salts that go into the salt mix. It is not uncommon to see some ammonia in freshly mixed salt water. A properly cycled tank should be able to knock it out in no time as long as you're not doing 100% water changes or something.
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David Current Tank: Undergoing reconstruction... |
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09/21/2011, 08:10 PM
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#3 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 18
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Yes, freshly mixed Reef Crystal saltwater will register ammonia. I was surpised as well. An established tank will reduce the ammonia in little time.
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09/21/2011, 09:57 PM
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#4 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Boulder, Colorado, USA
Posts: 117
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Well, I'm glad to hear that this is a normal occurrence. What can I do to reduce the ammonia in the fresh saltwater? Since I know it won't get over .25, should I just not worry about it?
__________________
-Mame "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Give a man a reef aquarium, and he'll starve from staring at it for too long." Current Tank Info: 3g JBJ pico, started August 24th, 2011 |
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09/22/2011, 01:24 AM
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#5 |
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Moved On
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 28
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another thread recommends using Red Sea Pro salt.. i noticed problems after every water change but since i trust my RO i never tested anything other than SG... woops, i thought popular brands would be failsafe.. i figured something might be wrong with the salt when i realized my tank does better with less frequent water changes
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| ammonia, reef crystals, salt mix |
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