Ammonia in INSTANT OCEAN REEF CRYSTALS

[allsite]

First off, I'll just say I'm one sad fish dad. One by one my fish and corals are dying. It's my first reef and my 5 fish were buddies for 2 years. Not a single death until this week.

INSTANT OCEAN REEF CRYSTALS crashed my reef with ammonia. I didn't believe it at first but the tests feel conclusive.

The picture with 2 tubes:
Left: RODI+salt mix (from a pitcher of water with a drop of AmmoLock)
Right: RODI+salt mix

The picture with 1 tube:
Just RODI

Is it in my bucket? Nope, I tested it with a clean pitcher, exact same result. Nothing else touches the water prior to testing.

I have 2 boxes of mix that were ordered several months apart. One brand new, the other about 4 months old. They BOTH produced the same result (as seen in the pic).

All of the tests were done to water that was tank-ready, salinity and temp on par. I'm happy I didn't dump it into the tank but that also mean I'm just letting it die until I get new salt first thing tomorrow. I really hope AmmoLock and bacteria additives can save what little is left (1 clown and a few frags).

My tank is currently testing better than the right tube and worse than the left (forgot to take a photo but it's somewhat irrelevant in this thread).

My question is, how is it possible INSTANT OCEAN REEF CRYSTALS could produce 0.7ppm ammonia seawater? They're just selling poison? Is that not the point when doing a water change, to remove bad stuff while introducing good stuff?

It was traumatic to watch it crash after enjoying it to the max, stuck in a small apartment downtown during a pandemic. However I realize other reefers have incurred much bigger losses and my heart goes out to anyone who has to go through it.

 

[brandon429]

Since nobody will consider the proof links by reading them I’ll tease out one example and post here.

considering this thread below, dosing raw ammonia into reefs that track by seneye, how’s a little free ammonia from salt killing this OPs tank but skipping the snail and not setting off the ammonia alert badge?

it’s not.

Does anyone dose ammonia and/or how would one try?

I found a bottle of ammonium hydroxide from the supermarket but it doesn't tell the strength. From a little research I'm finding that most household solutions are 3%. (I'm hoping this is a safe guess!). I'd like to ask for someone to confirm my math: 3% = 30mg/ml. Tank vol = 150 L I...

www.reef2reef.com

that shows how much added ammonia ALL post cycle reefs can process, and how fast they do it.

Homebroods

that is what I was looking for in your argument, some aspect of prior work on the matter as a link. We can’t get anywhere without pattern examples, and even if mine aren’t of value to you, they’re still the only ones posted. If it was easy to make proof threads on ammonia I would expect at least one counterpoint linked vs just our heated exchange.

 

[allsite]

Edit: Sorry, I just read your more recent post where you are now following up on some different leads....

I ran some tests years ago and Reef Crystals showed to have 0.12 mg/l ammonia in it as measured on a Hach DR5000 spectrophotometer. This is higher than any other brand I tested, but would not, by itself, cause a tank crash. Even if you changed 100% of the water, that amount of ammonia would be assimilated within 12 hours or so by the bacteria in the tank.

Jay

My understanding is becoming an ironic mix of “I need to buy different salt” and “It probably wasn’t the salt”...

 

[HomebroodExotics]

Since nobody will consider the proof links by reading them I’ll tease out one example and post here.

considering this thread below, dosing raw ammonia into reefs that track by seneye, how’s a little free ammonia from salt killing this OPs tank but skipping the snail and not setting off the ammonia alert badge?

The dude that blocked me for saying the api test is accurate is going to live or die by an ammonia badge. Neat...

 

[allsite]

The dude that blocked me for saying the api test is accurate is going to live or die by an ammonia badge. Neat..

4 fish burned in 24 hours. API test kit was xmas green...

 

[brandon429]

Skips killing the snail or closing up toadstool frag but killed fish?
what was your quarantine and fallow approach on this reef

all api posts here are yellow. You have a defective seachem badge that shows free ammonia, it’s zero in your pic. Since we are sure you have free ammonia issues it should be pegged out.


Amazing what unspoken details we get in tank pics. How come nobody is talking about the ammonia alert badge that shows no alert

 

[allsite]

Skips killing the snail but killed fish?
what was your quarantine and fallow approach on this reef

all api posts here are yellow.

Good point about the snails. I have a 12 gallon quarantine tank that I’ve been adding my mail ordered frags to for several days before adding them. I assume this is too fast. I had been dropping my fish straight into my main tank but that was at the very beginning and I haven’t added a fish in nearly 2 really good/lucky years.

