Testing ammonia in fishless cycling?

[tonydude]

Hi there. Just started my fishless cycle on my 55gal tank. Never done this before.
Just a few questions. When i start adding the ammonia should i be getting a reading of 5 ppm on the first day. Ive added it but not getting a reading on my test. Am i supposed to add it till it reads this amouint on the first day or does it take a while to build up.
I dont know the concentration of my ammonia. Really strong scent tho.

All help is appreciatted thanks.

 

[daisycat]

You are meant to add ammonia until it reads 5ppm, noting the amount of ammonia it took to achieve this.

Then add that amount of ammonia everyday until nitrites come up.

Then halve the amount of ammonia but continue adding daily until cycle complete.

The ammonia I have is 9.5% and absolutely stinks, wouldn't like to smell lab grade!

hth

 

[tonydude]

Thanks. So i should be able to reasd that straight away when i add it to the tank? mines from a lab but its diluted down. just not sure how much.

 

[Sky042]

yes you want to add the ammonia till it hits 5-8ppm the first day. if you have a good current in your tank then you should be able to test the levels by the time you finish screwing the cap back on the bottle of ammonia but I'd give it a mins or two to circulate.

 

[daisycat]

Yes, the reading should be immediate (give it a few mins for even distribution throughout the tank though) - nothing needs to "develop".

Not sure how much you should add either, but drops/spoon sized quantities should do it.

 

[Sky042]

FWIW on my 46 G with wal-mart ammonia it took 2Tbsp to get a reading of 8ppm on my tank. Once nitrites showed up I cut it back to 1.5Tbsp.

 

[tonydude]

Thanks a lot guys. This really helps a lot.

I think my ammonia was too weak cos i had to add the whole bottle just to get a reading of 5ppm! It was diluted down from a lab. Think ill have to get me a stronger solution.

 

[Sky042]

if you're on the USA just got to wal-mart for 97 cents.

 

[tonydude]

UK im afraid. although asda is owned by walmart so might have some luck there.

 

[Sky042]

UK im afraid. although asda is owned by walmart so might have some luck there.

There was just a whole thread about good source of ammonia in the UK

 

[daisycat]

I couldn't find any in our local ASDA, but it is not big by ASDA standards so you may have more luck if you live near a supermegaUSAsized one! Also, could not get it in Boots, independent pharmacies, Sainsburys, Wilkinsons, Tescos etc. Something to do with a licence needed for certain chemicals so most stores have stopped stocking ammonia cleaners (my brother works for Wilkinsons and told me this as they stopped stocking it fairly recently).

I found Jeyes Kleen Off - Ammonia Household Cleaner in a local hardware store and then called up Jeyes to ask about the ingredients. They were v. helpful so perhaps if you call them they can tell you of a local supplier? It's 9.5% ammonia with the rest made up with water. Jeyes Kleen Off is a whole range of cleaning products so you have to look specifically for the Ammonia Household Cleaner one (not the caustic soda one as some dimwit suggested!).

 

[tonydude]

lol. i can just imagine some twit adding caustic soda to a tank. well i should have it sorted today hopefully. yeah i found that thread about sources in the uk.

 

[clutterydrawer]

The ammonia I have is 9.5% and absolutely stinks, wouldn't like to smell lab grade!

hth

i did that once. it was like inhlaing a block of ice. it made my whole head feel like it was frozen. i wouldnt recommend it.

 

[luxum]

Be real careful with the ammonia fumes. I once had a lung collapse after spending too much time in a room where a blueprint machine was running, the ammonia fumes were poorly vented. Let me tell you, that was not fun, week in the hospital with a tube shoved between my ribs attached to a suction machine i had to carry around with me. Obviously there is little danger to the occasional accidental whiff, but it's a very serious chemical and can cause lung damage, so just be careful, especially if you are already damaging your lungs with cigarette smoke or whatnot.