Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature currently requires accessing the site using the built-in Safari browser.
That is really neat, its not that bad at all after TAN factoring down to the nh3 report level which is the only version of ammonia we care about at the pH we run--per Dan P's writing and Randy's writing on ammonia levels these are the helpful takeaways. Dan has said that Prime conditioner isn't affecting seneye read accuracy, so at least that one water conditioner won't be an issue if you do pick up a seneye and in the end I really think we can stop using any water conditioners and get a better reading in a few weeks of this new maintenance course.
in our ammonia study thread, several concerns were founded off those same reported levels above like yours, and if we message any entrant from that thread their current tank is ok, and I bet that rascal test kit still says .8 lol for them.
@brandon429 I am just trying to understand the TAN factor, the NH3 would be 0.0362ppm? i used this online calculator https://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/FreeAmmonia.php to give me the NH3 concentration is this correct?its almost ready but post the actual vial sitting on that card so we can see it all and make the comparison for color off that pic. that above is just the card.
we will guess what the total ammonia reads off the pic, likely .2 or something
then tan conversion off the instructions in that kit shows we move decimal to the left, .02 to get nh3 and now we're approaching safe zone and that's even considering direct adulterants messing up the test. its just for fun to see it, truly might be pegged to the sky dark green but the reason the tank is ok each day and never crashes is the adulterants messing w the kit's chemistry.
even someone else's nondigital kits can't work accurately on that sample, it'll take seneye to ever know true levels but you can see by the patterns above in the false alert thread we simply don't need to measure ammonia in a post cycle reef tank, it self-controls.
knowing your true ammonia would be fun for tracking purposes but on that water column I don't think we're going to get to ever know it. patterned assessment is how you'll have to view ammonia from here on out...trusting the cycle to stay in place and reef on without concern.
See that is interesting, and i can clearly see now how these color compare kits are not the best in terms of Ammonia testing - That is great feedback from the community to be able to see a trend and identify that actually none of these noncontrol ammonia posts are using the Seneye monitor.for sure, that's a huge tank and the implication is that a single example exists in reefing for seneye showing a running reef tank fail to control its ammonia (not ones where fish disease rots fish in the water, normal-running reef examples, there aren't any)
all ammonia noncontrol posts excluding fish death posts are these color compare kits reporting the params.
in our dosing ammonia thread below, seneye owners add liquid cycling ammonia right into running reefs here below and things spike minor then rebound quickly, 5 mins avg on seneye
if this was api-ran below it'd be sheer madness/red sea included
even if this reef above never buys a seneye, that's his dynamic. The food he's adding is contributing nothing compared to dosing actual liquid ammonium chloride into a reef tank:
Does anyone dose ammonia and/or how would one try?
So, after an interesting discussion on nitrate dosing and looking at my Walt Disney coral and seeing it slightly less colorful than I have seen it in others tanks, I have decided I want to learn about and then try dosing ammonia instead of buying 20 damsels. Nitrate additives I see abound and...www.reef2reef.com
we need to know if he dosed Prime here as water conditioner. that and a clear white light pic of the kit so we can apply TAN conversions to it. The large nice clownfish are not aerotaxing to the surface to breathe, that ammonia is under control.
c. jardenai corals worth $500 look for a reason in life not to extend, that elegance is wide open.
I wouldnt say the water is the clearest Ive seen but that can easily be from feeding, mixed reactive dosing too. we'd simply hold course, do a nice water change and continue reefing here. cease testing for cycling params for the next few mos, focus on how the tank looks and dont allow water clarity to degrade, take physical action not dosing action.
the #1 hallmark of this thread here and that example thread above is that the title of the alert thread is centered around a test reading, there is no actual loss in the tank. that's the universal shared issue in all those collected examples of false ammonia readings, and anytime we can get a seneye poster to post, their readings never cause alarm (tuned seneye reports nh3 live time, digitally no need for TAN conversion work like we're about to do)
systems don't tolerate a burn level of ammonia while everything runs normally, if he was overfeeding the water would be opaque and things would be clearly stressed. I've seen nopox cause that much clarity issue above/harmless stuff.
What about throwing in one of the Seachem Ammonia Alert monitors? They’re good for in excess of 6 months and will tell you at a glance if anything is amiss with ammonia levels. Not that you still can’t test, but the alerts are relatively inexpensive and it gives you something to compare the tests against.
From the image you shared it looks like a level of 0.8. I have the same Red Sea test kit and it’s not easy to screw up, so I’d go with the suggestion to have the ammonia on your source water tested as well.
