Box for the NH4 ammonium water test, 10.6 by 17.5 cm format, approximately 50 measurements

Contents of the ammonium NH4 water test: three reagent bottles, two glass test tubes, sampling syringe, comparator block and colour chart

Reading the ammonium NH4 test: both test tubes in the comparator block, placed on the colour reference chart

Table showing the proportion of ammonia NH3 in the NH4 reading, according to pH from 6.5 to 9 and temperature from 10 to 30 degrees

Ammonium NH4 water test in drops

Name: Ammonium NH4 water test in drops
Brand: JBL
Price: 2800.0 JPY
Availability: InStock

¥2,800

This test tells you whether your biological filtration is still doing its job. It measures ammoniacal nitrogen from 0.05 to 5 mg/L, in freshwater, pond and aquaponic systems.

A single figure is not enough to make a decision: it is your pH that determines the genuinely toxic fraction, and the same result can be harmless or critical depending on it.

7/7 customer service by e-mail

Payment in instalments, free of charge

The summary

What you receive: 3 reagent bottles, 2 glass test tubes, a syringe, a comparator block, and a three-band colour chart.
What you measure: total ammoniacal nitrogen, from 0.05 to 5 mg/L, across nine fields, in fresh water, pond water, and seawater.
What the reading means: at a reading of 0.5 mg/L, there is twenty-eight times more ammonia at pH 8.5 than at pH 7.
When to test: every day during cycling, then after a filter clean, a treatment, or a pump failure.
How to choose: this test complements a full test kit or is sufficient on its own for monitoring a system start-up.
What is dispatched to you: a 0.12 kg parcel, reagents in their original packaging.

Drop test for ammonia nitrogen, from 0.05 to 5 mg/L, to be read alongside your pH

An aquarium or an aquaponic system gives no warning. By the time your fish are gasping at the surface, the imbalance has already been building for several days. Ammonium appears as soon as waste begins to decompose and normally disappears within a few hours if the nitrifying bacteria are established, so any measurable reading on a mature system always points to biological filtration that is struggling to keep up.

🧬 Ammonium and ammonia

The chemistry used measures total ammoniacal nitrogen, that is, ammonium NH4 combined with ammonia NH3, and the result is expressed in mg/L of NH4. Many experienced aquarists believe they are reading ammonia directly, and this confusion leads to the danger being underestimated in alkaline water just as much as it triggers unnecessary panic in acidic water. Ammonium remains virtually harmless at the concentrations found in a pond, whereas ammonia damages gill tissue from just a few hundredths of a milligram per litre.

🔗 The ammonium and nitrite pair

NH4 high, nitrites at zero

No bacteria are active: new tank, filter rinsed under the tap, recent treatment.

NH4 high, nitrites high

Cycling is under way. This is the worst time to introduce fish.

NH4 at zero, fish in distress

Look elsewhere: oxygen, temperature, drifting pH. A zero reading is the expected result.

In aquaponics

Nitrates feed your crops, whilst ammonium must remain at zero.

Three handling details skew the reading more often than the chemistry itself does. Read the result in daylight, with the test tube held against the white zone, because a warm artificial light shifts the perception of greens and blues. Use only the syringe and test tube supplied with the kit, as a different volume will alter the final concentration and therefore the shade produced. Finally, be aware that the third reagent produces noticeably smaller drops than the first two: this is normal, and compensating by adding extra drops would give a false result.

Your pH determines toxicity

Both forms coexist, and their proportion depends on pH, with the ammonia fraction multiplying by approximately 10 for each pH unit gained. At 20 degrees, a reading of 0,5 mg/L corresponds to 0,002 mg/L of ammonia at pH 7, but to 0,056 mg/L at pH 8,5, while the chronic limit recognised for aquatic life is 0,019 mg/L. The same figure is therefore harmless in an acidic tank and above the limit in a koi pond, which makes pH measurement inseparable from this one.

Restocking the reagents without replacing the glassware

Only the bottles run out on this type of kit, whereas the comparator block, test tubes, syringe, and colour chart last for years. The ammonium reagent refill therefore provides around fifty measurements at a fraction of the cost of a new kit. Pick it up with your first purchase if you are starting a tank, since reagent consumption is at its highest during cycling. You will avoid any gap in monitoring at precisely the moment when that gap is most costly.

🚑 When the value rises

A water change of around half the tank volume will protect your fish within the hour, provided the fresh water has a pH no higher than that of the tank, otherwise the proportion of free ammonia would rise rather than fall. Then reduce feeding and look for the cause in the filter rather than the water, since measurable ammonium almost always points to a bacterial colony that is insufficient or has recently been destroyed. The nitrite test then takes over as the routine check once the value has returned to zero, as it is the one that signals the second stage of the cycle.

Technical specifications

The essentials

Parameter measured: Ammoniacal nitrogen, expressed as NH4The reaction measures ammonium and ammonia together; the result is displayed in mg/L of NH4
Measurement range: 0.05 to 5 mg/LBelow 0.05 mg/L the test reads zero, which is the expected result on a well-established system
The colour chart fields: 0,05 · 0,1 · 0,2 · 0,4 · 0,6 · 1 · 1,5 · 3 · 5Bracket between the two nearest fields — there's no need to find the exact shade.
Target values: Below 0.25 mg/L in an aquariumBelow 0.1 mg/L in a pond. These thresholds assume a pH close to neutral; above pH 8 they become optimistic.
Tests per kit: Around 50Three reagents used with each measurement
Manufacturer reference: JBL 2412100, PROAQUATEST rangeCode EAN 4014162241214

