I ran into some trouble regarding ammonia levels. I'm still a little confused, but I think I have it figured out.
When talking about stressful or toxic ammonia levels, most sites seem to be talking about total ammonia - NH3 + NH4. And this is what most test kits seem to talk about.
The relative concentrations of NH3 and NH4 vary with the water pH.
However, NH4 is relatively non-toxic and can constitute the bulk of the total ammonia reading.
I ran into some confusion when trying to fishless cycle because I have an in-tank meter that apparently reads only "toxic" NH3. At my water's pH, about 7.8, getting the NH3 level to 0.5 - which was my goal - apparently creates a total ammonia level of 25+ ppm according to the little chart that came with the in-tank meter.
I'm told that very high ammonia levels can stall the cycling, so I'm going to have to do a significant water change to get ammonia levels back down to where they should be. But I'll leave it be until my Aquarium Pharma liquid test kit comes in.
I think I have this correct. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
When talking about stressful or toxic ammonia levels, most sites seem to be talking about total ammonia - NH3 + NH4. And this is what most test kits seem to talk about.
The relative concentrations of NH3 and NH4 vary with the water pH.
However, NH4 is relatively non-toxic and can constitute the bulk of the total ammonia reading.
I ran into some confusion when trying to fishless cycle because I have an in-tank meter that apparently reads only "toxic" NH3. At my water's pH, about 7.8, getting the NH3 level to 0.5 - which was my goal - apparently creates a total ammonia level of 25+ ppm according to the little chart that came with the in-tank meter.
I'm told that very high ammonia levels can stall the cycling, so I'm going to have to do a significant water change to get ammonia levels back down to where they should be. But I'll leave it be until my Aquarium Pharma liquid test kit comes in.
I think I have this correct. Please correct me if I'm wrong.