I've been posting on here the last couple of weeks since joining the forum about an ammonia problem that I just can't get a handle on. Tonight, frustrated again, I decided to try something that I probably should have done a long time ago, I tested my tap water.

My tank water has been in the color chart between 3.0 and 4.0ppm and nothing I have done can get it any lower. Well, after testing tap water tonight, it's also testing between 3.0 and 4.0ppm...... ?????????????

I drew up a vial of RO water from the 5 gal bottle water cooler and it's showing yellow (0.0ppm).

So now what does anyone suggest ? I know using RO water is one of the suggestions, but during all this time, could my tank have cycled already and I've just been tricked with the ammonia levels or will I need to start completely over with nothing but RO water ?

if your tap is reading that high for ammonia then i would definetly not use it and get another source of water..

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10g- 2 hi-fin fm platys, 3 koi & red wag sword fry
40g Breeder- 6 danios, 4 female swords, 1 male swords
"I was born with nothin and I still got most of it left."- Seasick Steve

Uh yeah.... and also to place a call to the city water dept Monday morning to find out WTH is up with those levels in my drinking water !!!!!

When are you testing your tank water? At night your readings will be higher than during the day(if planted or coral).

If your sink is showing ammonia, try another sink in your house and your water hose. Did you know your shower head can be a breeding ground for bacteria? You should change shower and sink heads every now and then.

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36 Gallon Saltwater reef tank
Ocellaris Clown, Scooter Dragonet, sandsifter star, Decorator crab, emerald crab, coralline snails, blue leg hermit crab, and horseshoe crab.
Zooad's and shrooms
40 pounds of Live sand, 20 pounds of LR

i would hope so lol..

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10g- 2 hi-fin fm platys, 3 koi & red wag sword fry
40g Breeder- 6 danios, 4 female swords, 1 male swords
"I was born with nothin and I still got most of it left."- Seasick Steve

hey look on the bright side, you can give out your tap water to help those who need a jump start on their cycling process lol jk

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36 Gallon Saltwater reef tank
Ocellaris Clown, Scooter Dragonet, sandsifter star, Decorator crab, emerald crab, coralline snails, blue leg hermit crab, and horseshoe crab.
Zooad's and shrooms
40 pounds of Live sand, 20 pounds of LR

You have a cycling tank also, right. Your tap is just exacerbating the problem. Try aging your water for at least 24hrs and see if that helps. If your tank is cycling, stop with the big water changes. Do you have live plants in the tank?

I was going to slow the big changes up and hope to see the nitrites pick up now. I did put live plants in last week (the only live plants available in my 2 limited stores) and come to find out on here, all the plants I put are not intended for underwater aquariums..... Just another ONE of my many headaches I've had trying to get this thing up and running.

Those plants might drown or rot. If you see any of those signs, remove them.

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36 Gallon Saltwater reef tank
Ocellaris Clown, Scooter Dragonet, sandsifter star, Decorator crab, emerald crab, coralline snails, blue leg hermit crab, and horseshoe crab.
Zooad's and shrooms
40 pounds of Live sand, 20 pounds of LR

Yeah, there's been some tell me the plants will die, Oh well, just another $30 bill down the drain because the local stores didn't mention they weren't the right type..... I've already decided this hobby wouldn't be any fun if it hardly cost anything to do......

Now for a real question: When I go get me a 5 gal jug to fill with RO water at the water stores, What if anything will I need to do with the water ? Will it still be chlorinated I suppose ? Any other conditions I should be aware of from using it ?

WOO-HOO...... Now maybe we're on a roll !!! A total of 12 weeks that this tank has run, tore it down once and moved it home due to temperature fluctuations in my office at work, has been running for 8 weeks at home and levels of 3.0 - 4.0 ppm ammonia have been constant.

Just tonight figured out it was my tap water.... Just got back from Wal-mart and bought 2 - 5 gal water jugs and stopped at the RO water dispenser and filled them. Just finished a 50% water change and levels right after that are 0.50ppm ammonia..... Have never seen that in this tank until now.

Hopefully on the road to a complete cycle now and hopefully in a couple of weeks, can start adding some little fish friends to the 3 I've had in there the past two months.......

Hi,

If it's really RO water, then it's also depleted of important nutrients etc. So, even if it doesn't have chlorine, you should use an additive that would remove it AND add some minerals that are beneficial to your fish. I believe that RO water can also reduce KH, which can reduce the pH stability of the water, so you might have to add stuff to stabilize pH as well. So, RO will solve some problems but might need some care. We need to get to the bottom of why your tap water has ammonia. There are additives that can neutralize ammonia, but I've never used them.

Good luck!

I would check a couple of hours later after your water change.

I was wandering about all the minerals and whatnot that was removed from the water, any idea of what I should get to add with it and hopefully something that my 2 local stores might carry.

As for the PH, I've seen bottles of Up / Down in PetsMart, would this be something I'd use if the PH levels get too low ?

This aquarium business is so hard in a town of 100k and only the 2 national brand lines of shops in town for buying aquarium related stuff. You can stop on any street corner and buy as much illegal drugs as you have the money for, just don't go looking for an aquarium plant or a bottle of this or that for aquariums..... ;(

As long as you add some tap to your water changes that should be sufficient. Don't worry about ph products, your fish wil adapt to the new water.

wow, 4ppm in the tap? that's nuts!

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"Being ignorant is not so much a Shame, as being unwilling to learn".-- Benjamin Franklin

Today, I guess about 16hrs after doing a 50% water change last night with RO water, the ammonia levels are I'd guess between a color difference of 0.50 - 1.0 ppm, up just a tad from when first did the change and it read 0.50ppm.

Still not showing any nitrite or nitrate increase. Should I continue with another water change with the RO water or just sit on this awhile and see what happens ? Also the plants I put in I'm told on here are not underwater plants, however they are showing no signs of turning brown, wilting or any of that, should I leave them awhile longer and just pay attention to their condition, remove them or what ? I don't want to be this close to a cycle and have them screw up something...... Rick

IMO, no. During a cycle it is not needed to try and get the levels below 1ppm.

100% RO changes can be dangerous. If you get your kh too low, you ph can become unstable. That is why it is better to use at least 25% tap.