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Posted by DrC on June 9, 2005, 5:12 am
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Hi - If any of you knowledgeable people could help with this I would be
really grateful.
I set my 29G tank up about a month ago. Skimmer, 10Kg living rock
about 1" of Aragonite pre-seeded sand and lots of flow. For reasons I
wont bore you with I didn't have a test kit until the tank had been up
and running for a little under a week.
Once the test kit arrived I tested and Ammonia = 0.25ppm, Nitrites were
through the roof and because of this the Nitrate reading was
meaningless.
I continued to test for Nitrites which came down to 0 over the next
week / week and a half. This coincided with a brown and then a green
algae bloom which is still there (but stable, not expanding).
Now, foolish I know, I assumed I was observing the tank completely
cycling and didn't bother to test for Ammonia until Nitrites were zero
expecting Ammonia to be 0 as well. To my surprise Ammonia was still
.25ppm and there it has stayed for the last 2 weeks.
I have tested my RO water and the kit reads zero for that so I assume
it's a genuine reading.
Now, I can live with this for a while longer but the fact the rock and
sides of the tank are all green is annoying me 'cos it
looks...well...not like a reef. I have searched through this NG and
have seen a number of posts where people quote .25ppm ammonia and then
go on about their fish (and not about how ill they are, either).
Question: If I were to add turbo snails now would they cope with the
ammonia and clean my tank or is it still too poisonous for them?
Many thanks for your help, sorry fot the long post.
David
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Posted by Boomer on June 9, 2005, 1:22 pm
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Dave
Are you adding anything, such as some kind of water conditioner, like a
chlorine,
chloramines or ammonia remover? These can give false readings on some kits.
Also take the
kit to a LFS and test their water in an established tank. Some times in new
systems with
new seawater some kits give false readings, usually around .25 ppm. Finally,
freshly made
seawater also usually has around .25 ppm or a little lower, so have you been
changing any
water ?
Boomer
Want to talk chemistry ? The Reef Chemistry Forum
http://www.reefcentral.com/vbulletin/index.php
WCWing@nospamChartermi.Net
Former US Army Bomb Technician (EOD)
Member; IABTI, NATEODA, WEODF, ISEE & IPS
If You See Me Running You Better Catch-Up
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Posted by DrC on June 9, 2005, 2:04 pm
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Thanks Boomer, no I'm not using any water conditioners because I'm
using RO water. Interesting point about new seawater - I'll make some
up over the weekend and test it.
Thanks
David
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Posted by Boomer on June 9, 2005, 2:44 pm
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" I'm not using any water conditioners because I'm
using RO water."
That does not mean anything :-) Chloramines make it through many RO membranes
and then
breaks down in chlorine and ammonia. Only a RO/DI with a carbon pre-filter will
stop
this.We have some articles on this take a look. I hope the are not to deep
Chloramine and the Reef Aquarium
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-11/rhf/feature/index.htm
Reverse Osmosis/Deionization Systems to Purify Tap Water for Reef Aquaria
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-05/rhf/index.htm
Boomer
Want to talk chemistry ? The Reef Chemistry Forum
http://www.reefcentral.com/vbulletin/index.php
WCWing@nospamChartermi.Net
Former US Army Bomb Technician (EOD)
Member; IABTI, NATEODA, WEODF, ISEE & IPS
If You See Me Running You Better Catch-Up
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Posted by DrC on June 10, 2005, 3:55 am
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Thanks Boomer, the more I know, the more I realise I don't know!
David
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