false positive on ammonia. what do i do?

could i be adding ammonia to my tank if i dont do this?

 

I run api testkit also and my nitrate on my master test kit is always threw the roof so i went and bought a single nitrate kit and now when i do a master test i have to pull out my master and my single so this being said i think def get a ammonia kit and you schould be good i hope this helps...

 

Yes!!

 

i let the water sit a few day before mixing in salt. is that good enough or does adding salt put ammonia in the water?

 

You need to let the water sit AFTER you mix the salt in. This gives the saltwater time to completely mix and let the chemical reactions that go on take place. I have an old powerhead here that I toss in the pail to mix the water and wait a couple days before using.

 

Also, it is possible that you are getting some ammonia from your salt mix. But not likely that it is a significant amount.

 

so since i dont let it sit for a while this may be the reason for my GHA?

 

Allowing newly mixed SW to aerate and mix vigorously with a powerhead for 24 hours is desirable for all components to come to equilibrium and to insure that nothing remains undissolved. Additionally, it gives the exacting type of person ample time to change alk, calcium and magnesium (if necessary) to match existing in-tank parameters. This helps delicate corals like SPS not experience any swing in parameters. As for oxygenation--if your tank has a decent skimmer, ample water movement, and the normal chaos that goes with water travelling down to a sump, and back up to the DT--then even stagnant water added to a tank would be become saturated with O2 in short order. I don't recommend it, but just attempt to make a point.

Other than that, there are no chemical reactions that need to take place, and I don't see how adding newly mixed water could add ammonia to your tank, but I'm always willing to learn something new.

Quite a bit of what we read in forums is information that has been passed on for years, and sometimes people take for gospel what they hear without researching for themselves--or without taking time to find out if what they're reading is valid. IMO, science and experience trumps superstition and heresay every time.

I suspect that if you choose to mix your saltwater at 6 pm, and add it at 6:05--as long as you check the salinity, and visually confirm that all mix is dissolved, you're not going to hurt a thing.

 

When you mix salt to the water, you DO get ammonia for a while until all chemical processes have equalized as already mentioned.
The process is not instant.
Ref: Randy Holmes-Farley posting on RC
The process will occur without aeration, but will happen sooner with.
It is not a real significant amount unless you are doing a major water change, like 1/2 or 3/4 or so, but when the new water is added to the tank, the process is again accelerated and the ammonia will no longer be free ammonia for long.
Some sensitive inhabitants MAY suffer briefly under extreme conditions like a major change.
I don't remember how long it takes for newly mixed salt water to fully equalize and I can't find the thread just now on RC.

 

rayjay, would you be kind enough to link that article? Thanks!