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 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. 👍🏼🐠🪸

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.

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.

Really liked this product for a ‘not super experienced yet’ aquascape wannabe. Feel I can check easily for the ammonia potential in the tank now and be confident to trust this little tool for keeping my tank safe and healthy.

Never believed this until now!! I bought it and used in my tank, I have a 7 in 1 strip test kit from flipkart, it has all test except for ammonia. Extra images added. I wanted to monitor ammonia whenever I want without checking when I have doubt or only when the fishes sart to die or the water gives foul smell. Now I can keep a check on ammonia 24/7.

No encontré tiras que midan amoniaco. Este dispositivo sirve perfecto, en cuanto hay picos de amoniaco lo puedes observar.

***updated review based on new knowledge of how this works, please read and ignore the review underneath.*** This works by identifying dangerous ammonia not total ammonia which includes ammonium, typically the water test kits identify both ammonia and ammonium (which isn’t as dangerous to fish) and therefore will always show higher levels of Ammonia, so although water test kits are best and tell you where you are in the cycle, the alert is the one which will tell you when your fish are in danger without the need for water testing continuously. As soon as you see the alert start to rise you know there are dangerous levels of Ammonia present. This alert is best for an already cycled tank, I can say that my tank is now full of algae and happily cycled and I had no major issues. Just be aware that water test kits are a MUST and really i would only use those to cycle with. The Ammonia Alert does its job well, it won’t register total ammonia, only dangerous ammonia which is what’s important. I would recommend it for peace of mind when you get on with your cycled aquarium. Be patient and wait for the test kits to show 0 on both ammonia and Nitrite and then get this alert. Hope that helps. ***original review***Just a word of caution to anyone doing a fish in cycle with bottled bacteria (colony). This alarm thing seems a great idea but in reality the reaction is very delayed and shows 0 at low level ammonia, when water tests show 0.25, this showed 0. I woke in the middle of the night (thank goodness I did) and one of my clowns were agitated. Checked water parameters and ammonia is at 0.50! The “alarm” barely shows 0.04. A big difference 😩 thank god I had Seachem Prime to hand otherwise it would have been a horrible ending. It’ll stay in my tank but it’s definitely too delayed to make a quick change to save your fish, rely on water tests only.

Après avoir eu des pics de nitrites (NO2) surprise été 2022 lors des fortes chaleurs,ayant entraîné une mort éclairé d’un magnifique baryancistrus chrysolomus que j’adorais (en deux heures…) 😭. Suite à ce désastre, je cherchais un moyen de prévenir ce genre de soucis pour mes bacs les plus sensibles, sans avoir à passer par de continuels tests d’eau en goutte qui sont longs et dont les réactifs ne détectent PAS les NH3- (les ammoniacs les plus toxiques). Celui là les teste et permet donc d’avoir l’esprit tranquille lorsque l’on sait que les aquariums sont des écosystèmes fragiles…. Je ne peux que le recommander, il est fiable et économique (dure UN AN). La réputation de fiabilité de Seachem n’est plus à démontrer 🥰