Ammonia in tap water?

[zoboo2]

Is there Ammonia in tap water? I have been using Red Sea Marine test kit and I always have ammonia in my tank according to it. So I decided to test my tap water and it shows alot of ammonia and then I tested my RO/DI unit's product water and it shows slightly less but still ammonia. My question is is this possible or do I just have a bad test kit?
I also have the salifert tests and I find the ammonia one too difficult to read. Thanks!

 

[tropills]

Are you on a well ?? or city water, Is there any place else you can get your water tested?
test your neighbors tap water and see what you get .. may have a bad test kit, or somthing is really wrong with you water supply.

 

[zoboo2]

We are on city water. Maybe I should buy another brand of ammonia test since I can't read the salifert one and try it out. The Red Sea was reading really high ammonia on just the tap water! I thought my tank was having issues since the ammonia was always present. We are in a larger city in Iowa so I don't think there is a water supply problem. I was testing 231 ppm on a TDS test. So I think our tap water is fine, I am hoping it is a problem with the test kit. Anyone else have this problem with the Red Sea kind?

 

[granny]

Most city water supplies have Chlorine added, which will test as ammonia. It is a gas, so easily disspates if the water is aerated adequately. Our local water guy told me that simply squirting the water from your hose into the air gets rid of the chlorine in it.
Are you aerating your water and using a water conditioner/chlorine remover prior to use?
You can also purchase an additive that immediately nutrilizes ammonia. It is inexpensive and available at your LFS or the big bad WAL-MART!

 

[murph]

RO water should not test positive for ammonia. Try another kit. Double check with someone Else's or a LFS.
Google; test kit faq, for some further info.

 

[zoboo2]

Is it safe to use the dechlorinator or the stuff that gets rid of ammonia? I know for fresh water tanks it is no big deal but I have always been leary of putting anything in my water for the saltwater tank.

 

[aufishman]

Originally Posted by zoboo2
Is it safe to use the dechlorinator or the stuff that gets rid of ammonia? I know for fresh water tanks it is no big deal but I have always been leary of putting anything in my water for the saltwater tank.
You need to see if your city adds chloramines to the water supply, which will not dissipate like chlorine. Yes, adding "dechlorinator" is fine for marine tanks. As for the other, it does NOT get rid of ammonia, it simply neutralizes it. The best way to deal with TAN is to do a water exchange to lower the concentration until the bacteria load in your tank increases to an adequate size to deal with it.

 

[bang guy]

If you're registering ammonia after the carbon and RO, and DI filters then either all three of your filters need to be replaced or you have a test kit that is reading a false positive. My money is on the test kit giving you a false positive.

 

[debbie]

You can use the dechlorinator stuff if you wish but letting your water stand overnight will gas off the chlorine too.
I do this for my freshwater bettas, I don't add anything to the water but it will not hurt anything.
You should get into the habit of letter your water stand overnight before doing your water changes. Adding the aeration as mentioned above is a good thing too.

 

[zoboo2]

Yes i do let the water stnad over night, sometimes a couple of nights and I have a powerhead in there always running. Do I need more aeration? I am having my hubby take a sample to the LFS today and purchase another ammonia test (different brand) and I will post the results in case anyone is interested. Bang-I hope it is not the RO filters the thing is brand new but I have had several problems with it so it wouldn't suprise me!

 

[zoboo2]

Well LFS said the ammonia and nitrite are both zero, so musta been a bad test! Good bet on that one "Bang". I started another thread titled Is the LFS right? because they told my husband "now don't do any water changes for 3 months or you will start another cycle in your tank" I thought this sounded crazy so I just had to double check it here. Thank goodness for this board. Can you imagine what the saltwater world would be like if all we had to go on was the advice of the LFS?

 

[bang guy]

Originally Posted by Debbie
You can use the dechlorinator stuff if you wish but letting your water stand overnight will gas off the chlorine too.
I do this for my freshwater bettas, I don't add anything to the water but it will not hurt anything.
You should get into the habit of letter your water stand overnight before doing your water changes. Adding the aeration as mentioned above is a good thing too.

Just wanted to mention that some water utilities use Chloramine to treat water instead of Chlorine gas. Chloramine can take over a week to evaporate from standing water. When giving advice you need to keep in mind that not all tap water is the same.

 

[zoboo2]

Wow a week for it to disappear? Geez! Well I have water ready for a water change and since I just did a small one I will let the water sit for a week before I do another one (which is what I would have done anyway) Thanks for all the help Bang Guy and everyone else!!!

 

[bang guy]

Originally Posted by zoboo2
Wow a week for it to disappear? Geez! Well I have water ready for a water change and since I just did a small one I will let the water sit for a week before I do another one (which is what I would have done anyway) Thanks for all the help Bang Guy and everyone else!!!

A carbon filter block will remove all Chloramine so you don't have to wait that long. I believe your 2nd stage is probably carbon. The water from a RO/DI unit is pure water, not Chlorine, Chloramine, etc. It's still good to circulate new saltwater for a day or so after mixing.