A Few Questions

[jackkikz]

ok ok ok, ill do a fishless cycle!! Blimey, you guys are worse than my parents!

The tank was kind of set up and working, but i changed most of the filters, there are just some "noodles/bionood" left cos i didnt buy enough to replace them all, do you think this could be the reason?

What i dont understand is if i put quite a bit of ammonia in there, why isnt it showing in the tests i do half an hour later, this is bringing back bad memories of chemistry lessons.

The ammonia seems concentrated enough as i opened the bottle with my head over it and i swear i nearly died! God that stuff smells of burning!

Anyway, basically what i want to know is what do i do next? Is my tank already cycled cos its second hand and has loads of used bionoods in it? That would be great if it is, i think. So what do you guys think?

Also, i havent yet got a heater as i ordered one and it came very quickly, but broken, and now they are taking ages to send a replacement, very annoying.

Will that change anything? Although doubt it would change ammonia levels straight after i put ammonia in there?

 

[arobinson1984]

I'm abit sceptical about whether its already cycled as the ammonia would surely still show up just half hour after adding it. Like was asked before, do you have any zeolite in your filter?

Is it pure ammonia you are using?

It shouldn't have any scents or fragrances added and it shouldn't foam when you shake the bottle.

Glad you decided to go with the fishless cycle, if you think it brings hassle then you would have been in for a shock if you had just dumped the fish in! When your cycling with fish you would need to do water changes every day for 4-6 weeks, and quite often require you to do 2-3 changes in a day rather than just one.

Andy

 

[jackkikz]

I dont think there is any zeolite, after searching, Aqua One do sell it but i havent actually put any in.

Its homebase "household ammonia", which i have read is the one to use on loads of different posts, should i just stick some more in and test it?

 

[jackkikz]

I put in 20ml yesterday, does that sound too much, too little, just right in a 165litre tank?

 

[jackkikz]

Surely if it can just deal with that much ammonia, it is ready for fish?

 

[Bobtastic]

According to the Aquarium Calculator (top right) for an 165 litre tank to reach a ppm of 5 using Ammonia with the concetration of 9.5% you should be adding roughly 8.53ml. So yeah, 20ml is quite a lot...

It would suggest either the concentration isn't that high, or there is something that is converting/getting rid of the Ammonia.

 

[jackkikz]

OK, so what now?

 

[Bobtastic]

I would wait for someone with much more experience than I to comment/advise!

 

[jackkikz]

I hate waiting! Dont mind if the waiting is actually doing something, like waiting for the tank to do something before i can proceed.

I havent really used this site before, is there anyway of getting their attention?

 

[waterdrop]

You need to do a "bucket test." Ideally, find some container of more than a gallon, 2 gallons is ideal, or liter equiv. type thing, and have your pencil and paper and ammonia and syringe/dropper ready. Put 2 gallons, or whatever measured amount, in the bucket and proceed to keep track of the ammonia you are putting in. Start with what the calculator says and put in the amount that should raise 2G etc. to 4ppm say. Swirl the water with your hand and then do a liquid ammonia test on it and see what you get. Repeat as necessary (could be very tedious) to find out the real quantity of your ammonia that's needed to reach your given ppm. If you overshoot you may have to start over with new water, so being somewhat tediously careful can save you.

If you're getting a strong ammonia whiff out of the bottle then I would not think your ammonia is too diluted to be useful, but nonetheless you need to find out.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[jackkikz]

Ok, ill try that tonight and see what happens, im sure ill be back on here later with more questions!

Thanks, Jack.

 

[jackkikz]

Could it be cos i have these rubbish test, where you put 2 tablets in a test tube, they are REALLY expensive btw so i recommend you dont buy them, i didnt realise how many tests they did when i bought them. They do 20 tests for £10! Thats 50p per test, which seems a tad expensive to me.

Im doing the bucket test at the mo and will post my results later.

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, I've heard other complaints about those tests. You can work out the true cost per test of these different kits and the true liquid ones turn out to be quite competitive I believe, besides begin more accurate.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[jackkikz]

OK, i have to admit i gave up eventually. After adding 30ml of ammonia into 5litres of water in small stages and the test hardly changed colour compared to the initial test. So either the ammonia hasnt got any ammonia in it, or the test kit isnt working.

I have ordered the other test master kit thingy that was recommended so ill test using that when it arrives, hopefully tomorrow but probably not.

If that isnt the case i dont know what to do as i dont think you can by ammonia anywhere else, i might try and buy a different bottle of the same one and see if that makes a difference, any ideas though? I know this brand should work as i have read that loads of other people have used it succesfully.

Thanks for all your advice so far, im just trying to get this fish keeping thing right!

Jack

 

[waterdrop]

It will be quite interesting to see if it turns out to be the kit!

Hang in there. It can be frustrating to have to change all sorts of things at first but there are lots of loners out there who have never discovered any way to find out this stuff! Think of it!

~~waterdrop~~