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possible ammonia spike?

2K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  fish_4_all 
#1 ·
my 10 gallon tank tested positive for ammonia (like 4.0). its a fully cycled tank, i keep up with regular maintenace (ie- 10-20% water change and gravel vac weekly). it has a power filter with carbon inserts. i added some 'kent first step' to the tank a few weeks ago, because i was out of my regular water conditioner. this product detoxifies ammonia, as well as conditioning the water- and it says on the label it may give a false positive when i test for ammonia. my question is; could the positive reading be due to the product that i put in the tank 2-3 weeks ago? i have done roughly three water changes since then. i am hoping it is still affecting the test results- and not that i really have high ammonia.

the inhabitants- 2 harlequin rasboras and 1 cherry barb- all look fine, no signs on distress or poisoning.
 
#6 ·
It could be the false reading that the product will give but it could easily be true ammonia. I would really suggest doing larger water changes. I do 50%+ water changes once a week and I have never had a problem with anything from it. The only problem I get is when I forget to do them.

Amquel and similar product do "bind" the ammonia but if the bound ammonia is not removed the product can start to decay and release the ammonia back in the tank. Is one of the main reason I won;t use them anymore. They give you a false sense of security and if you dont get them out in time they can do more harm than good.
 
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