ammonia in source water

Question
Hello again. I wrote several weeks ago because I thought there was something wrong with my well water because I was having such bad luck with fish in two different tanks (except goldfish) since changing from water softener water to well. I have been diluting my well water with R.O. water and would like to just use well. I had checked well in past and didn't find ammonia but now am finding .5(stress) ammonia with liquid test and 0 to 20 nitrates or .25 ammonia with test strip. No nitrites in well though. There is no ammonia or nitrites in softener water but there are nitrates.(not to mention the salt). Maybe the ammonia was lowering the fishes immunities to ick, fungus and dropsy. Some fish died of no apparent reason. I do have one batch that have survived all this. I would never find any ammonia in the actual fish tank when checking though. This web site was down and I asked at another and was told to aerate the well water for a week. Have done this with a filter in an empty tank for 5 days and no change, I even added  "Cycle" because I was losing patience-my fish tank needs a water change! I have looked at ammonia removing products but they still cause ammonia readings on tests and I want to be able to test ammonia accurately because I want to add more fish,(if I ever get my water problem figured out). So I haven't bought one yet. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, THANK YOU, Suz

Answer
Hi again Suz!
Ammonia or nitrates in your well water can be a cause for concern for both fish and you! Is the water getting contaminated by near sewage leaks or agriculture? Losing fish for no apparant reason is a sure sign that ammonia or some other toxin must be present. I would strongly imagine you need to investigate the cause of ammonia in your well water--if present for your sake most importantly!!!

I don't know about aerating the water--this advice doesn't seem sound, and as you have found out--it didn't work.... I would use a ammonia/nitrite/nitrate remover water conditioner such as Amquel+ or Prime everytime you do a water change. The deal about ammonia removing products is they often produce false readings on your test kits. The ingredients may not be compatible with your tests so you must check that out before anything. Fortunately most ammonia removing water conditioners list which test ingredients they are compatible with.
That is basically all there should be to it about using water with ammonia in it for fish.

I really hope this helps!
As always, remember if you have anymore questions or concerns, feel free to email me...

My very best wishes and best of luck with your well water problem!!
Happy fishkeeping!
Karen~