newbie ammonia question

[gummy]

Advice needed on ammonia please.I have a 3 month old tank and finally bought
my own test kit.I have a low ammonia reading 0.1ppg,should I be worried
about this?I'm sure my tank has cylced.The info with the test kit says that
this amount of ammonia is ok for my ph,which is about 8.Other info iI have
read on the web says you should have no ammonia in the tank.Which one is
right..my fish seem happy..

thanks
Graham

[Mel]

You really shouldn't have any ammonia present as even in small amounts it's
very harmful to fish. As to reasons why you still have it - is your tank
overstocked? Are you overfeeding? Do you do regular water changes?
Mel.

"gummy" > wrote in message
...
> Advice needed on ammonia please.I have a 3 month old tank and finally
bought
> my own test kit.I have a low ammonia reading 0.1ppg,should I be worried
> about this?I'm sure my tank has cylced.The info with the test kit says
that
> this amount of ammonia is ok for my ph,which is about 8.Other info iI have
> read on the web says you should have no ammonia in the tank.Which one is
> right..my fish seem happy..
>
> thanks
> Graham
>
>

[Dinky]

"Mel" > wrote in message
...
> You really shouldn't have any ammonia present as even in small amounts
it's
> very harmful to fish. As to reasons why you still have it - is your tank
> overstocked? Are you overfeeding? Do you do regular water changes?
> Mel.
>

Another good question would be the accuracy of the kit, take a water sample
to the LFS to be checked and see if the result is the same.
Also, is your filtration adequete? How large is the tank? How much fish?
What kind of filter? What kind of media do you load it with?

billy

[NetMax]

"gummy" > wrote in message
...
> Advice needed on ammonia please.I have a 3 month old tank and finally
bought
> my own test kit.I have a low ammonia reading 0.1ppg,should I be worried
> about this?I'm sure my tank has cylced.The info with the test kit says
that
> this amount of ammonia is ok for my ph,which is about 8.Other info iI
have
> read on the web says you should have no ammonia in the tank.Which one
is
> right..my fish seem happy..
>
> thanks
> Graham

At a pH of 8, any detectable ammonia would not be good, as it's an
indicator of insufficient biological filtration, or your tap water has
ammonia (or chloramines). Did you do a recent water change or serviced
the filter's sponge? An NO2 measurement would be helpful. If no NO2,
then it's more likely to have been a temporary imbalance or it came from
your tap. NO3 measurements would be normal, and indicate the tank is (or
was) cycled.

A normal amount of tank ammonia would be undetectable (below the
threshold of your tester), so you would normally not measure anything.
The amount of ammonia you have measured is not toxic, but might indicate
a problem elsewhere. It might also be a poor quality reading. Start by
testing your tap water (before and after de-chlorinating it).

NetMax