False ammonia readings in tank?

[SpookySweetpea]

So before i got my axies I cycled my tank for 6 weeks, added my little boy and did weekly changes (20-30%) on the tank for 2 weeks then did a 50% change. I had done the 50% change coz I have 7 tanks and it was the week for a big change so I did that one too, however it must have been too early and i must have taken out too much good bacteria, i ended up with a tank that was low ph, high ammonia, high nitrate and nitrite.

So I popped in ammo lock, did 50% water changes every 3 days 3times, then did it once a week twice. Then returned back to my normal water change routine. I had popped in a pad to help with the nitrate. After a few weeks my nitrates and nitrites returned to normal, but i couldn't get the ammonia down. I removed everything from the tank (mussels, driftwoods etc.) i got a better filter and ran both for 6 weeks, I stopped using the ammo lock coz of the false readings.

Anyways my ph has returned back to normal, my axie stopped looking sick and is back to happy, and all my levels are perfect.... Except ammonia... I am absolutely convinced that it is false reading because its reading at about 4-6 ppm which would absolutely kill my axie and if I test it then do a water change and test again it will read exactly the same even tho it should read less. Ive tested my tap water which has read 0, ive tested tap water with the water conditioner i use and it reads 0, NONE of my other tanks have ever had an ammonia problem.... Im so confused, can anyone suggest anything?

As I said, my axolotl is happy and healthy at the moment and if I felt he was distressed (which he definitely lets me know) I would remove him from the tank....

 

[Jennewt]

Put this into google search: " ammo lock false positive ammonia reading "

 

[Alkylhalide]

I know with prime i would not suggest using it in a cycling tank, but i do use prime on occasion if i have random spikes in ammonia. And when i had my babies in tubs(because those will never cycle) i dont know if ammo lock has the same idea as prime but what happens is instead of the ammonoa going theough its normal nitrogen cycle(ammonia eating bacteria secretes nitrite as a waste and then this creates nitrite eating bacteria to create nitrate) which is the whole point in cycling your tank, it turns the ammonia into ammonium, which is "less" harmful then ammonia however the only way to get rid of it is through water changes.. It does not go through a nitrogen cycle, so ultimately in a cycling tank you are starving the bacteria by using it. It makes for a mess..

Like i said though i do use prime here and there but would not recommend any kind of ammonia "remover" while you are cycling. And i dont know how true this is but in my head i would think like everything, though in small amounts ammonium is not harmful, if it builds up i could see it being harmful, though there isnt a test to test for it accurately, that i know of anyways.

I dont know if this helps any..

 

[SpookySweetpea]

Well the problem is I dont think there is high levels of ammonia in the tank, and I havent used the ammo lock for about 4-6 weeks now, so with weekly water changes I can not think pf what could be causing false readings? :/

 

[Alkylhalide]

What are you using to test your ammonia? What are your other readings? Nitrite nitrate and ph?

 

[SpookySweetpea]

API freshwater master test kit (same as local fish shop- who get the same readings as me so its not me lol).

Today i did a water change, then tested and got:

PH: 7.6
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
Ammonia: 4ppm

 

[Alkylhalide]

You have no cycle in your tank whatsoever. What are you using as a dechlorinator right now? Unless you are not doing the test properly this is showing that you have a ammonia reading of 4ppm(very high and dangerous!) and no cycle at all in your tank. This doesnt make much sense at all. Im going to need to get a bit more info in order to help you.

First off false reading or not i would seriously consider tAking your lotls out and putting them in a tub an doing 100% water changes in the tubs daily. Even if your lotls seem fine now once they start to stress out because of water quLity sometimes its to late and to me its not worth the risk!

Second maybe a picture of your tank will help.

What kind of filter are you using?

How often and how much of a water change do you do to the tank

Dechlorinator?

How big is your tank

How many axolotls?

What is your usual "cleaning" routine like?

Filter media? What do you do with this? And what do you have in your filter for media?

Ill start with these questions. Sorry if its a lot but now we are on a whole different page since your nitrites and nitrates are 0 there is something else going on here!