Who Gives A Fish Forums

I'm concerned about the ammonia levels in my tap water, it's at 0.5. I've got a 5-gallon aquarium and I'm using Prime for water conditioning. I do regular 25% water changes every week. However, when I test the water 2 days later, I'm still getting ammonia readings. I'm wondering if I should be doing water changes more frequently, like twice a week. My main concern is my Betta, he's been with me for over a year now and he's developed fin rot.

I'd suggest checking your tap water - it could be ammonium instead of ammonia, and that's not as bad for your fish.

Is the tank fully cycled, and what's the regular maintenance routine like. I'd expect ammonia to convert to nitrate within a couple of days in a well-established tank.

I've had the tank for over a year now, and I've been doing weekly 25% water changes with Prime. I've already checked my tap water for ammonia, but I'm not sure how to test for ammonium - can someone walk me through that process?

What about maintenance on the filter and substrate, do you do anything with those regularly?

Contact your water department to see if they use Chloramine. You can also get a Seachem Free & Total Ammonia Test Kit - it'll show you the actual ammonia levels. The API Master Test Kit we usually use can detect ammonium as ammonia, but the Seachem test kit is more accurate for actual ammonia.

Snout wrote: ↑Mon May 05, 2025 7:04 pm Is the tank fully cycled, and what's the regular maintenance routine like. I'd expect ammonia to convert to nitrate within a couple of days in a well-established tank.

I siphon the gravel 2 times a month

trailblad wrote: ↑Mon May 05, 2025 4:23 pm I'm concerned about the ammonia levels in my tap water, it's at 0.5. I've got a 5-gallon aquarium and I'm using Prime for water conditioning. I do regular 25% water changes every week. However, when I test the water 2 days later, I'm still getting ammonia readings. I'm wondering if I should be doing water changes more frequently, like twice a week. My main concern is my Betta, he's been with me for over a year now and he's developed fin rot.

I also rinse the filter in the old water, but I don't do a deep clean of it.

trailblad wrote: ↑Mon May 05, 2025 4:23 pm I'm concerned about the ammonia levels in my tap water, it's at 0.5. I've got a 5-gallon aquarium and I'm using Prime for water conditioning. I do regular 25% water changes every week. However, when I test the water 2 days later, I'm still getting ammonia readings. I'm wondering if I should be doing water changes more frequently, like twice a week. My main concern is my Betta, he's been with me for over a year now and he's developed fin rot.

So with a stable cycle, the ammonia levels should be decreasing, especially with your regular water changes.

I think your tap water might have chloramine in it, and that's what Prime is taking care of. It's possible that's what's showing up as an ammonia reading. I've seen some people mention that certain batches of API ammonia tests can give false positives around 0.25-0.5ppm.

Do you have any live plants in the tank? They can really help with water quality. If everything checks out, I'd consider upping the water changes to 50% or even 75% a week. Fish are stuck living in their own waste, and a 25% change only gets rid of a quarter of the bad stuff. It's not until you get to around 75% that you start seeing some real dilution. This is especially important in smaller tanks like yours.