Acceptable Ammonia

[DmitryB]

@Randy Holmes-Farley has talked me down a few times on different parameters we have traditionally been told were deadly as being "Meh." Nitrates and Phosphates specifically. I've adjusted those settings in my parameters keeping app so the app doesn't scream at me when the numbers are high. So what's an acceptable Ammonia level in reef tanks? Yesterday morning a Purple Firefish I got from Marine Collectors in Tuesday disappeared in the tank after a couple of days of seemingly ok behavior. Naturally it died behind the rocks somewhere and Ammonia has spiked to 0.4 yesterday. I did a middling water change last night and then again this morning. Them ran out to work and didn't have to test again. But what Anmonia numbers are still ok and don't need panic mode?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

All of the data that I have seen published on marine fish ammonia tox say it takes over 10 ppm total ammonia to kill them at reef tank pH and salinity.

Some kits read this sort of level as a default and are not good at showing 0. Has this kit shown zero?

I do not thing 0.4 ppm total ammonia is an issue unless the pH is very high, and even then I don’t see it being lethal. I’d look for other causes for the fish death.

As to when I’d take action, ammonia in a well established tank will generally never reach problematic levels short of a tank crash, but if ammonia was approaching 1 ppm and rising, I’d begin to consider options such as water changes, removing fish, or lowering pH.

 

[DmitryB]

Awesome thank you! That's far more room to wriggle than the .02 some say is the ceiling!

In my case, the dead Firefish is the cause of the spike. I don't know the cause: the other 2 fish she arrived with are - knock on wood - doing well.