@Sshannon - See my reply to BlaxsunTest your source water ammonia.
@brandon429 - Looks like the Seneye kits can send emails and text alerts.. DECENT! and that makes sense !I truly don't know if seneyes sends alerts, that's a very good summary above of all events for sure I think this reef is on the right track for sure. I don't use seneye or any other ammonia testing simply because it's a predictable param at all times in a small no fish setup like my pico reef is, it's really fun collecting other's seneye posts though to build these readout pattern logs
there are zero cases of any display tank in reefing on seneye that is calibrated showing problems with ammonia and no fish rotting among the rocks. It is 100% an issue for non digital testing, nothing is wrong with this reef at all even though it’s near impossible for readers to believe.
That is interesting, i thought the aim was to get the Ammonia as low as possible with only a trace showing, i didnt know corals consume Ammonia though!we want some nitrogen circulating as low level free ammonia, reefs do not ever run at zero ammonia. it will help your corals even more to have a little N and P so that's why no zeolite is needed, reef tanks all control their ammonia and none using live rock need help even with stocking and feed variance.
that being said your system looks great for being low nutrient, low storage / no sandbed really means that system can be fed well because that feed won't pile up as rotting waste. currents will carry it out or into a filter catchment.
I can understand running slightly less phosphate remover but keeping some; you aren't trying to go high nutrients and make an algae farm. let the nitrogen exist as it will from the feed, remove zeolite but continue po4 management using slightly less removal, this is ideal and will likely reinstate water clarity after a few changes balances it out.
hope that helps, pls update this thread in a month or two using the new approach we feed off that kind of feedback to hold course or change methods in our study threads
B
that's a nice reef that coral set is so healthy and $$$
@brandon429 - i think the system is okay day to day, however i did find that my source RODI had an ammonia reading of around 0.6-0.7looks like your tank is tolerating it just fine, that's why sensitive corals are open, the fish are eating daily and swimming and having no trouble breathing
are we still accepting your test above as an impending crash, or is it clear your system is fine day to day with the water as is
@Sshannon - Thanks!I had the same issue with ammonia in my source water after filtering it through my rodi. I never figured it out. I just bought water after that from my lfs
@DrZoidburg - Yeah i do not have the best RO system it is a budget one - and yeah i read about a RO units last night and i found out about the di resin and i am thinking about purchasing this RODI unit:@Hunter90 HD Maybe getting break through of natural ammonia. Also some city disinfectants can be measured as ammonia not removed well by some carbons. 8 months membrane is not a unheard of life span. May look into a better carbon block replacement or di resin after. Another thing to check the membrane itself I would guess that was the first problem. Never let your fish "tolerate" ammonia.
@brandon429 - Interestingly i read this from a review on the Salifert Ammonia test kit:@DrZoidburg @brandon429 @Sshannon.
Update 1 month later.
So I have replaced my RO unit for a RODI unit, now producing <0.01 Ammonia, no Nitrates etc... Found out DI resin is what filters the Ammonia and a normal RO unit without the DI resin will not remove ammonia.
I have replaced 50% of the water last Thursday and replaced with new RODI water, i have added two more bio filter medias: https://marineaquatics.co.uk/shop/media/brightwell-media/brightwell-xport-bio-brick/ and been dosed MicroBacter XLM all week to rapidly establish bacteria.
I have had a bit if a brown (diatom) outbreak since i have stopped running my skimmer, stopped dosing NoPox and removed carbon media, purgien from filters to allow the bacteria to grow.
I have been testing my Ammonia all week literally every day and have remained at 0.8 using the Red Sea Marine Care test kit.
As everything looks healthy and no sign of Ammonia stress on corals / fish i brought a Salifert Ammonia test kit today and found Salifert was reading a 0.25 reading!!
I got a feeling @brandon429 perhaps the Red Sea kit was still being effected by the water conditioner i used ages ago (start of this conversation) which i have ceased using any tap conditioners now - I believe the Salifert Ammonia test kit is more accurate as visually the tank is thriving.
I am still looking to buy the Seneye meter as my Ammonia monitor for the future.
What is your thoughts @brandon429 - Have you had much experience with the Salifert test kit are they effected by water conditioners as much as the Red Sea test kit?
I am thinking of starting my skimmer, adding nopox dosing, putting my Carbon back in the water as looks like the bacteria has taken hold but want to polish the water off now as it is looking a bit brown .
Lee