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Thread: No ammonia if PH below 7.0?

  1. #1
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    No ammonia if PH below 7.0?

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    Hi,

    i was reading the FAQ from Seachem's website and a certain part is confusing me:

    Q: I bought a Ammonia alert from Pet store but it doesn't not work at all after following all the instruction -How can I get my money refund back as it is not working at all and the COLOR NEVER CHANGES?


    A:The technology of this device is very unique to our company and has been an excellent seller for many years to hobbyists, breeders, and public facilities alike. The Ammonia Alert is designed to change color in the presence of free (gaseous) ammonia, not ammonium (ionized ammonia) which is harmless to fish and other aquatic life. The longer it is left in a particular body of water/aquarium, the more sensitive it becomes to that water. Most conventional test kits test total ammonia which is a combination of free ammonia + ammonium = total ammonia. PH is the determining factor on what type is present. If your pH is acidic (below 7.0), it is chemically impossible for ammonia (harmful gas) to exist. Yet a total ammonia test kit will register a reading because it detects both the free ammonia (harmful gas) and ammonium (harmless ionized form of ammonia). The more basic your pH becomes, the greater the chance of ammonia existing. Example: If you have 1.0 ppm of total ammonia and your pH is below 7.0, then 1.0 ppm will exist as ammonium. Ex. If you have 1.0 ppm of total ammonia and your pH is 7.6 (slightly basic), then of that 1.0 ppm total ammonia......only .2 or so would exist as a gas and the other .8 would exist as ammonium.
    There is one simple way to tell if our Ammonia Alert is functioning properly, simply hold the sensor over an open bottle of something containing ammonia (Windex glass cleaner will work) as it will detect the fumes/gas and change color. Plese be sure not to touch the sensor in the middle of the plastic card as the oils from your skin may clog the pores on the sensor.

    So what I get is that if my PH is acidic, I won't have harmful ammonia gas. Although I will still have ammonium which is not harmful to my fishes? That's the reason why the colour doesn't changes on the indicator but I still get positive ammonia readings from my API test kit which i presume is detecting both ammonia and ammonium?

    I am so tempted to get the Seachem test kit which can supposedly recognize both types. But don't seemed to see it at lfs so far.

    Anyone can enlighten me on Seachem's response? I am skeptical to be honest.
    Last edited by Cyberkinetic; 30th Jul 2012 at 18:13.

  2. #2
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    Re: No ammonia if PH below 7.0?

    a.... so that the reason why ammonia is less toxic in acidic condition. I read it before at ADA document but never explain why.
    -Robert
    Aquascaping is a marriage between Art and Farming
    My Blog: http://aquatic-art.blogspot.com/

  3. #3
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    Re: No ammonia if PH below 7.0?

    maybe thats why we bubble our tanks for acidity and maybe reduce ammonia
    hmm interesting tread keep us updated

  4. #4
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    The degree to which ammonia forms the ammonium ion depends on the pH of the solution. If the pH is low, the equilibrium shifts to the right: more ammonia molecules are converted into ammonium ions. If the pH is high (the concentration of hydrogen ions is low), the equilibrium shifts to the left: the hydroxide ion abstracts a proton from the ammonium ion, generating ammonia.

    From wiki

    You can doubt the effectiveness of Seachem's product, but I doubt Seachem will actually lie about science. Especially something as easy to GOGGLE as this.
    More than ONE fish = Fish
    More than ONE species of fish = Fishes

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