Fish Cycling With Amonia - Size Of Drops?

[stuhyde]

OK I'm aware to start the cycling, amonia needs to be added till it reaches around 5 ppm. It states at various sources that 5ppm will be 5 drops per 10gal, but how can you get it accurate (teats vary im guessing)

Is there a volume amount, rather than just "drops"?

Thanks

 

[rsands]

is there fish in the tank?

 

[stuhyde]

Sorry mate, tried to alter the thread topic title

No, the tank isnt even purchased yet, am doing homework before it arrives...

 

[rsands]

ah rite lol! was wandering there

just add the 4-5 drops per 10gals and watch the ammonia levels...if it seems a bit lower...just add a few more drops. It will depend on the ammonia you have..as there is strong and diluted stuff i believe.

 

[stuhyde]

Yeh that there is .. So how soon after you add the ammonia is it sufficiently mixed to get a reading?

Minutes? Hours? or just get a big stick and mix it up

 

[rsands]

i am near sure it will flow around pretty quick...i left it for an hour or so before checking readings or if i forget a few hours....but once your tank is filtered it should change 5ppm to 0 in approx 12 hours

 

[stuhyde]

Thats just it, it wont be cycled, so I dont want to put in 750ppm although I know it wont matter too much as there will be no fish

I'll whack some drops in and test it after an hour or so and give it a good stir

thanks for help everyone

 

[Tiger Barb]

Squirt the ammonia in where there is good water movement e.g. by the spray bar if you're using an external filter. Obviously, whether you "squirt" it in or "drop" it in will depend on the size of the tank. I cycled a 300 litre using 9% ammonia and was adding about 5ml a day. Suggest you get a child's medicine syringe from a chemist.

Good luck and well done on doing your research first!!

 

[DevUK]

I have a quick question related to this... My amonia test kit only reads in 0.25 - 0.8 I think it is. I'm fairly sure its in ppm, but haven't got the kit in front of me to double check. Can you get kits that measure 5ppm? Sounds very high to be measuring, unless my kit is in a different measurement scale (ie, 0.5 on my scale is 5ppm or something?)

Slightly confused!

 

[Birdie]

I have a quick question related to this... My amonia test kit only reads in 0.25 - 0.8 I think it is. I'm fairly sure its in ppm, but haven't got the kit in front of me to double check. Can you get kits that measure 5ppm? Sounds very high to be measuring, unless my kit is in a different measurement scale (ie, 0.5 on my scale is 5ppm or something?)

Slightly confused!

Yes, the API one for a start. Your kit must surely be measuring in a different unit . 0.25 is the lowest reading on the API chart that isn't zero

Whatever the unit is ( assuming that you haven't misremembered, with it not being right in front of you ) you could always use The Online Conversion Site to change one to the other

 

[DevUK]

Yes, the API one for a start. Your kit must surely be measuring in a different unit . 0.25 is the lowest reading on the API chart that isn't zero

Whatever the unit is ( assuming that you haven't misremembered, with it not being right in front of you ) you could always use The Online Conversion Site to change one to the other

I'll double check tonight

 

[DevUK]

Yes, the API one for a start. Your kit must surely be measuring in a different unit . 0.25 is the lowest reading on the API chart that isn't zero

Whatever the unit is ( assuming that you haven't misremembered, with it not being right in front of you ) you could always use The Online Conversion Site to change one to the other

I'll double check tonight

Ok, my test card actually goes up to 8ppm so I'm all set! Just started cycling (or at least, continuing to cycle) a small tank with ammonia this eve. Got the ammonia up to approx 4 - 5ppm and going to test in 12 hours to see how its doing. The tank was part cycled already, but not completley, and I'd gotten lazy with my "feeding".

 

[rdd1952]

Droppers vary so 10 drops with one may be the same as 20 drops with another so you really can't rely on that. The best way to test is with a 5 gallon bucket. Add 1ml of ammonia to 5 gallon of water, stir it good with your hand to mix it and then test. Normally, that will get you to about 5 ppm.

 

[Aphotic Phoenix]

My API liquid test card skips 5 ppm (shows 4 ppm and 8 ppm), which annoys me when I think about how I want to start another tank soon. Any other reliable liquid test that actually shows 5 ppm?

 

[DevUK]

My API liquid test card skips 5 ppm (shows 4 ppm and 8 ppm), which annoys me when I think about how I want to start another tank soon. Any other reliable liquid test that actually shows 5 ppm?

Yeah, I noticed that I managed to get it to ~ 5ppm with about 10 drops of "homebase" ammonia (9.5% diluted). It was a little darker than the 4ppm colour, but not as dark as 8ppm so I figured it was close enough

At the end of the day, you're judging the colour in a test tube to the colour on a bit of card. These tests aren't exactly accurate when doing it by eye