I have a bottle of AmQuel plus that removes nitrate, ammonia, chlorine, etc. and it smells really bad now! is it still safe to use on my fish tank to remove harmful chemicals?
Answers:
I don't want to sound like a jerk or know it all but actually, that AmQuel does not remove these compounds. It will bind up and ionize ammonia but it does not remove these things. The only thing it might take care of is chlorine and chloramine, but his product should not be used. You are treating the tank with chemical means that are not effective and can lead you to danger by giving off false readings if you test your water.
The Amquel probably binded up a huge amount of ammonia and it's still there and all these nitrogen cycle by products are stuck in your water. Nothing you add can prevent you from having to do regular water changes nor letting you not complete the nitrogen cycle. Please dump out this product, do sucessive 40-50% water changes to get this crap out of your tank and naturally care for your tank. If you are not sure what to do, feel free to email me anytime via my profile.
JV
This is a quote from a review of the product. "AmQuel has no odor. AmQuel+ does, which some consider to be acerbic. But the odor is harmless to aquatic life, pets and humans, etc., and quickly dissipates." This is not addressing whether the product completely removes ammonia, nitrites or nitrates, which it does not. As the bottle states, it converts ammonia to less toxic forms of nitrites and nitrates. Which still need to be treated with proper cycling techniques.
