Seachem Ammonia Alert

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. 👍🏼🐠🪸

This is what you need for safety because it measures harmful ammonia gas. The liquid tests measure toxic ammonia plus the non toxic ammonium--which is useless. This is perfect and quickly responds to changes 24/7 for a year, well worth it

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 want it to be known that my one star is very specifically for my exact item that I received here. I've been using these for a long time and they are great! The one I received from here did not. It has never shown any color other than a blah Grey.

DrTim's Aquatics One & Only Live Nitrifying Bacteria for Cycling Aquaria, Fresh Water, 2-OunceIf 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!

So far I really like this. I haven't had any ammonia spikes so I can't truly state if it works great. I like that I have a visual to see that there is no ammonia in the tank. I still use my test kit for ammonia when I am checking on my nitrites and nitrates. This is easy to read, easy to install and handy to check as you walk by the tank. This ammonia alert lasts a year making it well worth the money. If this review was helpful in any way please let me know by clicking on helpful. Thanks!!!