0.75 ppm Ammonia in tap water?

My tap water contains 3.3ppm Chloramine, but it’s also testing at 0.75ppm ammonia. I tested the ammonia after noticing my fish not doing great after water changes. I use Seachem prime and never had any issue with the 3.3ppm Chloramine but something seems to have changed in my tap water and I’m trying to figure out what it is. Is it normal for tap water with high Chloramine content to test for high ammonia? Also, does anyone know how much Chloramine a dose of Seachem prime treats? 3.3ppm Chloramine seems high and wondering if I’m not putting enough prime. Thanks for any tips

 

What are the pH differences in your tap and tank? Maybe its not the Chloramine?

 

I have contacted Seachem with similar questions and they replied with an answer within a few days.

Also, does anyone know how much Chloramine a dose of Seachem prime treats? 3.3ppm Chloramine seems high and wondering if I’m not putting enough prime. Thanks for any tips

 

a quick online search shows a few cities with between 3 to 4 ppm chloramine in the tap water.

have you tried a double dose of Prime when doing water changes? Then test the water after 48hrs (that's how long Prime lasts) https://seachem.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/115000125454-Info-Seachem-Prime-dosing-instructions

 

Prime shouldn't affect the ammonia test. It will still show ammonia whether it's been Primed or not. Prime will detoxify it for awhile, but it will still show up on you test.

 

Chloramine is being used more frequently by water suppliers to disinfect water supplies. Because it is far more stable and more toxic to bacteria like e. coli than chlorine alone, it is ideal for this use. However, because chloramine is also highly toxic to fish, it is not ideal for those with aquariums.

Chloramine is produced typically by adding 1 part ammonia to 3 parts chlorine. Thus, if your water had 3.3 ppm chlorine, it is likely to test at 07.-0.8 ppm ammonia out of the tap.

A standard dechlorinator based on sodium thiosulfate react with chloramine to break the bond between the chlorine and ammonia. Furthermore, the chlorine will be reduced to sodium chloride (table salt) which is harmless to your fish. The ammonia, however, must be removed by other means. The reaction is not immediate. It is best to treat the water at least 15 minutes before adding it to your aquarium to allow time for the water conditioner to work.

Some water conditioners like Seachem Prime contain other ingredients to react with the ammonia. Prime is a propriatary formula and Seachem does not tell us what is happening. They only say that Prime renders ammonia to be "less toxic" for a while to allow time for the beneficial bacteria to convert it to nitrite and then nitrate.

There are several things you might try.

1. If you have have to dose the water in your aquarium, add the water conditioner to the tank before adding the water and dose the conditioner based on the total volume of water in the tank, not just the amount of water you are changing.
2. If possible, treat the tap water in a separate container outside the aquarium and allow the water to stand while you are cleaning filters, vacuuming substrate, scraping glass, etc. By then, the reactions should be completed.
3. You did not mention the size of the aquarium nor the amount of water you are changing. Remember the larger the percentage of water changed at one time, the greater the spike in ammonia. Thus, you might consider doing smaller water changes more frequently to minimize the shock on the biofilter and the fish.

For my aquariums, I have taken a different route to get rid of chloramine. I use a RO water system to purify tap water. That gets rid of essentially all the chemicals in the water. However, it also means I have to add back minerals needed by the fish and plants. Thye cannot live in water with very low hardness and alkalinity.

 

Prime shouldn't affect the ammonia test. It will still show ammonia whether it's been Primed or not. Prime will detoxify it for awhile, but it will still show up on you test.

Oh it definitely does. It’s an easy 2 minute test for me. Fill up 2 cups with tap, dechlorinate one. The dechlorinated will read at about .15 - .2 while the pure tap will hold right at .5 - 75 and won’t budge.

Chloramine is being used more frequently by water suppliers to disinfect water supplies. Because it is far more stable and more toxic to bacteria like e. coli than chlorine alone, it is ideal for this use. However, because chloramine is also highly toxic to fish, it is not ideal for those with aquariums.

Chloramine is produced typically by adding 1 part ammonia to 3 parts chlorine. Thus, if your water had 3.3 ppm chlorine, it is likely to test at 07.-0.8 ppm ammonia out of the tap.

A standard dechlorinator based on sodium thiosulfate react with chloramine to break the bond between the chlorine and ammonia. Furthermore, the chlorine will be reduced to sodium chloride (table salt) which is harmless to your fish. The ammonia, however, must be removed by other means. The reaction is not immediate. It is best to treat the water at least 15 minutes before adding it to your aquarium to allow time for the water conditioner to work.

Some water conditioners like Seachem Prime contain other ingredients to react with the ammonia. Prime is a propriatary formula and Seachem does not tell us what is happening. They only say that Prime renders ammonia to be "less toxic" for a while to allow time for the beneficial bacteria to convert it to nitrite and then nitrate.

There are several things you might try.

1. If you have have to dose the water in your aquarium, add the water conditioner to the tank before adding the water and dose the conditioner based on the total volume of water in the tank, not just the amount of water you are changing.
2. If possible, treat the tap water in a separate container outside the aquarium and allow the water to stand while you are cleaning filters, vacuuming substrate, scraping glass, etc. By then, the reactions should be completed.
3. You did not mention the size of the aquarium nor the amount of water you are changing. Remember the larger the percentage of water changed at one time, the greater the spike in ammonia. Thus, you might consider doing smaller water changes more frequently to minimize the shock on the biofilter and the fish.

For my aquariums, I have taken a different route to get rid of chloramine. I use a RO water system to purify tap water. That gets rid of essentially all the chemicals in the water. However, it also means I have to add back minerals needed by the fish and plants. Thye cannot live in water with very low hardness and alkalinity.

Thanks for all that detail, very much appreciated. You seem spot on with your Chloramine estimates, the tap tests right at 0.75 as you’ve predicted.

 

Interesting. I'm just repeating what I was told by Seachem.

 

Interesting. I'm just repeating what I was told by Seachem.

Yea the information on Prime is all over the place. As a beginner, I believed it detoxified ammonia. Then I learned that there is little to no public evidence that Prime detoxifies ammonia, so I changed my mind. Now I've ran my own tests and its clearly doing SOMETHING to the ammonia. Considering its reducing test results by 75% or so, I'm now convinced once again that Prime DOES work. It also works very quickly, dropping the ammonia results in just a few minutes.