Seachem Ammonia Alert

I was so worried about purchasing this ammonia reader due to the amount of bad reviews. However, after doing tons of research and deciding to purchase it after all, I realized that a lot of the negative reviews were because people weren’t quite understand just exactly how the Ammonia Alert operates. It measures the amount of unionized (dangerous) levels of ammonia in the water, whereas test kits measure both the ionized (safe) and unionized (unsafe) ammonia present in the water. Therefor, the only reading you’re getting on the Ammonia Alert is that of the toxic ammonia present in your tank. This product definitely works. A few days ago, the reading on it was at the ‘Alert’ mark, which it turned a pastel green. Then, when I checked it today, it was a pastel yellow and definitely matched the ‘Safe’ zone on the wheel. Even though the color readings can be extremely subtle, they’re pretty easy to pick out when it changes. I also compared its reading with a quick test from the API ammonia test kit, to which it came back with 0 ammonia in my aquarium. Another thing I must add is that you MUST be extremely careful when you open up the product. When you remove the plastic covering for the sensor in the middle of the color wheel, do not touch the sensor with your fingers. The oils from your fingers could affect or ruin your sensor. Overall, I’m extremely pleased with this simple and cheap product. It will assure me that my fish are living well and I can take necessary action when it goes into the ‘Alert’ zone. I definitely recommend the Ammonia Alert if you’d like to monitor your aquarium’s ammonia levels while avoiding frequent water testing.

I've read all kinds of pro and con "opinions" on this product. It doesn't work - it doesn't match the API Ammonia Test result - and so forth. Well, in my experience it does work. And it's already alerted me to ammonia spikes in two of my aquariums - well before they became a problem. It detects free ammonia which is the most harmful form (API detects free and bound ammonia and that's why they may not agree). It lasts for a year. It reverts back to negative when the problem has been corrected. It's less expensive, much easier to use and just as reliable as other methods. I have it in all four of my aquariums. I check it daily and I no longer do ammonia tests. Do yourself a favor and get this. Oh - and read the instructions or try watching one of the available videos on how to properly use it.

i was hesitant to buy this because of some bad reviews and didn't want to "take the easy way out" of testing my saltwater tank's ammonia when it could potentially be inaccurate. however, after biting the bullet and about a week of having it in my tank, i can say it definitely works and is accurate. JUST MAKE SURE YOU DO NOT TOUCH THE SENSOR IN THE MIDDLE AFTER PEELING THE PROTECTIVE PLASTIC. also, this measures the amount of TOXIC ammonia only, so the colors won't match perfectly with a water test kit, which tests for the presence of all ammonia (normal and toxic). this is a must have in all tanks, especially the smaller ones where water conditions are harder to maintain. i am a marine biology phd and lifelong tank owner, and i would 10/10 recommend this to anyone (but especially the newbies!). i'm not sure of the shelf life, but i will probably switch out every 6-12 months to be safe. 👍🏼🐠🪸

It's extremely slow at detect ammonia presence, by the time it reads at 0.02ppm ammonia level is actually over 0.5ppm, and the only reason I discovered this is because I was skeptical, so I tested my water to find out that the ammonia level was at over 2ppm, and I immediately put in my bacteria to start the cycle. It took this thing till the following day to read 0.05ppm, so who knows how long the ammonia was present in my tank before this thing detected it. It read 0.02ppm for like 4 days before I decide to test the water my self, then an extra day after that to read 0.05ppm. Thanks to this unreliable thing my tank cycle took longer than if I had just let my tank cycle naturally. I tested the ammonia levels on my tank regularly, because I no longer trusted this thing. The ammonia in my tank was decreasing, but this thing continued to read 0.05ppm. When my ammonia levels went to 0.00ppm this thing was still reading 0.05ppm. It took it another 2 days from when I got a zero reading with the other tests kit for this thing's reading to fall to 0.02ppm. then I lost count to how many days it stayed at 0.02ppm before I just took it out of my tank and tossed it in the garbage, it must've been like 4 days. And I continued to test my water, because this thing kept making me thing the ammonia probably crept back up, sense it wouldn't go down to zero. I knew it was slow, but I thought it should eventually catch on. Seeing it not go to zero kept making me think there was probably ammonia present, and I would test, but nothing. Eventually I got fed up with it after like 4 days or so and tossed it. I don't think this thing was ever going to read zero, and by the time it directed no ammonia present, my tank would already be building ammonia, and who knows how long it would take this thing to detect it. If I would really on this thing for my ammonia readings to determine when I should do my water changes I would probably loose live stock by the time it detects toxic ammonia levels. Do not rely on this thing for water changes, and when cycling a tank, it will deceive you. Mater fact stay away from it all together, you will regret buying it if you do.

