FAQ: I dosed Seachem AmGuard™ but it looks like I still have ammonia! Why isn't it working?

Not to worry!  Your AmGuard™ is working just fine.  Like Prime®, AmGuard™ works by binding ammonia into a nontoxic form.  This nontoxic form of ammonia is still available to bacteria colonies so the use of AmGuard™ will not interfere with cycling.  A "Total Ammonia" test will still read this detoxified form of ammonia as if it were toxic NH3, giving you a "false positive" for ammonia.  If you would like to ensure that all the ammonia in the tank is detoxified, we recommend using the Ammonia Alert® badge!