Api ammonia test false postive?

[Wolf89]

Any one have experience with this? Trying to get my ammonia to 0 in frag tank for about a month, still .25 ammonia. I'm starting to think ots a false positive b/c it says my established 20G with fish and coral has .5 - 1.0 ammonia which obviously is true.

 

[bluprntguy]

API is pretty hard to read low or no ammonia with saltwater. It's almost always a little green.

I usually run two tests side by side. One test with freshly mixed saltwater or a tank that I know has zero ammonia and the other from the tank I'm trying to test. If they match, I assume it's zero ammonia.

 

[Taxus812]

Yes. I was just posting a similar question.

 

[brandon429]

there is a calibration step that fixes it, makes all titration kits work:

vs trying to believe/disbelieve your bottom end, the wastewater, measure only the change- that's what indicates the bac. not the debatable bottom end (the .25 vs zero debate)

change the tank water or polyfilter it in such a way that it is known zero ammonia, without a test kit. such as, 100% water change.

then take a reading, whatever the color is= zero

dose the tank using liquid AC meant for cycling like Dr Tims, to the first increment of free ammonia the test kit can register. not 2 ppm, the first increment of change it registers. half a ppm is fine, something that changes the test kit color barely.

wait 24 hours

retest ammonia and it w likely be back to the calibrated zero.

key takeaway=2 ppm not required, test kit that reads zero not required, mere detectable motion down from the + condition is proof of bac. By calibrating the color test against the forced zero ammonia condition, misreading isn't at play as long as Prime water conditioner isn't used at any step. if it is, all testing is null. Prime skews all api testing.

 

[RJinPV]

Why not just try another brand ammonia test kit? I personally haven't tested for ammonia since my tank cycled years ago but the API kits are

Any one have experience with this? Trying to get my ammonia to 0 in frag tank for about a month, still .25 ammonia. I'm starting to think ots a false positive b/c it says my established 20G with fish and coral has .5 - 1.0 ammonia which obviously is true.

I'm thinking you meant the 20 gal reading of 0.5 to 1.0 is NOT true.

I personally haven't tested for ammonia since my tank cycled years ago. I would just go get a different brand ammonia kit. Or have the LFS test the water (assuming they use something better than an API kit.