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Post by Emerson on Jul 27, 2003 14:22:21 GMT -5
I was testing Horatio's water today. He has been taking some meds, and I wanted to make sure the biological filter doesn't go heywire. Sure enough, the water tested positive for ammonia -- even though I just did a major water change on Friday. So, I did another another partial a couple of hours ago; tested again; ammonia. I don't know what made me think about this, but for some reason I decided to test the conditioned water in the water jug. Guess what -- ammonia. Well, this got me wondering. Did the bottled water already have ammonia in it?? So I got a bottle of the water that had not yet been treated, and found that the water did NOT have ammonia. Long story short, after testing water newly treated with AquaSafe, aged water with AquaSafe, and non-treated water, I've discovered that both the aged and the newly-treated water register levels of Ammonia. Newly-treated was higher than aged, but ammonia was still present. Non-treated bottled water -- zero ammonia. I then tested water after adding 8 drops of StressCoat. Zero ammonia. I don't know what to do! I was trying not to use StressCoat because it seems to be gunking everything up, but the AquaSafe is giving me ammonia readings right out of the jug! Grrrrrrr. I give up.  |
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Post by Betta MVP on Jul 27, 2003 16:33:26 GMT -5
sef,
I think what is happening is that there are chloramines in the bottled water and the Aquasafe breaks the chloramine bond (like it is supposed to) and releases the ammonia. You will need to get a product like Amquel to use in addition to it.
Does the Stresscoat say on the bottle that it breaks the chloramine bond or does it just say it gets rid of chlorine? Maybe you aren't getting ammonia reading with SC because it's not helping with chloramines which do need to be gotten rid of.
What is the ammonia reading that you are getting? Is it just a trace or pretty high?
Sounds like the meds did affect your biological filter so you will have to cycle again. Since you took your filter media out and are storing it in tank water, this should preserve the good bacteria living on there. Once the meds are done and you put the filter back in, it will help the bacterial colony establish itself again pretty quickly.
Don't give up now!!
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Megan
Junior Bubble Nester
"Golden Pearl" Plakat
Posts: 158
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Post by Megan on Jul 27, 2003 16:53:39 GMT -5
Just a quick question... Out of curiosity, why are you using bottled water and not your tap water?
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Post by Emerson on Jul 27, 2003 17:24:00 GMT -5
Megan, I'm not using tap water because the PH fluctuates greatly, since our small rural community gets it from several different sources. Also, it tests pretty high in ammonia right out of the tap, and the pet store owner where I bought Horatio recommended that I use the bottled. The reading in the tank is less than when I test the bottled water itself -- just a trace. The conditioned bottled water is higher, especially *right after* adding the AquaSafe (and I've been adding the treated water about 10-15 minutes after adding AquaSafe; it's supposed to work "in seconds." ). Aged water with AquaSafe is lower in ammonia, but it's still present. This really, really irks me. I never got an elevated ammonia reading with StressCoat, but in researching it on the web, I have learned that it does *not* elminate chloramine. AquaSafe says it handles chlorine, chloramine and ammonia -- so why does ammonia should up in bottled water treated with it? I don't understand any of this. In the meantime, I did another partial change using water treated with a little bit of the StressCoat, and took a reading this evening. I don't know how, but it is now reading 0 again. How do I really know what's going on in the tank??  |
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Post by Betta MVP on Jul 27, 2003 21:39:54 GMT -5
If the Aquasafe says it gets rid of ammonia, I think it is probably giving you a false positive on your test kit. It breaks the chloramine bond and releases the ammonia which it in turn detoxifies but doesn't just erase it. In your cycled tank, the ammonia doesn't show up because even though the conditioner made it safe for your fish, the bacteria can still convert it.
Most products that claim to detoxify ammonia will still give you a positive on a test kit.
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Post by Emerson on Jul 27, 2003 21:47:47 GMT -5
Okay, that makes sense. Then wouldn't I be better off using a product that doesn't detoxify ammonia, so that I can get a better "take" on what's going on in the tank? In cases like this one - introducing meds - I really need to be able to know if it's doing anything to the biological filter. A false positive right now might make it look like the biological filter is breaking down, when in fact it might not be.
Is that true?
'Night all!
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Post by bettabrat on Jul 30, 2003 21:37:48 GMT -5
Some brands of test kits will show the 'converted' ammonia, but some tests will not. I wish I could tell you which brand to use, but i can't remember! I use Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, and I *think* that it will give you the right reading. (Meaning that converted and non-toxic ammonia doesn't show up as toxic....) I haven't used the products that you used, so I'm not 100% sure on this....
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ana
Egg
Posts: 2
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Post by ana on Aug 4, 2003 5:59:35 GMT -5
the dechloriminator is breaking down and making safe the chloramine in your water, if it didnt detoxify the ammonia it would leave possibly unsafe levels of it in your water
does that make sense?
i think that the answer must be found in the brand of test kit, not the dechloramination, as betta brat mentioned
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Post by Emerson on Aug 4, 2003 12:51:25 GMT -5
I guess it makes sense, although I really don't need a product that handles ammonia -- just chlorine and chloramines. And even then, nothing heavy. I'm using bottled water, and it should be less chemical-laden than tap water.
I am thinking of switching to Wardley at some point, which seems to be essentially the same thing as Stress Coat but without the slime coat additive (Aloe Vera). Tap Water Conditioner by AP was another consideration, but there again I'm not sure I need something that "binds heavy metals." What exactly does that mean?
Anyway, in my opinion, the fewer unnecessary chemicals, the better!
Thanks.
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Post by bettabrat on Aug 4, 2003 16:19:37 GMT -5
I guess it makes sense, although I really don't need a product that handles ammonia -- just chlorine and chloramines. And even then, nothing heavy. I'm using bottled water, and it should be less chemical-laden than tap water. Just to clarify what ana was saying, chloramine is a chemical compound that when broken, leaves ammonia. That is why the water conditioners do all of that. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the assumption that you shouldn't use all bottled water because it is too 'soft', meaning it lacks certain minerals that bettas need.... I think I read that if you use bottled water, you should use half tap water with it. But in this case (w/ fluctuating tap ph) what would be the safest option? |
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Post by Jenny on Aug 4, 2003 17:24:09 GMT -5
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the assumption that you shouldn't use all bottled water because it is too 'soft', meaning it lacks certain minerals that bettas need.... I think I read that if you use bottled water, you should use half tap water with it. But in this case (w/ fluctuating tap ph) what would be the safest option? Actually I think that it's distilled water that shouldn't be used for that reason. Bottled spring water is okay. |
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