ammonia level

[denniss]

How do you lower the ammonia level?
Tank is 2 months old and the numbers are as follows.
Nitrate 0
nitrite 0
alk 220
PH 8.4
Ammonia.25
Did a 20% water change yesterday thinking that would help but it didnt.
Any susgestions

 

[kzlen]

Did you Cycle the tank? too many fish??

 

[denniss]

Tank cycled about a month ago.
I have 2 small tangs and 5 damsels that i used for cycling that i cant catch.

 

[noaquariumyet]

im new to this but it seems like you stocked your tank too fast and your fish produce too much waste for the amount of good bacteia that has built up.....you prob should take some fish back and add your fish more slowly...if you dont take them back or put them in a different the tank the ammonia will kill your fish anyway... Hope this helps!!!

 

[bang guy]

What test kit are you using. Some of the cheaper kits will register 0.25 even if Ammonia is zero.

 

[noaquariumyet]

bang i have a aquarium pharmacuticals? is that an ok test kit

 

[kzlen]

Can take a sample of water to LFS for a second opinion.

 

[elfdoctors]

Are your fish doing okay? Ammonia is very toxic, particularly for the tangs. If the ammonia reading was real, they would probably be sick. I would probably just sit back and watch. Above all, don't add anything else until you are sure that the tank readings are stable.
I have no experience with aquarium pharmaceutical's test kits.

 

[cprdnick]

If you live in Amarillo, TX aquarium pharmecudicals are about the only test kit you can get without special ordering, so I, along with a number of other hobbyists here, own one. My test kit registers .25ppm on the ammonia, and since my LFS uses the same kit I can't get an accurate reading. I sent a water sample to my friend in Lewisville and he took it to a LFS there, it came out 0 and he said they used a Salifert test kit.
I would probably think that it is your test kit, but I agree that your tank was stocked entirely to fast.
I would still do a water change, and take a test sample to the LFS.

 

[nm reef]

bang i have a aquarium pharmacuticals? is that an ok test kit
That test kit has been known to provide a reading of .25 ammonia when Salifert reads zero...based on personal experience. I used the same kit three years ago when I cycled my first system and with it I could never get below .25 ammonia...the day my Salifert arrivied I had a zero reading and its never changed.

 

[denniss]

The tangs look great and are eating like pigs.
I have 2 corals and one is not opening like is has the last month making me wonder that there is a water problem. Also my feather duster is going in and out of its tube all day long.This makes me wonder too.
Checked water this morning and numbers are exactly the same.
Please help

 

[denniss]

Im using aquarium pharmaceuticals for all my tests.

 

[beaslbob]

sure sounds to me like the test kit is reading wrong. I wouldn't worry about it. I trust the nitrIte kit much more.