Ammonia Problem

[tnn1567]

I have a high concentration of ammonia about .75 ppm. How do I get it lower? It is a new tank. Since it is so high, will that kill all my live rocks?

Nitrate = 0
Nitrite = 0
PH = 8.2
Hardness is fine
Temp = 80 F

Everytime I changed out 20% of the water, the salanity drops. My dead sea salt has high concentration of ammonia.

[AttackDonut]

You are going through a cycle with your new tank, this is normal. It will cycle in roughly 4-6 weeks. Give it time and don't put anything in but the live rock.

[Casino]

You could do some water changes but your tank has just entered into the amonia part of its cycle. I hope you dont have any inhabitants in there besides the LR. Your amonia is probably peaked and will start to drop soon, then your nitrites will do the same, up and down. Hang in there, it will be over soon. In the meantime save some money, you will be spending alot of it.

[tnn1567]

Thanks for the response!!!

[DaveJohnson]

Originally posted by tnn1567
Everytime I changed out 20% of the water, the salanity drops.
Are you matching the SG of the replacement water with the tank water?

Originally posted by tnn1567
My dead sea salt has high concentration of ammonia.
Have you verified this by testing freshly mixed water?

What sort of water are you using? Tap water, RO, RO/DI or ???

Cheers,
Dave Johnson

[Diehl]

Dave made a good point:) When you make up fresh Saltwater it needs to be almost the same as your tank water. You need to use your Hydrometer in the fresh saltwater before putting it in your tank. Also I would'nt be doing water changes it might make your cycle take a little longer IMO;)

[tnn1567]

No, I am not using the same SG when adding water. That is probably why I am having so many problems.

What sort of water are you using? Tap water, RO, RO/DI or ???
I am using tap water.

Have you verified this by testing freshly mixed water?
I had a friend verify my mixed water. He tells me that is in high concentration in ammonia.

[vgibbens]

you need to get some of your own test kits and do some research. www.wetwebmedia.com and a good book or two would be a good place to start. Use RO water to make up your replacement water and match the SG, temp and pH. It this is indeed a new tank, just like what the others have told you, your tank is cycling. This can take upwards of eight weeks to complete. Be patient and let it happen. Do you use any type of dechloriminator, such as Amquel? You need something to break the ammonia/chlorine bond from chloramine that's most likely in your tap water.

[tnn1567]

Thanks for all the replies, it has help me a lot.

[jun_celis]

I use to use "Amquel +" to break the ammonia readings out of my tap before I got RO/DI. But if you are in the cycling process, do not use this product because it will break the cycle. Use it when you are doing a water change in the future(after the cycling). It works instantaneously.