is there ammonia in the salt?????

[fiorano]

i just mixed up saltwater last night with my new ro/di and i tested the water coming out of the hose for ammonia and it's perfect. but the mixed up water in the garbage is chalk full of ammonia so does anyone think there could be ammonia in a bucket of salt? or is there another reason that overnight my water obtained a high ammonia level?

[i have crabs]

http://reefsaltanalysis.googlepages.com/AWT_Salt_Analysis_0208.pdf
some of the salt tested had amonia but i think its quite low levels so im shure its something else

[Myka]

Try putting plain RO/DI water into your bin overnight using your mixing equipment (pretend you're mixing up salt), and then test the next day.

[fiorano]

ok ill try that thank you :)
but i just used some of that flatworm exit and it says i giotta do a 25% water change so should i use the water with amonia in it i think there was like .5 or something of amonia. or should i dump it out and try again. my dad suggested using bin liners and using a new one everytime o i dont have to worry about cleaning the bin everytime. would this be a good resolve you think?

[Myka]

Only if you do the test I suggested above and find out that it's the bin that's causing the problems. If it's the salt, then putting a liner in there won't do a darn thing.

In the meantime, buy some SeaChem Prime to add to your waterchange water. It detoxifies ammonia (as well as heavy metals and nitrite I think).

What brand salt is it?

[fiorano]

im using instant ocean salt. and i think it is the salt. because i got a little cup and put some salt in it then filled it with ro/di water and tested it right away and the ammonia was like 1.7 ppm or mg/l or something like that. but will that stuff you suggested just get rid of all the ammonia in my mixed water?

[fiorano]

ok i figured it out it was just the test kit. thanks guys

[Myka]

ok i figured it out it was just the test kit. thanks guys

:lol: I was just about to ask you about that. I use IO, and have never had any ammonia in it. :)

[Aquattro]

Hagen kit?

[fiorano]

yeah it was a hagen kit but then i went and bought a salifert test kit and well i trust it a heck of a lot more