Alternates to API Ammonia Test

Hello all! My water levels are confusing me all over again. For the better part of a couple of months now, I'll test my 20 gal tank water and my API Master Test will give me around a 1.0 ppm Ammonia reading for just about all the tests I've done (testing once a week but more frequently when this issue started because of the initial panic) my fish (seven neon tetras, four cory catfish) seem no worse for wear, eating and swimming normally, etc. I've been doing regular 20-25% weekly water changes (also did them more frequently at the start of this, but after noticing the fish weren't being negatively affected I eased up). As far as other parameters, everything is safe- no nitrite, 5-10ppm nitrates, 7.6-ish pH. I switched around conditioning the water with Prime/Stress Guard/plain ole' leaving a bucket out for 24 hours to see if the conditioner was the issue, and it'll still give me the .75-1.0 reading. The only thing I've changed in the tank itself was adding a couple of more live plants, so by rights that should've brought the reading down a bit if anything. This has happened with two different ammonia kits, so it can't just be an issue with an individual kit. I've also tested my tap water and both kits read .75-1.0 ammonia on there, too.

I've tried Tetra test strips with the tank water as a backup, and my ammonia reading will be just a hair darker than "ideal"/0 - and I mean a hair, so the ammonia levels are non-existent there. However, I know the strips also have the reputation of not being accurate either.

So, long story short, either I'm doing something extremely wrong with just the ammonia kit in particular, or the solution doesn't get along with my tap water readings (chloramine/Ammonium is setting it off, most likely) and it spirals from there. But I was curious what alternatives people have used aside from API/Tetra so I can give it a shot instead of having this constant headscratcher. I've been doing some research and found the Seachem Multi Test that checks for Ammonia/Ammonium individually, but reviews seem pretty mixed.

 

Hello all! My water levels are confusing me all over again. For the better part of a couple of months now, I'll test my 20 gal tank water and my API Master Test will give me around a 1.0 ppm Ammonia reading for just about all the tests I've done (testing once a week but more frequently when this issue started because of the initial panic) my fish (seven neon tetras, four cory catfish) seem no worse for wear, eating and swimming normally, etc. I've been doing regular 20-25% weekly water changes (also did them more frequently at the start of this, but after noticing the fish weren't being negatively affected I eased up). As far as other parameters, everything is safe- no nitrite, 5-10ppm nitrates, 7.6-ish pH. I switched around conditioning the water with Prime/Stress Guard/plain ole' leaving a bucket out for 24 hours to see if the conditioner was the issue, and it'll still give me the .75-1.0 reading. The only thing I've changed in the tank itself was adding a couple of more live plants, so by rights that should've brought the reading down a bit if anything. This has happened with two different ammonia kits, so it can't just be an issue with an individual kit. I've also tested my tap water and both kits read .75-1.0 ammonia on there, too.

I've tried Tetra test strips with the tank water as a backup, and my ammonia reading will be just a hair darker than "ideal"/0 - and I mean a hair, so the ammonia levels are non-existent there. However, I know the strips also have the reputation of not being accurate either.

So, long story short, either I'm doing something extremely wrong with just the ammonia kit in particular, or the solution doesn't get along with my tap water readings (chloramine/Ammonium is setting it off, most likely) and it spirals from there. But I was curious what alternatives people have used aside from API/Tetra so I can give it a shot instead of having this constant headscratcher. I've been doing some research and found the Seachem Multi Test that checks for Ammonia/Ammonium individually, but reviews seem pretty mixed.

Are you shaking the solution bottles well before using them? What is the expiration date of the ammonia test solution?

Have you tried testing water from another source (maybe work or a friend’s house) to see what the test result is?

 

Im thinking your tap water ammonia is the culprit. Have you tested the water after a week, before your water change? Is it lower?

 

As far as shaking the solutions, I've tried every combo with that too. I've shaken it to just to stir things up in the newer one (the first test only has the dregs at the bottom of the bottle left, which I thought could've been a problem), and I've also just uncapped it and put the solution straight in and only did the 5-second shaking of the test tube the instructions call for. As far as testing other water, that's something I haven't checked and I'll definitely look into, but the only lead I have with that is literally one neighborhood over so it might end up being the same case.

As far as testing the water after a week before the water change- which water do you mean, the tap or the tank? Because that's basically been consistent the whole time for both, at least since this has been an issue. When I first started the tank back in June my tap got a 0-.25 ammonia reading, but then one weekend it went up to .50 and it's climbed to 1.0 and plateaued there, so the town most likely changed chemical levels. If you mean tank water-pre water change/after the conditioner window for lack of a better term, same deal there it'll settle and still be around 1.0. If that makes any sense (long work day, lol).

 

Are you shaking the solution bottles well before using them? What is the expiration date of the ammonia test solution?

Have you tried testing water from another source (maybe work or a friend’s house) to see what the test result is?

Also missed the expiration question- kits/solutions expire 05 and 09/ 2026 , and the lots are 05/09 2021, so dates shouldn’t be an issue either.

 

You’re probably doing this, but you are keeping only 8 drops of each of the two bottles right?

 

You’re probably doing this, but you are keeping only 8 drops of each of the two bottles right?

Absolutely. Same size too, nothing dramatically big/not putting a lot of pressure on the bottle