Seachem Ammonia Alert Facts - Ammonia Testing Made Easy [MUST SEE]

Using the Seachem Ammonia Alert Badge correctly when setting up a quarantine tank, hospital tank or any aquarium is vital to the survival of your animals. This ammonia alert badge costs under $10, lasts about 1 year and its ability to detect ammonia spikes could save you $1,000’s worth of livestock. In this video, I will demonstrate how to confirm the ammonia alert is working and explain the facts to end the confusion about this product not always working as expected. If you are setting up your fish tank for the first time or have a recently cycled fish tank that is waiting for the beneficial aquarium bacteria to really kick in, this video and the Seachem Ammonia Alert is for you.

The most common problem I read about Seachem’s Ammonia Alert has to be about how the ammonia test kit shows through-the-roof levels of ammonia, while the ammonia alert badge still reads safe. This has to do with a mix up of what total ammonia, free ammonia and ionized ammonia is, and that has people scratching their heads. I promise not to bore anyone to death while I quickly take a shot at demystifying ammonia testing. Not understanding the basics of how these levels relate to your quarantine tank and aquarium bacteria levels can be an extremely costly mistake.

If you do detect an ammonia spike, I highly recommend products like Seachem AmGuard as an emergency fix in addition to water changes. It is also helps to add bacteria boosters like Seachem Stability or Dr Tim's One & Only. Both items are linked below and expect videos on those products soon.

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Supplies
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Seachem Ammonia Alert

Seachem AmGuard

Dr. Tim's One & Only Live Nitrifying Bacteria for Cycling, Saltwater

Dr. Tim's One & Only Live Nitrifying Bacteria for Cycling, Freshwater

Seachem Stability

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#aquarium #reeftank #waterquality

[katnissever-meme]

I love these things so much! I got one recently and it's given me such a peace of mind. My betta tank recently had a cycle crash, so unfortunately now I have to do a fish-in cycle. I have really bad anxiety and it was a huge distraction worrying about if Prime was binding all of the ammonia since my test kit only tests for total ammonia. Being able to look over at the tank and see the yellow sticker has saved me from a lot of headaches and panic attacks. 10/10, would definitely recommend.

[mr.c]

Found one of these in an old box of aquarium gear I had stuffed away. At least 20 years old. Granted it hasn't been in the water all that time, but it still works.

[oscarroque]

Thanks for clarifying that Free/Bound Ammonia issue... I was worried my badge was faulty precisely because my API Water Test kit was showing Ammonia present, but the badge showed a Safe reading. 👍

[christopherscali]

By far the best You-Tube Video on Ammonia! I bought one yesterday! The API Kit was actually driving me insane. (LOL) Thank you so much! I actually have 0 Nitrates & Nitrites!

[joey_ricciardi]

Great video! Just bought 2 amonia alerts and put in my 70 g and 20 gallon quarantine tank.

[CalGuy]

shit! I was about to remove the center sticker thinking it had another protective tape! 😅 thank you for the video.

[khoo]

Thinking to buying this type of alert badge or not, but after watch your video i will considering buy this type alert badge. Again very helpful and thanks.

[JirraTheExplorer]

Thanks for this. I've put Ammonium Chloride in my tank that should get it to about 4ppm (fishless cycling a new tank) but the Seachem Ammonia Alert is only showing 0.05ppm. I couldn't figure out where it had all gone, as it's too early to have been converted to nitrite/nitrate. This video clarified that it's because I also have Prime in the water and it's been bound. Thanks for solving the mystery!

[psions]

I have one in each of my three tanks, they are seriously good value and can prevent something terrible from happening. I have a real small tank up in my office so parameters change quickly, its just 5 litres, with cherry shrimp and 3 male true endlers. I find you even see the bright yellow start to fade and grey creeping in around the circle when you are starting to get the slightest Ammonia before you even get to the completely grey alert level. I do a small 1/5 water change and it returns to vibrant yellow within an hour or two. One tip id give is though you may want to hide it away for making your tank attractive make sure that your aquarium light is shining through it well and make very sure to clear algae off the back especially dark algaes that distort your colour dot. I have the PH one in my betta tank, not awfully useful but it came as a combo. As I'm about to establish a dedicated heavily planted shrimp tank the PH one will be useful there. Shame you don't get alarms like this for nitrtrite I'm sure there's a technical reason.

[markhaunert]

What a great narrative video. I wasn't going to get one because of poor results and reviews. But you explained perfectly why people don't like it. Thanks for a top notch job and im off to get one

[DennisHamand]

I have used these for a number of years without any problems but I recently read some bad stuff about them. This revue is excellent and very informative. It's settled my mind after reading the bad stuff.

[Shalom-qnwt]

Great video! Thank you! I unfortunately watched this video after I did exactly what he said and ruined my badges immediately. But I got new ones and I love them! Definitely don’t overlook the instructions 😅

[yiacrazy]

Thanks. I actually threw one out because I thought it wasn't working. I feel stupid but, but I have another that I just moved into a problem tank because I understand now and am much more confident that it will begin doing it's job. Appreciate it.

[aslanstorm]

Thank you for clearing up how to read it. It turns out I was reading it right. I recently got a fresh water sting ray pup an have been worried about the ammonia levels with in the tank. You have really put my mind at ease

[jeffersousa]

That's the answer I was looking for! Now I can understand the reason for so many controversial reviews, thank you for that!

[fredterry]

Good video, thanks. I have a well cycled 50 gallon tank that is showing 1-2 ppm total ammonia (NH3/NH4+) with an API test kit. I used Prime to protect the fish and at this point I'm pretty sure that something is causing a false positive with the Salicylate test (possibly Ca or phosphates). This test strip is showing safe in the tank. At 2 ppm, the calculators would say I had >0.03ppm free NH3.

[bettybrown]

Thanks so much for clarifying the free/bound ammonia thing - I haven't installed my sensor yet, but I bet I would've compared the reading to my API test & freaked out! Whew....crises diverted!

[NickAlvaro]

Great now I get it! I was confused by the badge reading compared to my test kit result. This shows that my seachem prime binds the ammonia in the tank. Test kit shows a high reading of Ammonia but the badge shows it’s in safe zone. So this badge is useful to show the amount of free ammonia in my tank. Thanks!

[willparsons]

Pre-testing this particular badge was and is a very important procedure as you have simply demonstrated. People have to understand this and everything else you explained in order to properly guard against what ever testing they are doing. It's just so unfortunate that your video (this one particularly) is overlooked... Perhaps Seachem could recognize your video and use it as a guide for those interested in their products. I know this happens with some companies because I've seen it in the Photography industry with certain lenses/camera gear. BTW, I gave your video a thumbs up and subscribed as well!

[ManiacalMangoes]

Very helpful. I’m quarantining for the first time, a Royal gramma, and my badge has been consistently yellow, but my test kit said 0.8 total ammonia. I did a hefty water change, but was perplexed and the fish showed no signs of stress. I had added some bacteria in a bottle, but no ammonia binding agent. Sounds like I can rely on this badge a bit more than I thought.