how much ammonia??

[cbk.o4]

so i got my tank and filter and everything set up, i got clear ammonia, now to begin cycling.

how much ammonia do i add to a 55g to bring it up to 5ppm?

 

[TomK2]

It depends on the concentration. The 10% solution ACe hardware sells requires 0.34 ml per 10 gal for 1 ppm. So, a 30 gal tank would require one ml for 1ppm.

If it is 10%, then between 9 and 9.5 ml would get you in the 5 ppm range for a 55 gallon tank. (1.87 ml for 1 ppm, times 5). Does it say the concentration on it?

 

[cbk.o4]

idk..it doesnt say pure ammonia, says clear ammonia, and when i shook the bottle in the store it didnt foam, it just made a bunch of air bubbles, the ingredients list is: softened water, ammonia, and chelating agent (which i have no clue what that is...)

doesnt say how much ammonia % it is..think i should just add enough and keep testing til i get to 5 ppm?

 

[crazyred]

I would. Here's a very helpful fishless cycle link that might steer you in the right direction:

http://www.aquatic-hobbyist.com/profiles/misc/fishlesscycling.html

 

[TomK2]

sure, put one or two ML in it, let it circulate for a while (an hour?), then test. Calculate how much more you need based upon the results of that test.

I am not sure what impact chelating agents would have. Chelating agents remove metals from solution like calcium and heavier metals, but I don't know if chelating agents have a broader definition or function. My bottle of ACE Janitorial cleaner just says its 10% ammonia and contains no phosphates.

edit:

Here's a link:

http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/CHEMWEEK/chelates/chelates.html

Chelaters are to remove heavy ions so that detergents work, or to dislove carbonate. Again, I don't know if this will be bad for your cycle.

 

[cbk.o4]

yeah the bottle says contains no phosphates too. idk i added 10 mL we'll see what happens in an hour when i test. (figure that is enough time since the filter does 350gph) if it is too high ill do a partial change (got nothing to do today since it is raining and FREEZING here lol, just glad im not at work today)

 

[TomK2]

Well, if it is a 10% solution, you should have just over 5ppm. I can tell you that the ACE 10% solution will burn your eyelashes off , so hopefully it isn't any stronger than that.

 

[cbk.o4]

i opened the safety seal and it was pretty strong lol

made me couch and i wasnt even over the bottle, had it about arms length (sp?) away

so idk

EDIT: hmm about 2ppm with 10mL but i just did the test at like 11 instead of like an hour after i put it in so idk if it depleted or if i didnt add enough..

 

[TomK2]

The ammonia should diffuse to constant concentration relatively quickly. Minutes might be too quick, and hour should definitely be enough. With tank turnover of a few time per hour through your filter, 10 to 15 minutes might be enough time to make sure it is diffused.

It is just as likely, if not more likely, that your solution is less than 10%, so 10 ml got you lower than what you were expecting. If you are certain that 10 ml got you 2ppm, you could put another 10 ml in and recheck tomorrow.

I don't think you have to overthink the concentration you are shooting for. You can get a bio-filter established with less than 0.25 ppm, it took 42 days in my trial. There is the hope that putting in more will shave off time. I once read that Nitrosomonas reactivation is fastest at 200 ppm, which is way too high to put in an aquarium. And there are concerns that too high an ammonia level would impair the nitrobacter, thus slowing down the cycle. Since many have used 5 ppm successfuly, that is the de-facto standard. But it will work with any level. No one has determined what level, if any, is the fastest. So you could even leave it at 2ppm if you want. Don't be too worried about what your exact level is.

But once the ammonia starts to be eliminated in 24 hours, you don't want to keep adding 2ppm each day. Your bacteria will grow and thrive on less than that, you were just adding more to try and speed up the the first part. Once the ammonia disappears each day, adding high amounts each day will only cause a larger nitrite spike, and the larger the nitrite spike, the longer it takes the nitrite to go away. When that time comes, 0.5 to 1 ppm per day would be plenty to keep the nitrosomonas growing and happy. So as you go along, figure out how much it takes to raise the level 0.5 to 1 ppm so you will know how much to add when that time comes.

And now comes a lot of waiting. So be prepared to test once a day for at least 2 or three weeks, unless you are adding colonized media from an established tank. Good luck!

 

[cbk.o4]

well my local lfs sells bio spira so i may go get some..idk havent decided yet.

if i dont see results in a couple weeks ill prolly do that....im a really impatient person...