Hello Everyone,

I have mixed saltwater 2 times now from different sources.

The 2nd time I am using RO/DI water. The water has sat for almost 24 hours with a heater and powerhead running in the bucket.

Both times I have mixed water I have been doing tests on the water before doing a water change. Each time I have come up with pretty high readings of ammonia.

I have used 2 different tests one from API and one from Hagen both tests are saying around .6ppm.

A friend said sometimes the salt can cause this. I am using Kent salt to mix with.

My ammonia reading in my tank is 0 so I really hesitate to do a water change with water with high ammonia.

I have used different buckets both times in case there was something on the bucket. I also rinsed both buckets before use.

I am totally confused. Any ideas would be very welcomed!

I have been told to leave the water mixing for 48 hours and that would bring the ammonia down but I am not sure about that.

I spent a lot of money on my RO/DI filter

Thanks!

-John

Anyone have any ideas? I also tested the TDS of the pure RO/DI water and it was 0.

Should I buy new salt? Has this every happened to anyone?

Thanks!

-John

It is extremely unlikely that these readings are a result of the salt you are using. If you've used two different test kits then its probably not that either.Often TDS readings are misleading. It is most probably coming from the source ro/di water you are using. Aging the water will not remove ammonia.

Thanks for the reply Sam!

So if its coming from my tap water that I am running through my RO/DI filter then shouldnt the filter be removing the ammonia? I am a noob so I dont really know what I am talking about!

Is my filter not functioning properly? Is there anyway to get rid of the ammonia?

I have some Prime I could dose the water with but I wanted to just use pure water, thats why I spent all that money on the RO/DI filter.

I tested the TDS of the tap water alone and it was 18. The filter water was showing 0. And I just tested the salt water and it was showing 800 something.

Its been a week since my last water change and now I have a Clownfish and some snails that I really dont want to dose with a bunch of ammonia.

Any help is appreciated.

-John

Unfortunately I am not terribly knowledgeable on the inner workings of an RO/DI unit. However it would appear that your system is not functioning properly. Perhaps someone else can shed some light here? I wouldn't use the water under any circumstances and the use of Prime wouldn't change that. Sorry I can't help more.

have you tried testing the r/o water? most tests work with freshwater too but the instructions may be different.

No worries. Thank you for your help so far!

Anyone else? please!!

-John





I will make some more RO/DI water tomorrow and test it and let you know.

I made it all into salt water already so I have to make more to test just the pure water.

Since this is the first time I used the RO/DI unit maybe it was not fully broken in yet?

It said run for 15 minutes but maybe that wasnt long enough?

Thank you!

what brand of salt are you using? Its unfortunate but some brands DO result in high ammonia readings... it depends on the batch you get...

Check with your water utility and see if they use chloramines as a residual disinfectant. If so you will need a good 1 micron or less, preferrably a 0.6 micron Chlorine Guzzler carbon block and good fresh high quality mixed bed DI resin in a vertical DI filter. The carbon adsorbs the chlorine portion and the DI gets the ammonia which RO only is not very efficient at removing. They sell granular catalytic carbons for chloramines but they are not necessary at normal drinking water residuals or 2 mg/L or less with a good carbon block. I hate granular products in a RO/DI system as they can cause more harm than good with their short life and propensity to grind to dust fouling whatever is downstream.

Resonance is correct though, some salts do contain ammonia.

Ok Thanks!

I guess I should test the RO/DI water alone without any salt. I will do this today and let everyone know. Thanks!


-John

I am using Kent brand salt. Anyone have bad experiences with that?

I am also using the Aqua FX 4 stage RO/DI unit.

My RO/DI filter instructions told me to run 2 tanks to clear the chemicals used in filter construction. That was 8.8 gallons so it would mean run for about 20 hours and not use any of the water.

ok So I tested the water straight out of the RO/DI unit.

Ammonia was 0-.1

Thats much lower than the salted water.

Could it be the salt?
Tested salt water again and it was between .5 and 1 for ammonia!

I also researched and I think that Vancouver uses Chloramines sometimes. Since I am using RO and DI water I would think the ammonia would be totally gone?

I am running out of ideas...

I guess I am going to go get some different salt....