Ammonia in Instant Ocean Salt or Bad Aquarium Pharm. test? Help!

[meemo]

I am so confused and frustrated! I keep testing all my water sources and tanks and everything tests <.25 for ammonia except pure tap water = 0! Pure tap water is clear green on aquarium pharmaceuticals test and clear on salifert. But if I test my saltwater rodi mix, pure tap water with salt, or my tank water they all test <.25 because they come out slightly cloudy in the test.
Does this mean my salt mix, Instant Ocean, has ammonia in it or does saltwater just make the ammonia test cloudy somehow? I am so confused and don't know if I really have ammonia or not.
I have read some posts here that people have had trouble with Instant Ocean and other salt mixes having ammonia or ph problems. Should I be concerned? There are some light flakes in my water after I mix it but the ph tests ok. I just bought a big bucket of the IO and wonder if I should take it back again and get a different brand. Or is any salt brand going to make my ammonia tests cloudy? Please help!

 

[nm reef]

Doesn't sound right to me...I don't believe I've ever heard of any salt mix having a trace of ammonia. Are you confident that your test is accurate? At one time I was using a Aquarium pharmicuticals test and it always gave a .25 reading for ammonia...but the Salifert read zero on the same water.

 

[meemo]

NM reef
Can you tell me this then. When I use the Salifert test kit the water turns palecloudy white on everything but plain tap water too. Is this normal? It doesn't have any yellow in it so it still tests <.25. But I would like to see clear water if possible. If you still have the Salifert test can you see if yours does this compared to tap water? And what brand salt do you use if it tests completely clear.
Thank you!

 

[birdy]

Meemo- how long are you letting that water age before you test it. Also what is your procedure for mixing up your water?
You should have a bucket of cold (preferably RO/DI water) water, then you should slowly mix the correct amount of salt in the water slowly while stirring vigorously, then you should put a powerhead in the water (some use the venturi addition to inject more oxygen in the water) let it age for a minimum of 24hrs. Then test it. you should also have a heater to get the temp to the same temp as your tank.
You may already do it this way, and I am not sure if it would have any impact on an ammonia level, but it is the only thing I can think of. Besides a bad batch of IO (never heard of them giving an ammonia reading though)
I have heard numerous reports of Aquarium Pharm. giving a false ammonia reading of .25, but a salifert test should be reliable. I am just wondering if you are getting a false reading because the water hasn't aged?

 

[bang guy]

My guess is that tap water in your area contains Chloramine. I don't believe this will show up on most test kits as ammonia.
What I think is happening is that the dechlorinator in the Instant Ocean is breaking the bond between Chlorine and Ammonia in the Cloramine. This will neutralize the Chlorine but leave Ammonia in the water.
Is you RO membrane clogged? This could let the Chloramine through. A functioning RO membrane should filter it out.

 

[meemo]

I use ro water from lfs so I don't know about the membranes. But he said he tests his water regularly with a meter. I only tested the tap water as a comparison and it was completely clear. It was only tap water or ro water with salt mixed in that came out cloudy. Only water with IO salt mix is testing cloudy with both of my kits. ??? There shouldn't be any chloramine in the ro water.
I use cold ro water, add salt mix, stir, add powerhead and heater, and let age at least 24-48 hours. It still tests with ammonia or cloudiness. ???
I can't rest until I get a clear test on saltwater! Do your tests come out completely clear, no white cloud with saltwater?
:help:

 

[meemo]

For anyone interested, I bought another salt mix, Oceana and tested it. My ammonia test still came out cloudy with freshwater, unused, with salt mixed in. But it was a much lighter amount of cloudiness. And the bag says it is supposed to be ammonia free. So I am going to assume that it is normal for salt mixes to cause cloudiness on test kits unless someone tells me otherwise.
The fresh saltwater tests the exact same color as my tank so I am assuming my tank is fine. If you know these tests should not be cloudy, please let me know.