Any ammonia reading is virtually worthless without correlating it to the pH reading of the aquarium water. The Delhi Jal Board doesn’t have a specific technology to treat ammonia. That is the one I usually worry more about. I agree. Ammonia is extremely toxic to fish, even levels below 0.2 ppm are injurious to the health of the fish if the exposure is on-going. If I’m understanding you correctly,Your example is 7.3 ppm of Total ammonia at a pH of 7.2? How much of the TAN you have that is toxic is greatly related to the pH of the water, and to a much lesser extent the temperature. “Dose Prime every 48 hours as needed to detoxify the ammonia in the tank, and keep the fish safe ... 50 ppm of total ammonia (the API test) is toxic at 7 pH while 5 ppm of ammonia per the API test is toxic at 8.0 pH. If testing subsequently indicates that the ammonia compounds are suddenly rising, then it is time to look for a cause of the problem. Ammonia toxicity is significantly influenced by temperature and pH. Ammonia is toxic to fish at certain levels and with an aquaponic system you must be careful that your fish are not adversely affected by high ammonia levels. This is because of the powerful interaction of ammonia compounds with pH levels. Multiplying by the 134 factor give an ammonia concentration of 40 ppm to 80 ppm chronic 36 day toxicity TAN. The fish are breathing and other decay processes progress much more rapidly than the initial population of the beneficial bacteria that reduce ammonia compounds to nitrite. Also a lot of debate if the ammonia was actually in the form of ammonia or ammonium. There have been many reviews of ammonia toxicity (e.g. These results may not be relevant to aquaculture, hauling or angling tournament scenarios where mature fish can be exposed to ammonia for shorter durations, often following additional stressors such as handling. My fear is that I may have overdosed now as it took me more than suggested to get to my test to read at 4 ppm, time to verify … The lower the temperature and pH, the more ammonia can be tolerated. Ammonia can be created by fish feces left in the tank, overcrowded tanks, poor water quality, uneaten food, and decaying plants. As pH rises, the less toxic ionized state decreases and the more toxic unionized state increases. A reading of .05 mg/L of toxic ammonia (NH3) is at the very edge of safety for any aquarium. Just like excess food left after a standard feeding, all dead or dying plant matter should be removed as soon as it is observed. You should be alert if the test shows ammonium level between 0.02 and 0.05ppm. Test charts are very easy to read and will help you to get rid of ammonia in fish tank. It kills in aquariums at very low amounts. When pH is low, ammonium is what is actually there, and it is non-toxic - you don't have to worry about it and it will not hurt the fish. In the beginning, this is the compound that I believe should be monitored most closely. 1997, Borgman & Borgman 1997). For humans, long term ingestion of water having ammonia concentration of 1 ppm can cause damage to internal organs. Marine organisms and fish tend to be more sensitive, whereas fish that have evolved to live in ponds or puddles such as carp or paradise fish tend to be less so. Often the unobserved or late removal in the death of a single fish will end in the stressful poisoning of the rest in the tank. While ammonia and nitrite are highly toxic to fish, nitrate is much less so. Some fish are more susceptible than others, not just different species but there can be large differences in tolerance within the same species. In the new aquarium with live plants, newly transplanted live plants will often die back somewhat due to transport stress and drop dead and dying leaves as they recover and create new growth. Once the pH and temperature are known, one can determine the fraction of UIA present from Table 1. Ammonia exists in water as either the ammonium ion (NH4+) or the un-ionized ammonia (NH3). You are right, ammonia is toxic, no matter what concentration or when it is evident. try to keep your ammonia at or below 0.25ppm to keep the fish happy and well, so id do a water change soon. Other problems with the ammonia is also your Ph level. Ammonium is acid and has a pH vale of less than 7.0. More important to understand, ammonia toxicity is actually dependent on the pH of the water in which it is found. The two types of nitrifying … Ammonia; NH3 Ammonium; NH4mg/l = milligrams per litre ppm = Parts per million mg/l and ppm are one and the same thing.i.e. What is often left unsaid (or not understood) by the local resource trying to help reduce ammonia is that toxicity usually happens only if the pH is above 7.0.