Natural ammonia reducers

[fletch’s reef]

Hi! My ammonia tested after I moved my tank to school at 1.0 on the api test kit. I tested again and it tested at .25-.5 twice. Is there any natural ways to bring down ammonia? I can’t get to the store or do a water change for a day since I have classes all day

 

[Fish Fan]

What would have happened that your ammonia would spike? Was there any kind of die off or disruption to the tank?

Short of the above, this is likely testing error. There's been a lot of times we've seen the API kits come back at 0.25 ppm or even 0.50 ppm when the concentration is likely much lower. I would suspect your 1.00 ppm result is a one-off fluke.

To answer your question, I would let this ride out, I doubt there's a problem unless you are seeing livestock in distress.

If necessary, you can lower ammonia with water changes. There's really no other products or things that you can add to your tank that remove ammonia. Claims by some products that suggest otherwise have been shown to be false.

Best of luck!

 

[fletch’s reef]

What would have happened that your ammonia would spike? Was there any kind of die off or disruption to the tank?

Short of the above, this is likely testing error. There's been a lot of times we've seen the API kits come back at 0.25 ppm or even 0.50 ppm when the concentration is likely much lower. I would suspect your 1.00 ppm result is a one-off fluke.

To answer your question, I would let this ride out, I doubt there's a problem unless you are seeing livestock in distress.

If necessary, you can lower ammonia with water changes. There's really no other products or things that you can add to your tank that remove ammonia. Claims by some products that suggest otherwise have been shown to be false.

Best of luck!

Awesome!!! Maybe disturbed sand I’d assume. Everything in the tank honestly is thriving after the move and alive from what I can see. I appreciate the response!! I plan on doing a water change asap and should hopefully be okay. Thank you again!

 

[Fish Fan]

Awesome!!! Maybe disturbed sand I’d assume. Everything in the tank honestly is thriving after the move and alive from what I can see. I appreciate the response!! I plan on doing a water change asap and should hopefully be okay. Thank you again!

Actually, I'm sorry, I didn't catch where you said that you moved your tank; my bad

With that in mind, then yes, you could be seeing a bit of a 'mini-cycle' from the move. Ammonia up to about 0.50 ppm isn't really that much of a concern, but if you're hitting 1.00 ppm or higher than I would be looking to do some water changes to bring that down.

Sounds like you hit that 1.00 ppm and are already coming down, and if so, I would still let this ride out.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I agree with Fish Fan. I’d just watch it a bit and make sure it declines. I think it’s unlikely to rise much more and is ok where it is for a short time.

 

[BryanM]

Hi! My ammonia tested after I moved my tank to school at 1.0 on the api test kit. I tested again and it tested at .25-.5 twice. Is there any natural ways to bring down ammonia? I can’t get to the store or do a water change for a day since I have classes all day

I am also in the "Its fine" camp here, but a water change after the move can't hurt.

 

[fletch’s reef]

Thank you everybody!!!