Ammonia??

[ReefCheif]

Having a s;ight ammonia issue and Im hoping you guys can help me narrow the cause.

Problem is not in my tank but in my mixed saltwater used for water changes. Im getting anywhere form a .25 to .50ppm reading depending on the container Im checking

I use two 20 gallon brutes and a 35 gallon brute to mix my water.

I use Kent Reef Salt mix.

Ive checked the RO water, reading at 0ppm, so thats not the source.

Ive come to 2 conclusions:

1. Either the containers are leaching or they are dirty (I usually clean them every other time, but not sure I did so this time)

2. Or the salt is bad and causing ammonia to spike(is that even possible)

Any ideas? Ive now got 75-80 gallons of mixed saltwater that is showing an ammonia reading, I dont want to throw it out, can I save it? Carbon??

 

[ReefCheif]

All other levels are fine in the mixed saltwater, no other spikes

 

[Munch]

I assume you bought the brutes new, and didn't use em for anything else before water mixing/storage?

Also, have you tried a second test kit?

 

[ReefCheif]

Brutes are new, only used to mix water, and yes, Ive tried 3 different test kits

 

[sethsolomon]

This is very odd.... Subscribing to see if anyone figures out whats going on.

 

[CRW Reef]

Ya yikes very odd I agree I would mix up some more RO and salt in something else to see what the readings are there. If no ammonia I would say they are the containers, if there is then its the salt. Also following along to catch the results of what you find as a source.

 

[FinsUp]

following along also, hoping to learn something. Cannot think of any reason why this would be happening.

 

[WatercolorsGuy]

I did a little googling and read a few topics on some different forums of this happening to others.
It appeared the two most common complaints of this came from those using Kent salt and Instant Ocean.

People were getting the same results of the same tests as you. 0ppm in RO, 0ppm in bucket of RO and anywhere from .50-1.00 ppm right after mixing salt that even lasted for several days.

General consensus was that there is usually a small amount of ammonia in any given brand of salt. Some batches may be higher than others though.

Hopefully this helps a little and eliminates some of the confusion I am sure you are feeling trying to figure it out. It would make me a little crazy...you wouldn't think that ammonia would be a product in the salt we use. However, the small amount introduced is probably quickly consumed by the beneficial bacteria in an established tank.

 

[deboy69]

What do you do to wash the containers?

KCCO

 

[Andrew_bram]

I would wash with vinegar

 

[ReefCheif]

I wash with vinegar.

I did mix up a gallon of saltwater at my usuall salinity and temp level and tested, theres a small amount present, under .025, but Im sure if I check tomorrow itll go up a bit.

Ive done some googling as well as per Mikes suggestion and Ive come to the same general concensus. It seems alot of salt mixes will have small amount of ammonia present and its not noticed becuase majority of people do not test their freshly mixed water for ammonia, I know I generally dont, why I was this time is beyond me, I was checking Ph and for some reason did ammonia and nitrates too, force of habit I guess. Water testing for me is generally done on the tank itself a few hours after a water change.

I did do a test on the display and there is no measurable ammonia present.

Now on to the next question.

I have one 20 gallon brute reading .50ppm, I have one 20 gallon reading .25ppm and i have one 35 gallon reading .25ppm, these have been mixing now for 48 hours. If I let it cook longer will the ammonia drop? Should I run a carbon sock in each container to help remove the ammonia? Or should I just do my water change as usuall and pretend like i never noticed the ammonia in the change water and let my biological filters to the job, and if so should I even worry about the ammonia?

Hobby or never ending headache, still not sure yet! LOL

 

[ReefCheif]

Oh, BTW, my tank is 180 gallon with 75 gallon fuge / sump, in case your wondering why I have some much damn water mixed up.

 

[Andrew_bram]

Do you have a cat that peed in the salt I know it's silly question but have seen it happen

 

[deboy69]

Could it be a false positive. Something that's in there giving the test kit something to react to other than ammonia

KCCO

 

[ReefCheif]

Do you have a cat that peed in the salt I know it's silly question but have seen it happen

Not possible. Although i do have cats my salt is kept in a water and air tight container

 

[jda123]

I have seen some anecdotal posts over the years with people having new(er) brutes smelling like cat pee - ammonia. After a while, it goes away. I give mine a Muratic acid rinse before i use them, so maybe that cleans them out a bit. I have never had any ammonia with IO, Oceanic, Salinity or Tropic Marin - I have never found Kent too terribly consistent, but not too bad either.

Are the cans newer? Perhaps a muratic acid bath?

 

[ReefCheif]

So Ive still yet to figure out where the ammonia came from.

I was able to save the water by adding a bit of Seachem Prime to it and it removed the ammonia with no problem

I have read that Chloramines can show up as ammonia with certain test kits. Although no ammonia reading in the RO, lets me know this is not the cause.

The post above does kinda make sense, the containers are newer, and even though I never noticed it before, when I first noticed the ammonia reading I could smell a small hint of ammonia.

Since this water appears to be good in all fashions now Im gonna go ahead and use it, I will then start washing all my containers out prior to mixing new water with Muratic acid, I will be also adding a small amount of Prime to the RO before i add salt mix. I think tis might be a bit overkill, but Id rather be safe than sorry.