Adding Ammonia (Fishless cycle)

[Stylix1981]

I have been reading up on fishless cycling and i am a little confused about some of the terminology.


Most articles say i need to add ammonia upto 4ppm.



What does ppm mean?

How do i work out how many drops to add to my tank?


My tank is 60x30x30cm, pretty plain at the minute with just gravel and a few large pebbles.


I have looked at lots of articles but i can't seem to locate an answer, i apologise if i have missed it somewhere.


Thanks

 

[Andy Sager]

I have been reading up on fishless cycling and i am a little confused about some of the terminology.


Most articles say i need to add ammonia upto 4ppm.



What does ppm mean?

How do i work out how many drops to add to my tank?


My tank is 60x30x30cm, pretty plain at the minute with just gravel and a few large pebbles.


I have looked at lots of articles but i can't seem to locate an answer, i apologise if i have missed it somewhere.


Thanks

PPM stands for Part Per Million. Your test results are usually given in parts per million for most test kits.
Hope this helps.

As for how much ammonia, start with adding 5 drops per 37 liters, let it circulate throughout the tank for 15-20 minutes then test your ammonia and adjust from there. ( I have a feeling you will need 7-8 drops but only a water test can help you be accurate. )

 

[Aiken Drum]

4 drops of dr tims ammonium chloride for every gallon/ 4 litres raises ammonia by 2ppm. You should confirm things by testing, but the last time i did a fishless cycle using that product the dosing instructions on the bottle where correct.

 

[Colin_T]

ppm is parts per million (as mentioned by Andy) but 1ppm is the same as 1mg/L (milligram per litre). Some test kits use mg/L but most use ppm.

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To work out the volume of water in the tank:
measure length x width x height in cm.
divide by 1000.
= volume in litres.

There are 3.785 litres in a US Gallon
There are 4.5 litres in a UK gallon

When you measure the height, measure from the top of the substrate to the top of the water level.

If you have big rocks or driftwood in the tank, remove these before measuring the height of the water level so you get a more accurate water volume.