quick NH3 question

[ripvanrina]

ok for fishless cycles with pure ammonia- if ammonia is still being read in your tank do you have to continue adding pure ammonia to feed the nitrites or will they be ok until your ammonia reads 0?

 

[Jchillin]

You have to feed your bacteria the NH3 just as if they were being nitrified by using fish. Since you're not using fish, you can keep your levels a little higher with no adverse effects. If you maintain dosing the pure NH3 at level of 1ppm, and continue this level through the NO2 (1-3ppm) and NO3 spikes, until the cycle is completed, you will be fine.

 

[ripvanrina]

so i don't have to add anymore until the levels drop, right?

 

[patagonia]

if i read Jchillin's post correctly u do have to add NH3...

 

[Jchillin]

If you maintain dosing the pure NH3 at level of 1ppm, and continue this level through the NO2 (1-3ppm) and NO3 spikes, until the cycle is completed, you will be fine.

Sorry if this is ambigous. You have to keep dosing pure ammonia (keeping the level around 1ppm for ammonia, 1-2 for NO2) until you get zero balances for NH3 and NO2 and about 20-40ppm NO3. Although you will see the NH3 levels drop during the NO2 spike...you will still need to dose the ammonia until the cycle is completed. The pure ammonia is a subsitute for fish produced ammonia.

HTH.

 

[oxymoron]

I think his question was if the ammonia is still reading say 3ppm, does he need to add any more? I got my ammonia way to high when I started my fishless cycle (8ppm+) and it took quite a while for the nitrites to show up. I may be wrong, but I think what jchil was trying to say was as long as your ammonia is reading 1ppm or more there is no need to add more, if it drops below 1ppm you'll need to add a little more. Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong I'm an ultra newb.

 

[ripvanrina]

thanks oxy-that is what i meant
and that's good because i keep waiting for the levels to drop and haven't added ammonia in awhile (and it's she)

 

[oxymoron]

Sorry for the he/she mix up. My ammonia was so high that I've had to do a couple partial water changes to get it down. It is in the 2 ppm range now, which I think the bacteria should be able to handle. From what I've read when it gets too high, >4-5ppm it can stall your cycle.

 

[Jchillin]

You're absolutely correct oxymoron (nice handle by the way).