Jlk I've read your fish less cycle article and it says to add 4ppm till you get the correct amount. What's the correct amount? I put my tank into the ammonia calculator 54 gallons and it said 9.4 ppm is that the correct amount they are referring to? Or does it need to reach a certain amount on the ammonia test?
Is my cycle done?
- Thread starter Dizzydea
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Bearchumjs
Aquarium Advice Addict
Dizzydea said:
I think your ammonia test result needs to read 4ppm.
You add small amounts of ammonia, wait 20mins and test the ppm to see if you reach 4ppm on your test kit. If you don't reach 4ppm then add another small amount, wait 20mins and test again.
The ammonia calculator, you need to enter your tank size, the % of ammonia you are using and the PPM you want to achieve. Then the calculator will equate how much ammonia you need to add to your tank in order to reach the 4ppm you're looking for.
Jon
The ammonia calculator, you need to enter your tank size, the % of ammonia you are using and the PPM you want to achieve. Then the calculator will equate how much ammonia you need to add to your tank in order to reach the 4ppm you're looking for.
Jon
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
The amount suggested by the amm calculator is pretty accurate as long as you put in the correct % of ammonia, switched the 'pppm' to 4 (default ppm is 5), & entered your tank size. If its a 10% ammonia solution, to reach 4ppm it will take @8mls of ammonia. Its bit easier to dose this way- the add & wait method works but it will take a while to reach 4ppm. If you dont know your exact % of ammonia, you should start with 1 teaspoon (5mls) of ammonia, add & wait 15mins & retest. Then continue to do this until you reach 4ppm. Hope this helps!
So my ammonia doesn't have a percentage on it. On my ammonia test there all the shades of green that you match your test to, beside the colors are numbers they start at zero then go to .1 and on and on till 6.1 to be clear I want to get to 4 not .4 right?
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
It should be nice dark shade of green but not the darkest shade of green. I would suggest writing down the exact amounts you are adding so you will have a total mls to reach 4ppm from zero. Assuming your ammonia is an average %, it will probably be in the 7 to 10ml range. If its very diluted, it may be a bit more. 
Bearchumjs
Aquarium Advice Addict
Dizzydea said:
From my understanding, that much ammonia will grow a nice big bacteria colony so that when you are done cycling you can add more fish at once rather than just 2 or 3 at a time. The bigger your colony the less likely the possibility of an ammonia spike when you do start adding fish.
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
I believe zeolite removes ammonia. Remove it, wait 15mins & retest your ammonia. If its still zero, you unfortunately will need to start all over again to figure out the amount needed to reach 4ppm because the zeolite has been absorbing it. Sorry!
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
Hmm...have you checked the expiration date on your test kit? There may be something amiss with your test if all the zeolite is gone. Try taking a test tube & fill it with some tap water. Then add 3 drops of ammonia to it & test it. This will serve as a control to see if your test is working correctly. The test should turn dark, dark green. If it doesnt, something is wrong with your test.
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
Plants & your cycled media are definitely factors here! Have you checked for nitrites & nitrates?
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
Hmm...is your tank heavily planted? Even if it is, you should still be able to dose your ammonia up to a decent level before everything starts getting absorbed or converted. Is the ammonia you have dosed thus far (after removing the zeolite) disappearing as well?
It's a 54 gal with 5 plants and 2 large pieces of drift wood. I removed the zeolite ad was able to get it up to 2.4 but that's as high as it will go. I add in 8 cc intervals and the last 4 doses have done nothing. I did put a really dirty filter pellet bag in and some nutrifin cycle a while back. Would the algae be eating the ammonia? What should I do? Keep adding ammonia or mabey do a wc? Let the ammonia go down naturally?
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
Ok, so your amm is at 2.4 (or so) right now? Let's just wait a day or so and see if it drops on its own and we can go from there! You don't have enough plants to make a dramatic difference but feel free to add more if your going this route. Keep us posted!
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