Amonia Levels

[barmstrong]

Hi,
I tested my tank yesterday to find that the my amonia was high but the rest was at
cal 460
phos 0
nit 0
ph 8.0
sal 1.024
None of my fish have died, so what could be causing my amonia to be so high. I plan to do a 15% water change tonight to see if that helps, but not sure what the problem could be. i change the water 15% every other week, and feed every other day. I also use R)/DI water. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Oh, my tank has been runing since last june. maybe I should by another test kit for amonia and try that.
Best,
Brian

 

[PVChick12]

What do you consider "high"? How big is the tank, how many fish, how long established and how much do you feed? Might get better answers if you answer those questions... =)

 

[Bebo77]

ditto what she said... but ammonia levels should be 0 in an established tank....

 

[NicoleC]

I would definately try another test kit, or take your water in to Petco/LFS/etc. for a free test. Unless you've had an "event" like a cold snap, heat wave, moving/removing things in the tank or a dead fish, it is unlikely that you actually have ammonia.

I've bought 2 ammonia test kits in two months -- both gave false positive readings. There may be a bad batch or two out there on the shelves right now, and old test kits do eventually go bad. (Your test kit should have an expiration date on it.)

 

[PVChick12]

OOOO I dont know where your located but where I live, it was pretty hot yesterday, my tank jumped to 84, dont know if that could have killed anything in your tank that your not seeing though...how often do you test? When was the last time and ditto about getting a 2nd opinion.... =)