# false test reading?



## Guest (Feb 26, 2005)

i just set up my first freshwater tank. i was told by my local pet store to have my tank set up for 4 days before coming back for fish...which i did. unfortunately my tank is only five gallons due to my very small apartment. anyway, i was oblivious to "NTS" until i read about it online a few weeks after setting up my tank and losing a few neons to what i thought was neon tetra disease. i went and bought two glowlight tetras to replace them. now i know that was the wrong thing to do..but anyways i have had the tank for 6 weeks now with 3 red eye tetras and 2 glowlights. when i checked the ammonia last week it was sky high. i have been doing daily 10% water changes, reducing feedings and using ammo-lock BUT i would've thought that my tank would have cycled already. the ph is 6.6 and there is 0 nitrites and 0 nitrates...just tons of ammonia. could the ammo-lock be throwing my test of that much?

this is the test i use:










any help would be appreciated. thatnks.


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

http://www.fishforums.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=1162&highlight=


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## fishfreaks (Jan 19, 2005)

you might want to try a 20 water change over the next few days and see if theres a difference in your test results


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## flynngriff (Jan 19, 2005)

I think the reason ammonia treatments throw off the readings is because they do not actually remove any ammonia. All the ammonia treatments do is to make the ammonia not harmful to your fish. It's still in your tank, it's just not harmful anymore. It also won't be converted by your bacteria into nitrites and then into nitrates. It will now always show up on the ammonia test, and it will be harder to tell when your tanks is cycled.

What you need to do now is continue your water changes (I'd probably do 20% daily), and keep an eye on your nitrites and nitrates. When nitrates start to appear, you'll know that your tank has started to cycle. Whe your nitrites drop to zero, but your nitrates are gradually growing, you know your tank has fully cycled.

Good luck.


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## DavidDoyle (Jan 18, 2005)

> All the ammonia treatments do is to make the ammonia not harmful to your fish. It's still in your tank, it's just not harmful anymore. It also won't be converted by your bacteria into nitrites and then into nitrates. It will now always show up on the ammonia test, and it will be harder to tell when your tanks is cycled.


This is incorrect. Ammonia detoxifiers such as Amquel will not prevent the completion or proper ecology of the cycle. However, they do cause the the most common form of test kits based on Nessler reagents to give false readings. However, if you need to get accurate readings while using ammonia detoxifiers you can get an ammonia kit which used Salicylate reagents (Kordon makes them for one).


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## flynngriff (Jan 19, 2005)

Thanks for correcting me, DavidDoyle...

I wasn't 100% sure, that's why I said "I think". This is how I've had it explained to me in the past, and the evidence I've seen has supported this info. Can you explain how the ammonia detoxifiers do work?

Thanks!


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## DavidDoyle (Jan 18, 2005)

I dont know the chemistry behind how it works, I do know Amquel does not interfere with nitrogen cycle.


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## Guest (Feb 28, 2005)

thanks for all of your help!


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