Aquatest NH3 for measurement of ammonium compounds (ammonia NH3 and ammonium cations NH4+) in the range of 0 – 10 mg/L; in conjunction with Aquatest pH, aquatest NH3 enables to determine the content of free toxic ammonia in the water.
Why measure ammonium compounds?
Ammonium compounds are the first products in the nitrogen cycle. At pH = 7, the ammonium ions NH4+are present in water in the form that is not very harmful to pond fish. An increase in the pH above 7 leads to a higher percentage of free toxic nitrogen. An ammonia concentration NH3>0.1 mg/L is harmful to fry, while NH3 concentrations ranging from 0.2 to 0.5 mg/L pose a risk to the health of more sensitive fish. At a value of NH3=1.0 mg/L, ammonia can be life-threatening to adult fish. However, although a total ammonium concentration of 1 mg/L at a water pH = 9.0 is harmful, a concentration of total ammonium 10 mg/L at a pH = 7.0 does not pose danger to fish.
Aquatest NH3 set contains:
- 3 bottles with reagent solutions
- a colour scale
- a test tube
- a syringe
- manual
How to use:
- add a suitable quantity of drops of each indicator to the water sample
- let the solution stand for 5 minutes
- match the obtained colour with a corresponding colour scale to read the result.
How to stabilize ammonia?
In case of exceeding ammonia, pH should be lowered up to 7. Then a partial or total water change in the aquarium is necessary depending on the concentration of ammonium compounds. It is also advised to apply an effective aeration as well as Filtrax NH3 flow bags.
