Ammonia testing in quarantine tank question.

[alp5747]

have a Seachem ammonia badge and it reads 0,05 ppm (alert) in my quarantine tank so I just bought a new salifert ammonia test kit and it reads 0.
My question is how do you test ammonia and which should I trust?
Note: there is 1ppm nitrate and there has been fish in the system for 3 days many fish in the system

 

[Jay Hemdal]

alp5747 Welcome to the Fish Disease Treatment and Diagnosis Forum!

The #fishmedic team and other knowledgeable members of our community will do our best to help you resolve your questions. Please provide as much of the following as you are able:

• Brief description of the issue you are observing and answers to the following questions:
  • How long have you had the fish with the condition?
  • Did you quarantine with medication when you first acquired the fish? (If Yes, which medication?)
• Current water quality measurements
• Clear photos of the issue taken using WHITE light and/or a short video of any behaviors (post in your response or on YouTube).

If you can help us by providing as much of the above info as possible, it will make diagnosing and providing recommendations for treatment MUCH easier! The Fish Medic team will get back to you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, other members of our community may also share their experience with similar situations and advice that they may have regarding your situation.

You may also feel free to provide a more detailed description of the condition if you wish to share more info than the above list.

Additionally, these links may be useful while you await a response:

• CURRENT QT PROTOCOL LINK
• HOW TO ASK FOR DISEASE DIAGNOSIS HELP LINK

 

[Jekyl]

have a Seachem ammonia badge and it reads 0,05 ppm (alert) in my quarantine tank so I just bought a new salifert ammonia test kit and it reads 0.
My question is how do you test ammonia and which should I trust?
Note: there is 1ppm nitrate and there has been fish in the system for 3 days many fish in the system

Badges aren't going to be very accurate. Best bet for ammonia and copper is Hanna.

 

[vetteguy53081]

have a Seachem ammonia badge and it reads 0,05 ppm (alert) in my quarantine tank so I just bought a new salifert ammonia test kit and it reads 0.
My question is how do you test ammonia and which should I trust?
Note: there is 1ppm nitrate and there has been fish in the system for 3 days many fish in the system

I recommend Hanna or salifert brand as API will offer false readings due to difficulty in use/color detection and badge also for freshwater use and hard to trust. I trust the salifert reading you post but zero with a new tank not impossible but raises question.
Did you add ammonia chloride to tank prior to testing ?

 

[alp5747]

I recommend Hanna or salifert brand as API will offer false readings due to difficulty in use/color detection and badge also for freshwater use and hard to trust. I trust the salifert reading you post but zero with a new tank not impossible but raises question.
Did you add ammonia chloride to tank prior to testing ?

I was not trying to cycle the tank. It is an emergency hospital tank so I did not have time to cycle it properly. I used media from my sump to seed the hospital tank.
Note: most of the Media was only in the tank for about 10 days. About 10% was in the sump for over 1 month.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I was not trying to cycle the tank. It is an emergency hospital tank so I did not have time to cycle it properly. I used media from my sump to seed the hospital tank.
Note: most of the Media was only in the tank for about 10 days. About 10% was in the sump for over 1 month.

10 days may not be enough but monitor water quality during QT period. Nitrate can reach as high as 20 but focus on ammonia readings

 

[Garf]

have a Seachem ammonia badge and it reads 0,05 ppm (alert) in my quarantine tank so I just bought a new salifert ammonia test kit and it reads 0.
My question is how do you test ammonia and which should I trust?
Note: there is 1ppm nitrate and there has been fish in the system for 3 days many fish in the system

Can you post a picture of the badge, to show the colour it's reporting? Have you got copper in the water?