Fishless Cycling - Detected Ammonia in 1 Day???

[TygGer]

I'm doing the fishless cycle with a raw shrimp method. I'm using 1 shrimp in a 46g tank with the temp at 80 degrees. Within 1 day, I tested for ammonia and detected 0.5. Is that normal to get a reading that high in just 1 day??

 

[Rudy_627]

i think it is

i tested my ammonia for the first time in the last 6 daays and mine is at .025 ppm

so its unusual for yours to be that high

maybe you didnt clean it good enough thats what i would guess

 

[TygGer]

Clean what good?

Im using a Aquarium Pharm. test kit. What are you using to get .025? Mine only reads 0, 0.25, 0.5, etc...

 

[Rudy_627]

the tank

i scrubbed mine for abuot an hour with kosher salt before i added my water

then i cleand my gravel for about 1.5 hours and then i started filling

then i added salt for my mollies

 

[TygGer]

Since to start a fishless cycle, I need to introduce ammonia... if there's already some in the tank... is it bad???

 

[Rudy_627]

no no no no

ammonia is good for your tank

just keep it under 1 ppm and your fine

because ammonia is beneficial yea it CAN kill your fish if you get too much

but beneficial bateria break thet down into nitrites

nitrites break down into nitrates and it all evens out

you SHOULD be okay with your tank and everything but if your ammonia gets
higher than 1 ppm let me know

 

[Rudy_627]

HTH but yea what i said is accurate

 

[Jchillin]

I would say that your NH3 reading possibly came from your tap (yes, in some water systems, NH3 is present). You shouldn't have seen any NH3 until your shrimp had decomposed.

You need a significant amount of NH3 to activate the dormant nitrifying bacteria and your NH3 can get as high as 5ppm to accomplish this.

The test kit you mention is one of the best on the market and will give you accurate readings. Do you also have NO2 and NO3 (nitrite and nitrate) kits?

Once you detect the NH3 spike, you will get a reading for NO2. Once this spikes, you will then get a reading for NO3.

When you read 0 for NH3 and NO2, your cycle will be complete.

 

[TygGer]

no no no no

ammonia is good for your tank

just keep it under 1 ppm and your fine

because ammonia is beneficial yea it CAN kill your fish if you get too much

but beneficial bateria break thet down into nitrites

nitrites break down into nitrates and it all evens out

you SHOULD be okay with your tank and everything but if your ammonia gets
higher than 1 ppm let me know

There aren't any fish in the tank so I dont think a high ammonia level matters.

I did notice the shrimp went from the dark grey color to a reddish (cooked) color.

I'll test my tap for ammonia...

 

[FancyGuppyGuy]

Actually to activate the dormant bacteria ( Nitrosonomas ) your ammonia can get really high 100 PPM+ although you wouldnt want to do this. this bacteria needs a stable amount of ammonia for a few days to keep from going back into a dormant state. if you have 6 ppm one day then .25 the next because of water changes then you can cause the bacteria to shut down or slow down.

I would look into wether or not your tap water contains chloramines. when you dechlorinate this it will make ammonia.

Anyhow Its the second bacteria ( nitrobacter ) that you do not want high ammonia readings as it will slow down production and possibly kill off that bacteria.

with a fishless cycle I would not worry about ammonia going over 1 ppm.

 

[TygGer]

I used Amquel to dechlorinate the water... not sure if the sequesters in Amquel are "good" for the cycle process. ?