Yes, toshape has decscribed the test, which can be done in 1 or 2 gallons of water in a bucket. I did that for my fishless cycle. It ends up being a lot of drops after you multiply and eventually you can just translate it into "squirts" from the dropper and probably get close enough to 4-5ppm. However, Jen mentions a "ml" measurement and this brings up the fact that you can often find a plastic syringe at the drugstore with millelitre measurements marked on it.
You should never do your ammonia dose based on someone else's number or via an ammonia calculator without also doing the "bucket test." Its possible the the ammonia concentration or the measurement technique to vary. Also, in the beginning when you are trying to figure out "your" measurement, try to come in low and your way to a final amount.
The water volume in your tank, after substrate and decorations, may be somewhat lower than you think, so again, come in low and maybe have to add a little more and re-test (always writing down your "ml" or "drops" so you end up with a number you can use day after day.) Its important because you don't want to get as high as 8ppm, you want to definately be down around 4-6ppm.
You do not want to do water changes during a fishless cycle, especially during the first phase when you are waiting for ammonia to drop to zero. Much later in the process, if you are having trouble, the members will sometimes suggest a water change, especially if your pH drops too much (the ideal pH is between 8.0 and 8.4, middle ranges are ok, low pH of 6.2 is when the process stops and down around 5.5 the bacteria can be killed.)
If you already have an airpump/airstone, then its recommended for added surface movement, which increases oxygen a little. If you have a noise problem with that and your filter system is already providing lots of surface water movement then its not entirely necessary, or you could turn it off at night if its a bedroom or whatever. But if you can do it, its good.
You need to crank your temperature up to 29C/84F. Remember, your water during fishless cycling has nothing to do with what it will be like later with fish, just think of it as an "ammonia soup" to grow bacteria. Its a temporary situation for a period of weeks.
You should post up your tap water parameters (pH, ammonia, nitrite(NO2), nitrate(NO3)) here and then your tank water parameters. You should establish a regular time block in the morning or evening when you plan to always add your ammonia and then you should keep a notebook, adding a line starting with the date and actual time you add ammonia and/or the measurements. You generally test for pH, nitrite(NO2) and ammonia twice a day, about 12 hours apart. Not all periods of the fishless cycle require you to all tests. For instance, nitrite(NO2) need not be done during the first period while your really just waiting for ammonia to drop to zero the first time, which may take days or even a week or two. Nitrate(NO3) is a difficult test (lots of shaking usually) and only needs to be done occasionally, to see if some of the nitrite(NO2) is getting converted.
Lot of sentences up there, but you can look back at it for reference.
~~waterdrop~~
