ammonia present

why am i detecting a little ammonia in an established reef tank with no nitrate and no nitrate

 

How old are your test kits? Are they expired?

 

How long has it been established?
Have you added any new fish?
And what ^^ she said.

Also, what's your setup? (sump/no sump, skimmer, filter, amount of rock, etc.)
Used any glass cleaner around it lately?
What and how often are you feeding?

 

Just wanted to add that you need to read the value within a certain amount of time. This varies from test kit to test kit. If you do not read it within that amount of time you will see a positive value. If you have a positive value for ammonia you should also see a positive value for nitrites and nitrates.

This is an established system based on your other post right?

 

+1 on reading the instructions. I saw a thread where someone asked why their nitrate was higher after 30 minutes & the test said to compare after 5 LOL.

 

+1 on everything above

plus, if your test kit is one you have had for a while
maybe you did not screw the cap on fully everytime and you have lost some water due to evaporation, leaving the contents more concentrated and thus giving an artifical high reading



are there any inhabitants showing signs of stress, such as cloudy eyes or red blood marks on fins or body?

if the answer is no- get a second opinion with a different test kit

let us know and then
I will move this out of ASAP and into water chemistry

Steve

 

no stress evidence in the tank, i will get a new kit after work i guess i was stressing lol

 

Ammonia will cause stress