If it wasn’t ammonia then I have something else very deadly that works equally fast, at the same time as an off the charts test reading. It’s perplexing and yes my snails seem ok

 

[CoralClasher]

Not sure if this has been mentioned but anytime a stress event happens turn down the light intensity.

 

[HomebroodExotics]

Skips killing the snail or closing up toadstool frag but killed fish?
what was your quarantine and fallow approach on this reef

all api posts here are yellow. You have a defective seachem badge that shows free ammonia, it’s zero in your pic. Since we are sure you have free ammonia issues it should be pegged out.


Amazing what unspoken details we get in tank pics

Don't even know how old the badge is nor care to ask? They have an expiration date

 

[brandon429]

Post a clear updated shot of your ammonia alert badge from that prior pic in clean white light Allsite

 

[allsite]

Not sure if this has been mentioned but anytime a stress event happens turn down the light intensity.

I didn’t know this but did it anyways because I had temperature issues. It’s this method that explains how my tank survived the past 2 years of having little clue what I’m doing. You still win some.

 

[HomebroodExotics]

Post a clear updated shot of your ammonia alert badge from that prior pic in clean white light Allsite

Also tell us how old it is. They have a 1 year expiration date.

 

[allsite]

Post a clear updated shot of your ammonia alert badge from that prior pic in clean white light Allsite

I did just add this today but it should have had enough time to register

 

[allsite]

This was the reading after I woke up to 3 dead fish and one unhealthy survivor

 

[CoralClasher]

I’m convinced it’s not the salt. I don’t know what’s the typical forum move around here is, update the title or start another thread? Anyway, as I read and read, I think a temperature spike may have made whatever ammonia I had turn deadly. I was running 80-82.5 for a day and I suspect maybe the day before. I tinfoiled the windows behind the tank and the room temp is better. A better reefer may have thought about this the day my neighbors tree was removed. I lost my shade the day before a heatwave and was too busy out by the bbq to notice.

At the time fish were bellying up ammonia was reading high, Bottom of the api test kit measurement (forest green). It’s been hovering in the middle today (.25-.50). I dumped my bio-balls from the filter into the tank, then doubled the amount of Marine Pure into the extra filter space. I’m doing everything I can think of to add more bio filtration without removing any that’s established.

What temperature was the tank before the heat spike?

 

[brandon429]

Homebrood

i blocked because you don’t deal in links I can read for your stances. We can not agree on any aspect in reefing if I deal in link patterns and you won’t, we will always disagree. My work links may indeed be wrong


but why no alternates


why can’t we see your findings tested outside this thread? Links let us read and draw our own conclusions

Who wants to be berated at six am...it’s worth it for links that may show new truths or patterns but without any it’s just arguing for arguments sake, you like api am aware.

Dan too is good with API kits. These tests aren’t you all running them.

Has no bearing on this thread. I feel the links provided are directly relevant

and the tide has now changed... some strong posters are not on board this is free ammonia and i see you holding still that it is


you didn’t mention the tank age, the recent changes or the open corals or the alternate badge test, all that was left out



Ill unblock to see if we can get some links for next round. If you posted some would hate to miss them.

green api as fish sat rotting overnite makes good sense. Yellow when they’re pulled out makes good sense. We found four crucial troubleshooting clues from pics not the test read.

 

[HomebroodExotics]

Homebrood

i blocked because you don’t deal in links I can read for your stances. We can not agree on any aspect in reefing if I deal in link patterns and you won’t, we will always disagree. Not using same proofs.

I never even disagreed with you. Just trying to get more information to help this guy and you are obsessed with yelling at people about api tests but you going to drool over an ammonia alert badge that's been in the tank for a few hours and isn't yellow.

 

[allsite]

What temperature was the tank before the heat spike?

The tank was running at 80. I wanted it a tad lower but my equipment just wouldn’t dial it in. That heater has since been destroyed and I’m running at 78 now, first time since winter.

 

[CoralClasher]

The tank was running at 80. I wanted it a tad lower but my equipment just wouldn’t dial it in. That heater has since been destroyed and I’m running at 78 now, first time since winter.

That temperature change will tick off corals but fish should be fine with it.

 

[allsite]

That temperature change will tick off corals but fish should be fine with it.

Do you mean lowering it today from 80 to 78, or the 82.5 spike I had as mentioned previously?

 

[allsite]

I appreciate all the responses. The part I’m hung up on is how I could get an maxed out ammonia reading and lose fish, yet not have an ammonia problem. I’m basically calming down about the faint green tint, but that forest green...