Using Pure Ammonia in New Tank Cycling - Page 4

BJP · 02-13-2008, 09:16 PM

Excesssive levels of nitrate are a primary preservative. Sodium nitrate in particular is the preservative I believe used for packaging bacterial suppliments for the aquarium hobby.

I'm not sure what test kit you're using but most I've seen wouldn't give accurate readings at 200ppm and if so it might be possible you're even higher than that.

I would give the tank a large water change close to 100%. After a few hours or so, check the nitrate again. If it's still high give it another to get it down close to zero.

At that point I would spike the tank one time with a small ammonia addition to be sure the bacteria weren't stressed out or damaged. If it processes out the new small ammonia addition then you have bacteria in place. Get the fish in and put this experience behind you. Feed lightly for the first week or so to be sure the bacteria are handling the load. You shouldn't get any spikes but if you do it's easy enough to control by just witholding feeding for a day or two and providing a water change.

Once you have bacteria in place, they can reproduce quickly if additional quantity is needed by the fish load. You should be fine.

cyberloach72 · 02-14-2008, 12:31 PM

I am happy to report that everything has stabilized in my tank.

Thank you for your advise on the 90% water change. It worked! I tested the levels 8hrs after the water change and my nitrates reduced to normal range, nitrites were 0, pH and alkanlinity were normal and ammonia level was 0. I added about 10ml of ammonia after I tested and plan on checking again later to see if the bacteria was able to absorb it. If so, I plan on adding the fish.

Keeping fingers crossed that tank cycled in 3 weeks.

One other question...should I change the filter cartridge to a fresh one with new carbon or just go with what I have had in there for 3 weeks?

Thanks again for everyones assistance!

Loman · 02-14-2008, 06:33 PM

I would be interested in BJP opinion but I would change it given the high level of Nitrate you had. I suspect it is compeltely clogged by now. I should also mention that you do not necessarily need carbon although some (including me) prefer it

cyberloach72 · 02-14-2008, 09:25 PM

I added about 10ml of ammonia this morning and tested it about 12hrs later. It was reading .25ppm. Nitrates were still somewhat elevated, nitrites 0, pH normal. I did about a 20% water change, added 3 zebra danios, 1 swordtail, 1 platy, and 3 guppies to keep the cycling going. I plan on watching it and giving it some time to see how things pan out before I add my clown loach, pleco, and gourami since they obviously are larger than what I have in there now and don't want to cause any unnecesary spikes.

BJP · 02-16-2008, 07:56 PM

Quote:

One other question...should I change the filter cartridge to a fresh one with new carbon or just go with what I have had in there for 3 weeks?

Quote:

I would be interested in BJP opinion but I would change it given the high level of Nitrate you had.

Sorry for the delay. I just don't have the time to check back as often as I'd like.

If it's a standard cartridge it should have no real ability to remove nitrate. With that it should be almost as good as a new one having only had time to remove what little the water source itself brought along that's in it's capability to remove. In addition, if it hadn't been touched then some of the bacteria would have developped there in the high oxygen environment. If the fish transfer in safely without spiking the tank, then after several days I'd start pressure rinsing it regularly and often. The initial delay is to give the bacteria elsewhere a little more time to make sure they can handle the initial load. Long term, the more you rinse it, the more you should be helping to keep the bacteria in places that would be permanent homes. The more often you rinse it, the sooner you get wastes out of the tank, improving water quality and lessening the load on the bacteria elsewhere. The longer it lasts, the more money you save on replacement costs. The drawback is at some point we can't determine, the carbon will exhaust itself but most cartridges offer only a fraction of the volume of carbon that's typically advissed and with regular water changes the benefit is at best debatable. Most filters offer enough room for some DIY carbon additions also if more or a replaceable source is desired. I like my mechanical to last as long as it can and to be kept as clean as possible. Mechanical filtration doesn't accomplish anything outside of aesthetics until it's rinsed. Waste in a filter still breaks down and deteriorates the water, frequently faster than settling elsewhere since strong current is involved at the location.

drfong · 04-16-2008, 10:48 PM

Hi, I have not been here in a very long time. I have moved 2 times over the last 2 years and have not set up my tank. I finally decided to set it back up. I am going with the fishless method. The tank is 90 gal. I have read several articles on fishless cycling. I had water in the, tank filters running for 24 hours, lights set up, etc. I had read several places that live plants help, so I lightly stocked it with plants. Most every article talks about adding drops to the tank, I have added over 2 cups and still have not reached 5 PPM. I just added the 2nd cup and have not tested it yet but the first cup (added in 3 steps) barely registered above 0PPM. I let it run for over an hour before testing. I am using clear ammonia and had to go to 4 places to find some that did not foam up when shaken so I believe my ammonia is ok. Is it possible that that much ammonia could not be enough or has anyone heard of a ammonia test going bad?
Thanks for any insight.

My test kit must not be any good. It still does not show any PPM with over 2 cups of ammonia. I put a small amount of ammonia in a cup of water and tested that and still showed nothing. I will get a new test kit tomorrow. I guess I'll need to do a water change and start again. Atleast it was brand new set up and nothing was really lost.

Jay · 04-17-2008, 10:21 AM

I agree with you on the test kit. Two cups of ammonia is way too much.

Regards,
Jay

drfong · 04-17-2008, 12:35 PM

I did a test this morning with a very small amount of ammonia in a cup and it tested like it should, showed up at 8PPM. I added more ammonia and retested. Looks like too much ammonia shows up as no ammonia. I think the test kit is good, just blew past the range that it can test on the first shot. I'll change out the water and try again.
Thanks

Just went back and did another test. I used my est water with only a few drops, then added a little more amonia, tested in another tube, added more and tested again. Did four at the same time. Resuls show correctly, so I think he kit is good but it just shows haywire when you have way too much ammonia. Lesson learned.

drfong · 04-23-2008, 08:18 PM

After doing complete water change and testing amonia at decent level. Started adding small amounts of ammonia to get it to about 5ppm. Added the same amount 3 days in a row. Nitrites have now started to go up over the last 3 days. When the nitrites first became detectable I added ammonia that day. Have not for the last 2 as even though nitrites are going up, ammonia levels are still above 5ppm. Should I still be adding atleast some ammonia or should I wait until levels drop back down to 5ppm?

Loman · 04-23-2008, 09:53 PM

I would wait to add more ammonia. It sounds like the tank is cycling nicely. While you MUST have some ammonia to initiate the cycle too much ammonia will cause serious problems too. I would let it drop to 2 or 3 ppm before adding any more If it drops quickly I would let it go to zero and then add a small amount to make sure it was not detectable