ammonia in an empty aquarium.

I set up my 20gal (24"12"x16") aquarium and have been running it for a
week with no fish. Shortly after I set it up I tested the water and
found the ammoina level to be in the low detectable range .5-1ppm. And
it has stayed there for the past week. So my question is where did the
ammonia come from and what should I do to lower the ammonia? I
thought by now I'd have generated a bacteria culture and start seeing
the ammonia level go down.

"Dale Henderson" wrote in message
...

I set up my 20gal (24"12"x16") aquarium and have been running it for a
week with no fish. Shortly after I set it up I tested the water and
found the ammoina level to be in the low detectable range .5-1ppm. And
it has stayed there for the past week. So my question is where did the
ammonia come from and what should I do to lower the ammonia? I
thought by now I'd have generated a bacteria culture and start seeing
the ammonia level go down.


What have you put in the tank to start off the cycle?
Bacteria need feeding ansd it typically takes 2-3 weeks to get the ammonia
bacteria functioning - if you feed them.

"Sue" writes:

"Dale Henderson" wrote in message
...


What have you put in the tank to start off the cycle?
Bacteria need feeding ansd it typically takes 2-3 weeks to get the ammonia
bacteria functioning - if you feed them.

I thought all that I needed to feed the bacteria was ammonia; What do
I need to feed them?

Right now there is nothing in the tank except gravel, some plastic
plants and rock. (nothing living)

Dale Henderson wrote:
I set up my 20gal (24"12"x16") aquarium and have been running it for a
week with no fish. Shortly after I set it up I tested the water and
found the ammoina level to be in the low detectable range .5-1ppm. And
it has stayed there for the past week. So my question is where did the
ammonia come from and what should I do to lower the ammonia? I
thought by now I'd have generated a bacteria culture and start seeing
the ammonia level go down.

You probably used a sodium thiosulfate based dechlorinator on water with
chloramines. All water conditioners split chloramines into chlorine and
ammonia, but many water conditioners only treat the chlorine half,
leaving about the level of ammonia you're seeing.

Find out for sure whether your tap water containes chlorine or
chloramine from your local water company. If it's chloramine, you will
need to use something like AmQuel to treat it. Look for a water
conditioner that states that it treats both chloramine AND ammonia.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

Elaine T writes:

Dale Henderson wrote:
I set up my 20gal (24"12"x16") aquarium and have been running it for a
week with no fish. Shortly after I set it up I tested the water and
found the ammoina level to be in the low detectable range .5-1ppm. And
it has stayed there for the past week. So my question is where did the
ammonia come from and what should I do to lower the ammonia? I
thought by now I'd have generated a bacteria culture and start seeing
the ammonia level go down.

You probably used a sodium thiosulfate based dechlorinator on water
with chloramines. All water conditioners split chloramines into
chlorine and ammonia, but many water conditioners only treat the
chlorine half, leaving about the level of ammonia you're seeing.

Actually I didn't use any dechlorinator. It was a new tank, no fish,
no bacteria. So I decided to just age the water.



Find out for sure whether your tap water containes chlorine or
chloramine from your local water company. If it's chloramine, you
will need to use something like AmQuel to treat it. Look for a water
conditioner that states that it treats both chloramine AND ammonia.

I have well-water. I did test the tap water for ammonia and the level
was zero. Maybe the well-water is treated with chloramine and maybe I
can find out.



--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com