Conflicting Ammonia Results

[RoseQuatics]

I am cycling my tank and I’m on day 14. My seachem reads 0.05ppm ammonia but my API reads 1.5ppm. What should I believe?

 

[AydenLincoln]

I am cycling my tank and I’m on day 14. My seachem reads 0.05ppm ammonia but my API reads 1.5ppm. What should I believe?

How are you cycling it? And API looks to be around 0.50 and Seachmen around 0.05. API however is known to be not as accurate and Seachmen only gives an estimate I’d say trust Seachmen but they both could be right in there own ways because they are two different testing methods with different numbering systems. I would say give it a few more weeks and wait until they both reach 0 to be safe.

 

[RoseQuatics]

How are you cycling it? And API looks to be around 0.50 and Seachmen around 0.05. API however is known to be not as accurate and Seachmen only gives an estimate I’d say trust Seachmen but they both could be right in there own ways because they are two different testing methods with different numbering systems. I would say give it a few more weeks and wait until they both reach 0 to be safe.

Fishless cycle. I dosed 4 drops per gallon ammonia 14 days ago and dosed dr Tim’s along with it. Bare bottom/Dry rock.

 

[AydenLincoln]

Fishless cycle. I dosed 4 drops per gallon ammonia 14 days ago and dosed dr Tim’s along with it. Bare bottom/Dry rock.

How big is the tank? Add more bacteria and wait especially because you don’t have live sand or live rock that contains it already.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I am cycling my tank and I’m on day 14. My seachem reads 0.05ppm ammonia but my API reads 1.5ppm. What should I believe?

I trust the seachem more but to solve the mystery, take a water sample to a trusted LFS that does NOT use Api test kits and see what readings they come up with and to compare with yours

 

[RoseQuatics]

How big is the tank? Add more bacteria and wait especially because you don’t have live sand or live rock that contains it already.

120 gallons. And I’ve dosed 150 gallons worth of Dr Tim’s. Do I need to dose more?

 

[AydenLincoln]

120 gallons. And I’ve dosed 150 gallons worth of Dr Tim’s. Do I need to dose more?

No probably not then it’s just a waiting game now and you could do a water change to help lower it but since it’s still cycling and there’s nothing in it I would just wait. And fyi you can’t overdose on good bacteria.

 

[Spare time]

I'd read it as you have "some" ammonia and that is all that matters. The seachem badge only measures free ammonia, thus it is likely to read lower. Assuming your pH is 7.9-ish (35ppt salinity and 78F), that would make perfect sense as the total ammonia would be around 1.5ppm, and free ammonia at around 0.5ppm

Free Ammonia Calculator

Aquarium calculator; Estimate the free (un-ionized) ammonia (NH3) concentration, given the total ammonia concentration.

www.hamzasreef.com

 

[Spare time]

What is the nitrite level?

 

[131696]

Leave alone see about it in a month just add water ,no hurry

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I am cycling my tank and I’m on day 14. My seachem reads 0.05ppm ammonia but my API reads 1.5ppm. What should I believe?

there's no conflict.

The seachem alert badge is reading NH3 (free ammonia) and the kit is reading NH3 + NH4+ (total ammonia).

the latter is always substantially higher. How much higher depends on pH, but much higher.

This has more:

Ammonia and the Reef Aquarium by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

 

[RoseQuatics]

there's no conflict.

The seachem alert badge is reading NH3 (free ammonia) and the kit is reading NH3 + NH4+ (total ammonia).

the latter is always substantially higher. How much higher depends on pH, but much higher.

This has more:

Ammonia and the Reef Aquarium by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

Thank you!

 

[RoseQuatics]

What is the nitrite level?

Nitrite level is 0 (API) but I tested Nitrate with Salifert and I was getting 5ppm.

 

[brandon429]

This also may help: if you just change about half your water you can begin reefing. basic bioload control will be set past day ten of a boosted/fed cycle.

even some of the things that can initially harm a cycle on day one are mitigated by day ten, it's why all cycling charts agree on the drop date whether in book, online etc. your seachem happens to agree here as well.


if you want to see a link of 30+ pages of collections of day ten bottle bac starts that can be posted, your overall non digtal ammonia tests don't matter much among cycles it's all about the charted/documented wait time.

Ten days or more, nearing double for you, is enough to seat in the functional bacteria we need. cycle charts show ammonia control at least by that date; meticulous testing on day ten starts applied in actual reefs for more than two years shows perfect results...what api or red sea read the whole time was never factored.

we did it all on predetermined wait times, which you've exceeded. if you change water and begin reefing, your setup is as safe to carry life now as it will be in eighty more days wait, per results on file. new cycling science factors wait time nearly exclusively in assigning start dates. the big water change equalizes all variables, leaving a working bioslick behind attached to all wet surfaces.

here is your exact api color
fixed with one water change then turned into a reef trackable out to 2 years.

100% Water Change

So in my previous thread, I had an ammonia issue that was out of hand. As suggested, I did a 100% WC and now i’m wondering when I should start adding fish back. If anyone has suggestions, let me know!

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Dan_P]

I am cycling my tank and I’m on day 14. My seachem reads 0.05ppm ammonia but my API reads 1.5ppm. What should I believe?

API measures total ammonia while the Seachem badge measures free ammonia. Free ammonia (the toxic form) accounts for a small fraction of the total. If you have the temperature and pH of the system, the free ammonia amount can be calculated. As a rough estimate, free ammonia us less than 10% of the total, in your case less than 0.15 ppm. Seachem estimates 0.05 ppm. Your ammonia level looks closer to 1 ppm though, so both methods are in approximate agreement. Cool!

 

[Dan_P]

I am cycling my tank and I’m on day 14. My seachem reads 0.05ppm ammonia but my API reads 1.5ppm. What should I believe?

14 days with this much ammonia seems too long. What bacteria product are you using?

 

[sixty_reefer]

120 gallons. And I’ve dosed 150 gallons worth of Dr Tim’s. Do I need to dose more?

There’s a chance you may have overdosed and gone above 5ppm on the initial dose

 

[Dan_P]

Fishless cycle. I dosed 4 drops per gallon ammonia 14 days ago and dosed dr Tim’s along with it. Bare bottom/Dry rock.

Try Fritz Turbo or BioSpira to get the job done in several days, but regardless of the brand, be aware that bottled bacteria can go bad.

 

[Spare time]

Nitrite level is 0 (API) but I tested Nitrate with Salifert and I was getting 5ppm.

Try Fritz Turbo or BioSpira to get the job done in several days, but regardless of the brand, be aware that bottled bacteria can go bad.

That is sort of my concern given that there is ammonia but 0 nitrite. I'm wondering if that nitrate reading was simply within reasonable error or from a tiny but of nitrite starting to form.

 

[RoseQuatics]

14 days with this much ammonia seems too long. What bacteria product are you using?

I am using Dr. Tim's. My tank is bare bottom/dry rock so a longer cycle is what I anticipated. Is 14 days still too long for bb/dryrock?