Ammonium/ammonia ratio as a function of pH value

NH₄/NH₃ Proportion of toxic ammonia [mg/l]  
Total content at pH value Rating
[mg/l] 6 6.5 7 7.5 8  
0.1 <0.001 <0.001 0.001 0.002 0.006  
0.2 <0.001 <0.001 0.001 0.004 0.011 harmless
0.3 <0.001 0.001 0.002 0.006 0.017  
0.5 <0.001 0.001 0.003 0.01 0.029  
0.8 <0.001 0.002 0.005 0.015 0.046  
1 <0.001 0.002 0.006 0.019 0.057  
1.2 <0.001 0.002 0.007 0.023 0.069 critical
1.5 <0.001 0.003 0.009 0.029 0.086  
2 0.001 0.004 0.012 0.038 0.114  
4 0.002 0.008 0.024 0.076 0.229  
6 0.003 0.011 0.036 0.114 0.342 acutely 
8 0.004 0.015 0.048 0.152 0.458 dangerous

The table refers to 24 °C water temperature (according to Krause)

The dependence of the ammonia content on the pH can also be calculated using the following formula:

NH3 = 0,94412 * NH4 / (1 + 10 ^ ((0,0925 + (2728,795 / (t + 273,15 ))) - pH))

  • NH3 = Ammonia fraction
  • NH4 = Total ammonium concentration
  • pH = pH value of the water
  • t = Temperature in °C

An ammonia concentration from 0.02 mg/l already represents a hazard (marked in pink). From 0.2 mg/l there is an acute danger to life (red marking).