Ammonia test results

[Wrath09]

I just did my first Ammonia test and I'm not exactly sure which it is I've waited 16 days after the initial setup and I'm not exactly sure what ppm it is

 

[mmorrison55]

Looks to me like it’s between .25 - .50. But even if it’s more than .50, I don’t think it’s in the > 1.0 range.

 

[Wrath09]

That's what I was thinking and it needs to be at 0 to add my first fish right so I should do a water change and wait another 7-14 days before testing again?

 

[mmorrison55]

I think you’ll receive feedback that your ammonia is
Not that bad and you likely are safe to add a fish or two

 

[mmorrison55]

@Randy Holmes-Farley

 

[Idech]

Put it against the white part of the card, it will be easier to tell. It looks between 1-2 ppm to me in the first picture but looks an odd color on the second one.

 

[Fish Fan]

Hello new friend!

A few thoughts here would be that the API brand test kits are popular and certainly not horrible, but many here at R2R don't regard them as super accurate. Often, they will report a low level of ammonia when it is likely near zero. And, corals we now know actually "like" low levels of ammonia:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ammonia-is-our-friend-thoughts-needed.1066535/
I applaud you for being very patient :-)

You mentioned 16 days, but how did you set this tank up? What was your cycling approach?

 

[Crabs+Shrimps-69]

Hello new friend!

A few thoughts here would be that the API brand test kits are popular and certainly not horrible, but many here at R2R don't regard them as super accurate. Often, they will report a low level of ammonia when it is likely near zero. And, corals we now know actually "like" low levels of ammonia:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ammonia-is-our-friend-thoughts-needed.1066535/
I applaud you for being very patient :)

You mentioned 16 days, but how did you set this tank up? What was your cycling approach?

The colour chart when using API tests for saltwater is slightly different to the one shown on the book (with the exceptions of nitrite and phosphate).
0 ammonia is a little green on the actual chart; that's probably why people get confused.

Bit hard to tell in the picture though.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I just did my first Ammonia test and I'm not exactly sure which it is I've waited 16 days after the initial setup and I'm not exactly sure what ppm it is

How are you cycling?

 

[Wrath09]

Hello new friend!

A few thoughts here would be that the API brand test kits are popular and certainly not horrible, but many here at R2R don't regard them as super accurate. Often, they will report a low level of ammonia when it is likely near zero. And, corals we now know actually "like" low levels of ammonia:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ammonia-is-our-friend-thoughts-needed.1066535/
I applaud you for being very patient :)

You mentioned 16 days, but how did you set this tank up? What was your cycling approach?

It was an ammonia kickstart I paid someone to help me set it up because I didn't want to mess it up. So I waited for 14 to test but I had to wait longer so tonight I'm going to do a 10-gallon water change on a 40-gallon tank and wait 4 more days and see how the ammonia levels are than.

 

[Fish Fan]

No need to pay someone for help here, Reef2Reef is free :)

But I’m not following what an ammonia kickstart is, do you mean like a bottle of bacteria?

 

[Wrath09]

It was an ammonia kickstart I paid someone to help me set it up because I didn't want to mess it up. So I waited for 14 to test but I had to wait longer so tonight I'm going to do a 10-gallon water change on a 40-gallon tank and wait 4 more days and see how the ammonia levels are than.

No need to pay someone for help here, Reef2Reef is free :)

But I’m not following what an ammonia kickstart is, do you mean like a bottle of bacteria?

Yea sorry I wasn't sure exactly how it was worded

 

[Wrath09]

Yea sorry I wasn't sure exactly how it was worded

but it was bottled bacteria

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

It was an ammonia kickstart I paid someone to help me set it up because I didn't want to mess it up. So I waited for 14 to test but I had to wait longer so tonight I'm going to do a 10-gallon water change on a 40-gallon tank and wait 4 more days and see how the ammonia levels are than.

The concern is not the ammonia now. Don’t change water. The concern is whether it was ever 2+ ppm to know that it has declined.

 

[Wrath09]

The concern is not the ammonia now. Don’t change water. The concern is whether it was ever 2+ ppm to know that it has declined.

yes it was higher I want to say it started out as 7.5 or 8

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

yes it was higher I want to say it started out as 7.5 or 8

Then you are good to go, IMO.

 

[Wrath09]

Then you are good to go, IMO.

So do not do any water changes. Even if I haven't done any yet?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

So do not do any water changes. Even if I haven't done any yet?

The advice to do them is, IMO, often based on inaccurate measurements of nitrate because a little nitrite is messing with the nitrate test.

 

[Wrath09]

The advice to do them is, IMO, often based on inaccurate measurements of nitrate because a little nitrite is messing with the nitrate test.

Okay I'll do one water change then once every week 10 gallons for a 40-gallon tank