The procedure

Water volume: 2 times 5 mlTaken from the middle of the volume, never at the surface or close to the bottom
The steps: Fill, dose 1, dose 2, dose 3, wait, readThe three reagents in this order, without swapping any of them
Waiting time: 15 minutesReading too early underestimates the value. This is the longest test in the range along with copper
Total duration: Approximately 17 minutesHandling included
Reading: Colour chart, in natural daylightThree reading strips identified by pictogram: freshwater, pond and marine
Pitfall to know about: Reagent 3 produces smaller dropsThis is normal — do not compensate by adding more

Security and parcels

Ranking: DangerThe three bottles are labelled, and one of them is highly flammable
Main risks: Flammable, burns, drowsinessMentions H225, H314, H318 and H336
Precautions: Sink, ventilated room, out of reachChild-resistant caps, and bottles kept away from any flame
Parcel weight: 0,12 kgPackaging included

To budget for separately

The matching test: A pH testWithout it, the ammonium figure says nothing about actual toxicity
Reagent refill: Reagents only, ref. 2412200The glassware, the comparator block and the colour chart keep well

10 further specifications are available in the detailed view.

In the box

3 reagent bottles with child-safety caps
2 glass test tubes with screw caps
1 graduated sampling syringe
1 laboratory comparator block
1 colour chart with 3 reading strips, freshwater, pond and marine
1 multilingual instruction manual, French included

Reference, EAN code, kit contents, number of tests, protocol, recommended thresholds, and hazard statements taken from the manufacturer's datasheet and instructions on 05/09/2026. The range of 0.05 to 5 mg/L and the detail of the nine parameters come from earlier manufacturer texts, reproduced in two retailer descriptions. The chronic limit of 0.019 mg/L of ammonia is a recommendation for the protection of aquatic life.

A single parameter, or the full water chemistry?

Ammonia is the first test for a new tank, and the only one you run every day for three weeks. The three columns differ in what they allow you to monitor once the cycling phase is complete.

The same NH4 reading does not cause the same damage in every situation At 18 °C and pH 6.8, half a milligram per litre goes almost unnoticed. At 28 °C and pH 8.2, the same reading shifts to ammonia and burns the gills overnight.

	Parameters covered (parameters)	Drop tests included (tests)	Ammonium NH4	pH, KH, nitrites and nitrates	GH, iron, phosphates, copper, silicates, oxygen	Reagent bottles (bottles)	Glass test tubes	Laboratory comparator block	Thermometer	Reagent refill sold separately	Price
Recommended Ammonium test onlyYour choice	1 parameters	1 tests	Yes	No	No	3 bottles	2	Yes	No	Yes	¥2,800
6-in-1 water test kit for aquariumsYour choice	6 parameters	5 tests	Yes	Yes	No	9 bottles	3	Yes	No	Yes	¥7,900
14-in-1 water test case for aquariumsYour choice	14 parameters	13 tests	Yes	Yes	Yes	23 bottles	12	Yes	Yes	Yes	¥16,400

Ammonium test onlyRecommended

What you are measuring

Parameters covered (parameters)1 parameters

Drop tests included (tests)1 tests

Ammonium NH4Yes

pH, KH, nitrites and nitratesNo

GH, iron, phosphates, copper, silicates, oxygenNo

Equipment supplied

Reagent bottles (bottles)3 bottles

Glass test tubes2

Laboratory comparator blockYes

ThermometerNo

Budget

Reagent refill sold separatelyYes

6-in-1 water test kit for aquariums

What you are measuring

Parameters covered (parameters)6 parameters

Drop tests included (tests)5 tests

Ammonium NH4Yes

pH, KH, nitrites and nitratesYes

GH, iron, phosphates, copper, silicates, oxygenNo

Equipment supplied

Reagent bottles (bottles)9 bottles

Glass test tubes3

Laboratory comparator blockYes

ThermometerNo

Budget

Reagent refill sold separatelyYes

14-in-1 water test case for aquariums

What you are measuring

Parameters covered (parameters)14 parameters

Drop tests included (tests)13 tests

Ammonium NH4Yes

pH, KH, nitrites and nitratesYes

GH, iron, phosphates, copper, silicates, oxygenYes

Equipment supplied

Reagent bottles (bottles)23 bottles

Glass test tubes12

Laboratory comparator blockYes

ThermometerYes

Budget

Reagent refill sold separatelyYes

Parameters covered, equipment supplied and kit contents recorded from the three product sheets on 05/09/2026.

Documents & manuals

Official manufacturer's instructions, in French

Six-step protocol, volumes and number of drops, and the ammonia toxicity table as a function of pH published by the manufacturer on the last page.

PDF · 2,7 Mo

Download

Estimate your
delivery time

Parcel weighing 0.12 kg, dispatched to a collection point or via Colissimo to your home address, your choice at checkout. Reagents are sent in their original packaging. The exact amount is shown in the basket.

Frequently asked questions

6 questions

6 key questions

My test always reads zero — is that normal?

Ammonium or ammonia: are they the same thing?

No, and the difference is everything. Ammonium NH4 is virtually harmless at typical concentrations; ammonia NH3 burns the gills. Both coexist in your water, and this test measures their combined total, expressed as NH4.

It is your pH that determines the split between the two, and the proportion of ammonia increases roughly tenfold for each unit of pH gained. The same reading is therefore harmless at pH 6.8 and dangerous at pH 8.5.

At what level should you take action?

What to do when the reading is high?

Change approximately half the volume, using water whose pH is no higher than that of the tank.
Stop feeding for twenty-four to forty-eight hours.
Identify the cause: filter rinsed under the tap, a recent treatment, a dead fish, pump failure.
Re-test the following day, then monitor the nitrite level, which will rise next.

Never raise the pH during an ammonium spike: you would convert part of the ammonium into ammonia.

Why measure nitrite at the same time?

Is this test suitable for a garden pond?

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Ammonium NH4 water test in drops

The summary