Seachem Ammonia Alert

Many people have had problems with this product. I sure didn't! It's important to note that this product can read 0ppm Ammonia, even while a salicylate test kit reflects plenty of ammonia. "Total ammonia" measures ammonium and "free" ammonia. The former isn't so bad, the latter is. More on this below, if you're really interested.

When my kids came home from a school carnival with 6 goldfish, I figured we'd wing it. A few days later we lost our first fish. Another few days, and another fish lost, and I bought the Seachem based on positive reviews I read elsewhere. At the same time, I had the water tested at Petsmart. The petsmart test said ammonia was high, and after letting the Seachem adjust overnight, it agreed. A few partial water changes later, and the level was dropping, but still not zero. I ordered an API test kit, and it reflected just what the seachem did. Finally, I got some filter media from a friend's tank, and the nitrifying bacteria got going properly. Ammonia dropped to zero, and the seachem reflected this too!

I had no luck with the "quick start" and other products that allegedly contain live bacteria. Only the filter media seemed successful in seeding the tank with the good bacteria.

All in all, the Seachem functioned perfectly, and it really helped as a visual indicator and daily reminder that things were not going well in the tank. I'm now quite confident that the seachem will indicate if ammonia levels rise again.

Now for the nitty-gritty: I believe so-called "ammonia remover" products bind ammonia into ammonium. While I tried these, I never saw a substantial drop in ammonia from it. My thinking is that these products attempt to reduce ammonia, but the problem is that ammonium breaks into ammonia at higher pH, and higher temperature. I'm not sure if there's anything you can do about that. I've read on the Internet that the salicylate test does not reflect "total ammonia" (a term that refers to ammonium + ammonia), but it really does both according to the API instructions and by looking at the chemistry, the test creates conditions to convert all ammonium to ammonia. It measure the total. The seachem measures purely free ammonia according to their site.

I used the ammonia alert to cycle my new aquarium (29g planted) with raw ammonia. Ten drops was enough to get it to show green(alert). Once I started getting nitrites, I cut it back to five daily drops. The indicator would go from green to yellow in approx. eight hours. Once the aquarium cycled, it has stayed yellow despite gradual addition of fish population. This has been verified by numerous ammonia tests by my fish store whenever I bought more fish. One caveat on use: Be sure to remove the plastic strip on the back before putting in the water. It would be easy to overlook.

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First off, remove the plastic covering the sensor disk! I saw one of these in a friend's aquarium where they hadn't done that so they assumed the "safe" readings they were getting meant their tank was doing great.. not so! I guess they figured it looked so simple they didn't need to read the instructions first, but that's a fairly obvious thing to overlook!

Second, this is the exact same sensor material used in Seachem MultiTest Ammonia Test Kit. That test only tests for harmful free ammonia (NH3), but to be honest the test is a bit of a pain with having to time the test.. I never liked pulling it out, having to deal with the tiny little disks in the container, and waiting 15 or 30 minutes for the results.. but this alert is already ready to read (the color scale is not the same however, because of the longer "exposure" time).

Third, kits like the API Ammonia Test Kit measure TOTAL ammonia (NH3 and NH4). If you have chloramines in your water you WILL have tend to have false positive readings because of the ammonium formed when you use dechlorinator on your water (such as Seachem Prime. It doesn't mean you water is dangerous, it simply means that the chloramine has been converted into ammonium, and the API test can't tell the difference. I've had my tap water test as high as 2ppm for "ammonia" with the API test right after a water change the Seachem test would show 0. The doesn't mean the Seachem test is wrong or inaccurate, it's just more specific just like this alert disk.

Because of the issue with chloramines in my tap water cycling a new tank is a frustrating experience trying to use the API kit. I would constantly see positive "ammonia" readings while I could see my nitrites had spiked and had gone to 0 and I was seeing increasing amounts of nitrates, but using these disks simplifies the process. A partial WC can be done as the disk starts to turn blue in a fish-in cycle (or if you are dosing ammonia for a fishless cycle, you can add ammonia a little at a time until the disk turns dark blue), and the effect can be seen quickly as the disk changes color from blue to green (or even almost yellow). I think it's one of the best products available when you can't rely on the total ammonia readings from the API kit.

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I bought one of these for both of my freshwater aquariums. I had been checking ammonia levels almost daily with API liquid test kits. Now I only check ammonia if I get a slight drop in pH level. A drop in pH can cause the good bacteria to die causing ammonia to rise. My Seachem Ammonia Alerts seem to be working, but I haven't had an ammonia reading above 0 in about a year now so, I can't say for sure (if you keep pH stable, your ammonia level is more likely to stay at zero).... I have been using the Alert in my 75 gallon for about a month, and just bought one for my 20 gallon. Try the Ammonia Alert, but do not abandon traditional test kits. The liquid kits are far more reliable than the strips.

Judy in Lima, OH

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I had a similar experience as E. A. Bujak "bbujak". I saw this in stores and found it cheaper on Amazon through one of their sellers. I checked the chemical levels before putting doing a regular water change and putting in the Ammonia Alert sensor, everything was where it normally is before doing a change (slightly elevated PH nitrites, nitrates, and ammonia). The next day I checked the levels again, and they were where they normally are after a regular water change. A week went by and the Ammonia Alert never changed color, so I did my regular change and didn't test, thinking everything was OK. Another week goes by and I notice my tank critters starting to act odd, and one fish missing the tips of it's fins. I checked the levels and there were high nitrites, nitrates and ammonia-but the sensor had never changed color to warn me, at all. The sensor came out immediately and I did daily water changes until all the chemical levels went back to where they should be, and gradually increased the time between changes back to weekly changes as the levels stayed where they should be. I tested the sensor by holding it over an open bottle of ammonia, as per the instruction on the package, and there was zero change. Neither Seachem or the seller or Amazon would stand behind this product that put my fish in danger.

The only thing I trust to leave in my tank and give me accurate real-time readings is the thermometer.

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