High Ammonia?

[aadigi]

Hi all! I've recently (on Feb 16) inherited a couple axolotls in a 20 gallon tank from a colleague who didn't have time to care for them. The previous owner indicated that the axolotls had some white spots that might be ammonia burn. I did a 75% water (mostly to make the tank light enough for transport) when we brought them home. I measured their ammonia on Friday and it came up as at least 6 ppm. I've done a 50% water change each day since and have been removing any detritus on the bottom each day. My ammonia is still measuring in the 3-6+ range (I have strips and can't really tell if it's the 3 or 6 ppm color, but either way VERY high). The other tank values are as follows: Nitrate=0, Nitrite=0, GH PPM=150, Chlorine=0, KM ppm=40, pH=6.8. I put ammo lock in yesterday to hopefully minimize the actual ammonia (vs. ammonium). I had to get a new filter when we brought them home, so maybe it's a lack of good bacteria to convert the ammonia? They did maintain their substrate though I did have to clean the entire tank as it doesn't appear their waste had been cleaned in ages... I have no real idea how to handle the and only want to make them happy and comfy in their new home. Any advice would be greatly appreciated and hopefully I can get this under control soon.
As a note they seem to be okay. They've been sleeping during the day and a little more adventurous in the evening and have eaten when fed.

 

[aadigi]

Update! It seems maybe my decrhloriator (AquaSafe Plus, picture included) is causing a false positive? I ran a strip in tap water and get 0 ppm, then I set up decrhloriator + 5 gallons of tap water (I assumed I’d need to move the little cuties to a different container) and get a reading of 3-6 ppm. I’ll see about getting a real water test kit tomorrow to determine if there’s actually a high ammonia content in the tank or if it’s just reacting to the conditioner. any recommendations on test kits or other conditioners if this one is known to be a problem? Thanks!

 

[gwnm]

personally i prefer prime to tetra and have been using it for years since i first got my fish tank. you could try something like an Aquarium Filter Boost i have used them in the past but more as a boost for what i already had

 

[Chinadog]

Re: High

Ive used aquasafe since the 1990s and never had a problem until they changed the formulation a few years back. It still does what its supposed to, but it does seem to sometimes cause a blip in ammonia readings on some brands kits like you describe.
I don't use it very often now as there's so many other brands that are much more economical, I've been using Fluval Aqua plus at the moment with no problems and would recommend it over Aquasafe.
As far as test kits go I only use API brand nowadays. It is a little more expensive than a lot of others, but I've never known it be inaccurate or be fooled by dechlorinator. If funds allow the master kit is good value as it comes with ammonia, nitrate, nitrate and high and low range ph tests. Once you have the master kit you can just buy refills to replace the different kits as and when they run out. I would definitely avoid the paper dip strip ones in future, they are better than nothing, but only just.
Well done for rescuing the Axolotls btw, hope they recover soon.

 

[myrtlerankind]

I prefer use it since 15 years. Or more. And never had problems to be honest