Tapwater has ammonia
- Thread starter Maxsfish
- Start date
No, API is salicylate. Not to worry in that respect.
Chloramine is a copmbination of chlorine and ammonia. Both are gasses and on their own both evaporate from water. Chloramine has a longer life in water than chlorine, which is why, among other things, it is used in many public water supply systems. It will naturally break down over time. When it does the ammonia tends to persist longer.
Interesting fact: Chloramine does not tend to kill the nitrifying bacteria. Because there is naturally some level of ammonia in the water when there is chloramine use, and certainly after it breaks down, the nitrifying bacteria are not killed by it. Rather, they go to sleep. When the cloramine breaks down, the bacteria reawaken. Chlorine, on the other heand, will kill bacteria dead. However, chloramine fully penetrates the biofilm in which the bacteria live about 39 times faster than chlorine. This is why some folks rinse their filter media in tap water rather than tank water.
Finally, there is a lot of misinformation on general fish sites about the toxicity of ammonia. In water it exists in two forms- Ammonia gas which is NH3 and very toxic and NH4 an ammonium ion which is much less so. Our kits mostly measure Total Ammonia which is NH3 + NH4. How much of the toal ammonia is in each form depends on the pH and temp. of the water. For example you and I each have similar tanks but your water is pH 8.0 and mine is pH 7.0. We both keep our tanks at 78F. We both test for total ammonia and we both get a 1 ppm reading. Your tank contains .0571 ppm of NH3 but mine only has .006 ppm. As a general rule the point at which NH3 is doing harm is .05 ppm. Some things not often in tanks are more sensitive and others we do keep may be less so. But the basic red line I draw for NH3 is at .005 ppm. (So does the Merck Veterinary manual*.)
You can calculate how much of each form of ammonia may be in any given total ammonia reading using math. In the digital age you can find calculators online. Here is the one I use. before you try it out you should know that it allows for anything from fresh to full salt water. We freshies should set the salinity to 0. Also there are two different scales for testing ammonia, nitrie and nitrate. The one most commonly used by hobbyists is the total ion scale. The one used most often in science is the nitrogen scale. The difference is how the levels are stated. Total Ion scale calls ammonia NH3 while the NItrogen scale calls it NH3-n (or NH3-nitrogen). Be sure the Total Ammonia Type is set to NH (NH3 + NH4) in the first box. https://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/FreeAmmonia.php
*
Chloramine is a copmbination of chlorine and ammonia. Both are gasses and on their own both evaporate from water. Chloramine has a longer life in water than chlorine, which is why, among other things, it is used in many public water supply systems. It will naturally break down over time. When it does the ammonia tends to persist longer.
Interesting fact: Chloramine does not tend to kill the nitrifying bacteria. Because there is naturally some level of ammonia in the water when there is chloramine use, and certainly after it breaks down, the nitrifying bacteria are not killed by it. Rather, they go to sleep. When the cloramine breaks down, the bacteria reawaken. Chlorine, on the other heand, will kill bacteria dead. However, chloramine fully penetrates the biofilm in which the bacteria live about 39 times faster than chlorine. This is why some folks rinse their filter media in tap water rather than tank water.
Finally, there is a lot of misinformation on general fish sites about the toxicity of ammonia. In water it exists in two forms- Ammonia gas which is NH3 and very toxic and NH4 an ammonium ion which is much less so. Our kits mostly measure Total Ammonia which is NH3 + NH4. How much of the toal ammonia is in each form depends on the pH and temp. of the water. For example you and I each have similar tanks but your water is pH 8.0 and mine is pH 7.0. We both keep our tanks at 78F. We both test for total ammonia and we both get a 1 ppm reading. Your tank contains .0571 ppm of NH3 but mine only has .006 ppm. As a general rule the point at which NH3 is doing harm is .05 ppm. Some things not often in tanks are more sensitive and others we do keep may be less so. But the basic red line I draw for NH3 is at .005 ppm. (So does the Merck Veterinary manual*.)
You can calculate how much of each form of ammonia may be in any given total ammonia reading using math. In the digital age you can find calculators online. Here is the one I use. before you try it out you should know that it allows for anything from fresh to full salt water. We freshies should set the salinity to 0. Also there are two different scales for testing ammonia, nitrie and nitrate. The one most commonly used by hobbyists is the total ion scale. The one used most often in science is the nitrogen scale. The difference is how the levels are stated. Total Ion scale calls ammonia NH3 while the NItrogen scale calls it NH3-n (or NH3-nitrogen). Be sure the Total Ammonia Type is set to NH (NH3 + NH4) in the first box. https://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/FreeAmmonia.php
*
from https://www.merckvetmanual.com/exot...nmental-diseases-in-aquatic-systems#v23353508
Sure, you can add more plants if you want. But of those you listed some might be difficult; "white ribbon" is not aquatic, it's a houseplant. Wisteria is easy & grows pretty fast. Hairgrass is best with co2, it's never grown well for me. Red temple & cardinal plant supposedly can grow without co2, but neither did well for me long term. Anacharis isn't happy for me either, it's mostly a cooler temp. stem. I see yours has lost some bottom leaves. You can trim off the bare part & replant but it may keep happening. I belong to a plant club & almost never buy plants. I've gotten to try lots, some work well, some die.
Cryptocorynes are pretty & most are easy. Look them up, wendtii are common & come in red, brown, green etc. Corkscrew vallisneria is 8-10 inch grass type plant--be careful not to get "jungle" val, it gets really tall. Anubias come in a couple sizes & leaf shapes. They're attached to wood or rock like your java fern.
Like OG said if you really want to try to breed fish, a separate tank is best. With a LOT of plants, a few eggs & fry MIGHT survive if you're very lucky. But that's ok for now. You just need to get the basics down.
Now I see it's a platy, lol! So many different color vareties!
Cryptocorynes are pretty & most are easy. Look them up, wendtii are common & come in red, brown, green etc. Corkscrew vallisneria is 8-10 inch grass type plant--be careful not to get "jungle" val, it gets really tall. Anubias come in a couple sizes & leaf shapes. They're attached to wood or rock like your java fern.
Like OG said if you really want to try to breed fish, a separate tank is best. With a LOT of plants, a few eggs & fry MIGHT survive if you're very lucky. But that's ok for now. You just need to get the basics down.
Now I see it's a platy, lol! So many different color vareties!
Yeah I’m not sure how the anacharis is doing, the bottom parts look the same as when I purchased them but the top parts with more leaves and roots have only happened since purchasing them, I’m assuming that’s good. I’m actually a huge gardener so it always confuses me how much harder it is to handle aquarium plants when my garden plants grow like weeds. I am going to pick up some flourish root tabs as well to boost some of the anacharis growth. I love crypts and I’ve heard they do well in acidic water but they are sadly no where to be found around me, I’ve ordered plants online before (a moss stick and some land plants for my garden) but have always found them to struggle from shipping. It is extremely hot where I live so that could likely be it. I went out to get the tetra safe start and am going to add that I hopefully to help any issues with the ammonia from developing and picked up an Amazon sword and anubias as well. In the past I managed to keep an Amazon compacta sword and an anubias nana alive in a 10. Gallon betta tank for 5 years before a big move killed them off. Betta lived and is still happily in his tank.
Just a word about amazon swords, they get very big. Here is a pictures of a mother plant in my 75 gal. inwall tank. I finally had to give it away.
Thank you for the information, I’m definitely hoping for it to get that big, especially if what I’ve heard about it blooming once it grows y’all enough to the edge of the tank. I do have a family member with a 55 that may want it if it gets too large but I’m hoping for it to get pretty big .
