0.25 PPM NH3 won't drop

salty rob

salty rob

Member
Kill me now and get it over with. I have been having NH3 issues for about 8 months. I began with no patience and loaded the tank too quickly. I have, for about 5 months, dropped down to one tiny clown and a small dwarf yellow angel, plus a crab & some snails.
The good news is that nothing has died in 5 months. The bad news is I only have 2 little fish is a 55 gal tank and the NH3 won't drop. I do not want to kill any more fish.
Feeding is every other day, just a pinch.
I have 50 lbs of LS and 3-4 inches of LS.
I run a skimmer, bio filter and several pumps to agitate the surface.
I replace 5 gal of water weekly.
NH3 is 0.25 PPM
Nitrate 10 PPM
Nitrite zero
Ph 8 to 8.1
Temp 78-81
There have been no changes to the tank for 4-5 months.
Why do I still have NH3?????
The ammonia initially spiked to 6.0 PPM and dropped to almost zero, but won't drop all the way. I purchased a different type of test kit and use both kits now. There are no appreciable differences between the two.
Help! I'm not sure how to fix this puppy.
:nervous: :nope: :mad: :sleepy:
:notsure: :confused:
 
tervman

tervman

Member
You didn't say what kind of test kit you have, but if you are using a Mardel Test Kit, be aware that their NH3 test tends to register .25ppm even though the real reading is 0ppm. I had this problem when I first started cycling, and it drove me crazy, until I had two LFS's test the same batch of H2O, and both came out 0ppm.
 
diddley

diddley

Member
my red sea ammonia kit tests at 0.25 routinely. you probably do not have any ammonia after this length of time. i have an aquarium pharmaceuticals ammonia test that does test at zero. frustrating to say the least.
 
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