DrTim's Aquatics One & Only Live Nitrifying Bacteria for Cycling Aquaria, Fresh Water, 2-Ounce If you are using Dr. Tim's One and Only, then you absolutely need this ammonia detector. Basically I am assuming that most people will get the API test kits (Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate), put the Dr. Tim's One and Only into the tank, put in fish, treat your water with some water conditioner, and then test with the API test kits. And just like me, you will be horrified when you start getting readings of 1.0, 2.0, or even 4.0 ppm of ammonia in the tank and you start running around thinking your fish are going to die. Now I've had this same experience with both reef and freshwater tanks. At first I totally thought Dr. Tim's didn't work, but I did enough investigation to figure out what was happening. Basically, without getting into too much detail, what is causing the problem is both the water conditioner that you are using and the API test kit (specifically the test for Ammonia). Basically most water conditioners nowadays have included an ammonia removing agent in the conditioner, but what it really does is convert the toxic form of ammonia into a non-toxic form of ammonia. Now this is bad first of all because ammonia is needed for your filtering bacteria to grow in your tank, but it's also bad because the API test kit for ammonia DOES NOT DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN TOXIC AND NON-TOXIC AMMONIA. So you will be getting readings of HIGH ammonia and think that Dr. Tim's is not working and that your fish are going to die. But at the same time, when you measure Nitrite, you see 0ppm and you may even see Nitrates. It is impossible to see Nitrate unless ammonia and nitrites are being effectively processed by the Dr. Tim's, but again, I'm getting too technical. So basically why do you need this ~$8 ammonia alert? This little dial DOES DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN TOXIC AND NON-TOXIC AMMONIA. Just recently I started a new freshwater tank with Dr. Tim's One and Only and had used Stress-Coat+ because I added new fish. I tested ammonia with the API ammonia test and it said 2.0 ppm of ammonia, which should mean that my fish are burning to death. But I put this ammonia alert in and I get 0.05. Honestly for like ~$8, this is totally worth the piece of mind. Just get it. I do not work for Dr. Tim's or Seachem and no one gave me this product for free. I just had so much stress from trying to figure this out that I thought I would post this and hope that it saves many a worries!

Does its job, if just falls off a lot. I haven't seen any color changes either. That may or may not be because of product failure or good tank water. Either way it's nice knowing I have it.

works for the more dangerous free ammonia but not bonded so don't depend on this for new tanks or when adding massive bio load. good as a general safeguard

After noticing my betta was acting sluggish, even after regular water changes, I decided to try this Alert to really get a read on whether I was keeping ammonia out of my tank. What an eye-opener! The ammonia levels were a little random and would sometimes spike and begin turning the sensor a light green even after only a day. This sensor has helped me always know when to do water changes beyond my scheduled maintenance so my little betta stays happy. Since getting this sensor several weeks ago, I've noticed a marked improvement in his behavior. He is constantly active, building bubble nests, and generally showing some attitude. This has given me peace of mind and helped me provide better maintenance for my betta when he needs it. It is also only 1.5" x 3" so it is not obtrusive and it is easy to install. One note, just make sure you aren't reading it from behind; it stays yellow there longer and doesn't show the shift in color as easily. Therefore, I recommend you stick it on the side of the tank where you can read it head on and catch the color change early.