It's the ammonia....

prober said:
If your tap water reads ammonia then you will likely never get the ammonia to read 0. One thing you could do is to buy a jug of drinking water from the grocery store. It costs about 30 cents a gallon after you put a deposit on the 5 gallon jug but at least you will know that the water is good. You also could look into a reverse osmosis water system for a cheaper source of water, makes great drinking water as a side benefit.

I don't know the exact science behind the ammonia in your water but there is a form of ammonia that is not free in the water, it is captured by some means and therefore is not able to be processed by the bacteria. It is always present but evidently is not in a toxic form. Like I said, I am no expert so you may want to start a new thread asking about ammonia in tap water.

It is my opinion that your tank is probably cycled now even though the ammonia still shows on the test. For you, that .5 of ammonia may mean 0 if you continue to use that water source. During the summer months your tap water may not contain ammonia, many cities water changes during the winter.
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Thank you for this!!! I keep feeling like it's cycled too, but this stupid ammonia thing has me so worried about my babies! It just seems like every single other thing is totally in line except that one stinking number! It acts cycled considering that I've had fish in there for 3 days and the ammonia hasn't risen AT ALL but the nitrates sneak up like I would expect.

Can I use the drinking water from the grocery?? At least it would dilute it and maybe make me more comfortable. I just keep reading about all forms of bottled water being a terrible idea.

The fish seem to be totally ok- thriving even. I have one platy fry that I keep seeing from time to time also. They are eating great and really active.
 
what kind of water exactly is the drinking water? distilled, RO, bottled spring water?
 
if the tank isn't large then i'd consider buying spring water to do water changes with if that tap ammonia is really bugging you. at the very least cut your tap water half and half with the spring water to bring that high ammonia from the tap down.

if the tank is large then the above idea doesn't make sense financially. if it's 20 gallons or less then it shouldn't be too costly.
 
It's only 26. I'm going to probably look into what's in the "drinking water" and what other water I could use just for about 1/2 and 1/2.
 
The bottled drinking water will be fine, whether it is springwater or not. Just don't use distilled water.

Most bottled drinking water is tap water from somewhere, although it could be springwater or purified (RO) water. It normally will go through a bit more filtration than normal tap water and in the case of RO water they usually add some minerals in for taste. There should be no ammonia or nitrates and it usually has a PH of 7.2-7.6 and fairly soft. I have used it many times and still cut my tap water 50% with it in the winter.

I have tested the brands they sell here and try to use the same brand so that I know it's properties but generally you will be fine with bottled water and if your ammonia goes down by a similar amount to the water you changed then you will have your answer.
 
Prober I was just remembering how Aquafina got in some hot water a few years ago because everyone found out it was just tap water- but I bet it's ammonia free! hahaha. Perhaps I'll pick some up for water changes for a few days. I would feel a bit more comfortable if I could just get the ammonia down to .25 or less...
 
from what i have seen, quite often the store brand bottled water will be from a spring, whereas the name brands are filtered tap water.

i sometimes buy a flat of bottled water from my local superstore (grocery store), and it always has the water source printed on the label. this particular store brand is always sourced from one of two springs in British Columbia.
 
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