8ppm ammonia!!!!

[son2fu]

i just went down to Ralphs and bought some ammonia, i dosed a little too much. is this okay? will it eventually go down?
or do i need to do a water change?( I hate the smell/ feeling of ammonia) 8O

this is the beginning of my fishless cycle and i'm wondering if i got off on the right foot.

 

[rich311k]

8 is to high, do water change get it down to about 4 ppm. Otherwise your cycle will take forever.

 

[son2fu]

can I do like the cycle change tomorow? because I don't have a bucket

 

[rich311k]

You can do it when you want. No fish to hurt. Do it soon though it will take forever to process 8 ppm and for no good reason.

 

[son2fu]

i thought i was a bit short because i forgot to wait 5 minutes after dropping in the test fluid.

btw, how long should i wait for the ammonia to evenly distribute in my water before i start testing?

 

[rich311k]

A couple of hours should do the trick.

 

[jamesrm]

can I do like the cycle change tomorow? because I don't have a bucket

I would get a python if you have a faucet or outdoor hose pipe handy. SOOO much easier than using a bucket

 

[7Enigma]

All depends on the size of the tank. I have a 20gallon and a 10 gallon and have no need for a python. I prefer to be able to premix all my chemicals (planted) in a 5 gallon bucket and then add. If I had a 29 gallon or larger, I would definately go a different route however.

With good circulation about 30min is all thats required for even distribution. If you are detecting=>8ppm ammonia (liquid test right?), I would do a 50% PWC or so. You don't have to, but it MIGHT slow the cycle down slightly. I still don't believe we have a repeated factual basis for saying 8ppm is too high, 1-2ppm is too low, but 5ppm is just right. I think its more of an ease of measurement thing.

If it was me and I had some good seed material I would probably just leave it be. Check your tap water for nitrAtes. If you don't detect any, I would just let the tank go and monitor for ammonia and nitrAtes. Other than for yourself there really isn't a need to measure nitrItes until your ammonia goes to zero.

You can use some of the tricks in this thread to speed up your cycle:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=89185