10% pure ammonia and fishless cycling?

Dano83 · Mar 11, 2018

Hello,

I'm about to set up a 5.5 gallon tank and I need a little help. I bought some 10% pure ammonia (couldn't find any stronger) and i'm just wondering does anyone know how much I would have to add to get a reading of 4ppm?

Gruntle · Mar 12, 2018

Using the calculator (http://www.fishforums.net/aquarium-calculator.htm) and choosing the volume of your tank, I got:

0.62ml if it's US Gallons
0.75ml if it's imperial gallons

For your initial dose (taking into account you may have substrate and your tank might not be full to the brim), I'd suggest 0.5ml, leave it for a few minutes and test. You should get (and I'm making huge assumptions here) close to the 3ppm. If it's 4ppm or 2ppm it shouldn't be a huge issue, but take note of the reading you get and adjust your next dose accordingly so you end up at 3ppm.

4ppm is a measure that was used in the past, but years of research have shown that 3ppm is enough to cycle the tank, and helps avoid a large nitrite spike (which could stall your cycle).

Dano83 · Mar 12, 2018

Thanks so much for your helpful reply. I have a few more questions

My api master test kit doesn't have a 3ppm for ammonia so is there a way to tell if it's 3ppm on this kit?
Would I have to put the same amount of ammonia in everyday?
Would a medicine dropper be ok to use for the ammonia?

Essjay · Mar 13, 2018

You have to aim for a colour somewhere between the 2 and 4 colours. It doesn't matter if it is not exactly 3 ppm.

No you don't add ammonia every day. That ends up making so much nitrite that the cycle stalls. This method http://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first.421488/ was designed so that if you follow the instructions to the letter there can never be enough nitrite to stall the cycle.

Any sort of dropper is fine as long as it is clean and you can read as little as 0.5 ml. A babies medicine dosing syringe is perfect for this kind of thing and they are very cheap - but when you buy one the babies dosing bit is important. When I asked for just a syringe I got a very funny look and was asked what I wanted it for .......