Ammonia

Ammonia, because of its high toxicity, is critically important to understand and control in your reef aquarium system.

Mature reef tanks rarely have to deal with this problems because of their large colonies of bacteria that convert it to nitrite. It is primarily the new tanks, hospital and quarantine tanks where it can become a problem.

Sources

Sources in reef aquariums include tap water, impurities in salt mixes, calcium and magnesium additives, and biological sources. Biological sources include dead fish, corals, or invertebrates. Even the waste from your inhabitants creates it.

Actually almost any organism in a reef aquarium that lives by consuming food will excrete some amount and add to the problem.

Small levels are extremely toxic to marine fish. The effects include damage to the gills, which results in poor gas exchange. Other effects include reduced oxygen delivery to tissues, disrupting metabolism and toxicity to the nervous system. The results of this toxicity include hyperactivity, convulsions and death.

It can also be very toxic to many other organisms found in your reef. As you can see, it is important to test for even small levels. Once your reef has had a chance to stabilize, after a few months, you shouldn’t need to test very often, unless you see problems developing.

An acceptable level in a reef tank that has already been through a cycle would be no more than 0.1 ppm. The best reading would be zero and you should ultimately aim for a zero level.

There are some additives available that claim to lower levels. I have never tried them and from what I have read, they don’t work very well if at all.