HCA: Hermit Crab Association

eloise13 wrote:Are these those pools that had the really thick bits of silcone on it? Maybe they never cured properly?

coxbrea151 wrote:The silicone you used is for outdoor, basement, and attic. From what I've heard you need to use the bathroom stuff. I don't think that the silicone would have effect on the ammonia though. Maybe your hermit crabs like to pee a lot in that pool?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Shawnie View Post
how could she have a false positive? I didnt think api liquid master kits were nessler based?
The API ammonia test kit is salicylate-based, but it's still possible to get a false positive.

And really, "false positive" is a bit of a misnomer, as most of these ammonia-binding products (to my understanding) bind an additional H+ ion to the ammonia, producing the less-toxic ammonium. Note that on the API test kit box, it has the chemical formulas NH3 / NH4. NH3 is ammonia, and NH4 is ammonium. If an ammonia binding agent such as Prime or AmQuel+ converts ammonia to ammonium to render it less toxic to fish, the test kit picking up the ammonium and showing a reading isn't really a false positive... that's just the test kit doing what it's designed and advertised to do.

SeaChem and API agree. The two pertinent quotes from the SeaChem Prime FAQ are (with emphasis added by me):

Quote:
Under the conditions of a salicylate kit the ammonia-Prime complex will be broken down eventually giving a false reading of ammonia (same as with other products like Prime®), so the key with a salicylate kit is to take the reading right away.

...

Prime works by removing chlorine from the water and then binds with ammonia until it can be consumed by your biological filtration (chloramine minus chlorine = ammonia). The bond is not reversible and ammonia is still available for your bacteria to consume. Prime will not halt your cycling process.
I am going to assume that you were using a liquid based reagent test kit (Nessler based, silica). Any type of reducing agent or ammonia binder (dechlorinators, etc) will give you a false positive.
http://www.seachem.com/support/FAQs/Prime.html
Keep in mind the behavior SeaChem claims for Prime, that it "bonds with ammonia until it can be consumed by your biological filter."

Now if you examine API's ammonia test kit page, there's an FAQ titled "I have an ammonia problem. What do I do?" If you read past the sales pitch for Ammo-Lock, they describe the same behavior as Prime, and admit that you'll still get a reading on the test kit even though the ammonia is bound into a less-toxic-to-fish form:

Quote:
To detoxify ammonia, use API’s AMMO-LOCK to instantly lock up ammonia. AMMO-LOCK does not remove ammonia, it simply converts toxic ammonia to a non-toxic form. Ammonia test kits will still test positive for ammonia, even though it is non-toxic. The biological filter will then consume the non-toxic ammonia, converting it to nitrite
http://aquariumpharm.com/Products/Pr...x?ProductID=69