How to get rid of "ammonium" in reef tank

[DrJared]

Hi everyone i just had a quick question about getting rid of ammonium in my reef tank. My tank looks very healthy, corals and fish are thriving very well. When I test my water with API NH3/NH4 test kit, I receive reading of .25ppm. This has been constant for 3 weeks now. I have my LFS test "ammonia" levels and they come back 0 every time. Nitrites and Nitrates are always 0.

 

 

This is why I believe my API test kit is reading traces of ammonium NH4 vs ammonia NH3. Any ideas on how to get rid of this? I know ammonium isn't as harmful as ammonia but PH fluctuations can be detrimental in reversing NH4 back to NH3.

 

I do dose, Seachem pristine during every water change. Water changes every week ~ 20 percent.

 

 

Tank Specs:

 

-10 gallon tank, 5 months old.

-aqua clear 50 for filtration

-100 ml purigen

- Turbo twist UV sterilizer used sporadically

- 8lbs live rock

- 1 hammer coral, 1 small rock covered in zoas.

-1orange ocellaris, 1 black ocellaris ( juvenile) , 1 cleaner shrimp

- mixture of 10 snails for clean up crew.

 

Thanks everyone!

 

Ive attached zoas for fun.

 

 

 

[GunslingerGirl]

This is a common issue with API tests. If you search for API Ammonia 0.25 you'll find dozens of tests that do this. If your LFS consistently says 0 with other tests like Salifert and the like.... you are fine.

 

If everybody is happy and nothing seems broke... don't overhaul the system.

[burtbollinger]

my tank consistently reading at that level w/ red sea test kits...went to a few LFS to test, always came back 0.

[seabass]

This is why I believe my API test kit is reading traces of ammonium NH4 vs ammonia NH3. Any ideas on how to get rid of this?

The API ammonia kit (like many other kits) tests for total ammonia. The higher the pH level, the more free ammonia will be present.

 

I agree, your kit is picking up trace amounts. This isn't entirely unusual in newer aquariums. However, I would expect that after 5 months, that the biofilter would be more established. You mentioned this has been constant for 3 weeks. Was ammonia undetectable prior to 3 weeks ago and something has recently changed (added livestock, started dosing non-denitrifying bacteria, stirred the sand bed, had a death, etc.)?

 

Also, did you start with dry rock, or cured live rock? It often takes more time for systems with dry rock to adjust to increases in ammonia input.

 

While searches will come back with others reporting similar results, I have never seen a healthy, mature reef tank test positive for ammonia using an API test kit.

 

I suspect that the level is below 0.25, but higher than 0.00ppm. However, I would feel reassured that your LFS isn't detecting any ammonia. Can you post a picture of the test vial (with a white background, taken in natural light conditions)?

 

Some people have dosed denitrifying bacteria to help boost this type of bacteria. However time should take care of it. With everything looking healthy (and the results from your LFS), I wouldn't be overly concerned about your results. Although I would continue to monitor the situation for awhile longer.

[DrJared]

Thank you everyone for your replies. Seabass, nothing has changed in my aquarium over the past few months. My rock was considered "live" when I bought it. It has multiple small sponges growing on it and appears to be thriving with brown/ maroon coralline algae. The Pristine that I dose every water change has denitrifying bacteria in it.

 

I siphon the sand when I do a water changes and stir up the detritus as well. I will try and post picture later tonight.

 

Thank you

[jestep]

I don't think I've ever seen an API ammonia test read 0, they're almost always the color slightly above zero, but I haven't used one in a long time. If it's still reading the same after a month, I'd just say it's the test kit and move on. You won't have to test ammonia anymore anyway, so not a big deal.

 

One thing to consider is ammonia can be a problem due to tap water being treated with chloramines. This is why it's often a good idea to treat makeup or mixing water with prime or safe even if it goes through an RO system. Chloramine bond is broken into the respective parts ammonia, chlorine, and nitrogen, the latter 2 are typically degassed, but ammonia will remain in the water and pass through the membrane and DI filter.

 

If your tank has been up for a month or so, I wouldn't worry about the reading on the tank water. However, if you are using an RO system and have chloramine treated water, this is where I'd be looking for the source if the kit is reading accurately.

[brandon429]

Cycle completed, low level misread somehow

 

The benthic growths that color the rock take longer than nitrifiers to set in that heavily. Open zos, zero true ammonia.

 

 

The whole concept of skip cycling is fun biology, nobody expects it to work. These are the same readings day one would have shown after the setup, using that kind of rock

[DrJared]

Thank you everyone!

[brandon429]

the slight misindication can and does typically occur with the nitrite version as well, so any one of the params can appear out of line even when fine. With the lower level test kits I like to reserve all action for the higher reads, any .25 sustained or any .1 sustained nitrite I like to fully disregard and use only the visuals in the tank. Open corals always means no free ammonia, tiny fanworms wont open in its presence either.

 

Since your test indicated such a low range and the life forms indicated a zero range, I went with the bio instead of the color readout and given the current age details and what the pics show.

[seabass]

Brandon, while I'm pretty sure you mean low levels, you stated "no free ammonia" and "a zero range." This indicates that you feel the test is showing a positive result when absolutely no ammonia is present. I wouldn't say these visual cues indicate no ammonia; instead, I would say they indicate a safe level of ammonia. There are low levels of ammonia (even free ammonia) present in ocean water. So it's not the presence of ammonia, but the amount of ammonia present, which is a problem.

DrJared, while API's ammonia kit might show a color change indicating ammonia, even when it's still in a safe range, I still stand by my statement that I've never seen a mature, healthy reef tank show a result of 0.25ppm of ammonia (when performed correctly with a non-expired kit). So if ammonia tests positive, but there are visual indications of safe levels of ammonia, I would just watch it a little closer (but wouldn't get overly concerned).