Ammonia/ammonium Measuring

[Novisteel]

Hello

This is my first post having returned to fishkeeping, after many years. I am now cycling my tank without fish and have dosed the aquarium with Ammonia monitoring daily using JBL products.

The JBL Test kit I have measures Ammonium NH4 although it states that it also tests for Ammonia.

I can now bring the Ammonia (um) level up to 5ppm and see a drop over night to 2ppm where stubbornly it stays. On the Practical Fishkeeping site I have found an Ammonium calculator, which splits the measured Total Ammonia Nitrogen (TAN) into its constituent parts (as below), (http/www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/ammonia.php)

Temperature: 24 °C
pH: 7.0
TAN: 2 mg/l
Ammonia (NH3): 0.0104 mg/l
Ammonium (NH4): 1.9896 mg/l


So, my questions are

1. Will the bacteria I am trying to cultivate convert Ammonium as well as Ammonia?
2. Have I bought the incorrect test kit?
3. Is there a test kit just for Ammonia NH3 and if so is it more useful?
4. To complete the fishless cycle do I just wait for the Total Ammonia Nitrogen reading to fall to Zero or use the NH3 figure?

Many thanks.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

I've nto come across that particular test kit before so can't comment on exactly what it\'s testing for however you can be assured that the bacteria will also use up both ammonia and ammonium so whichever one you have left this will eventually be consumed. If it's sticking at 2ppm it's just being a bit stubborn, not because it's ammonium not ammonia.

 

[waterdrop]

Hi Novisteel and Welcome to TFF!

In the 1980s, when the idea of fishless cycling was just getting underway, there was much discussion and concern about the specifics of the ammonia, including discussion of ammonia vs. ammonium and all sorts of other details. After a while it became quite clear that none of this mattered and so the fishless procedures were able to be simplified down to just using the cheapest clear household ammonia and to knowing that the bacteria will consume both states of the ammonia.

Its an interesting question whether there are any kits out there that can separate the ammonia/ammonium level, I've always thought they all measure both. As a practical matter, all the ones we normally discuss here measure both and the bacteria consume both, so the whole thing becomes a non-issue. We just measure "ammonia."

MW is right, the business of ammonia seeming to "stick" at 2ppm is just a stubborn thing we see often when your process is getting toward the last stage of very first period where you are watching for the initial ammonia to drop to zero. Pretty soon it will drop to zero and then the question will be "how long did it take?" 24 hours? 18 hours? Meanwhile, about that time you will usually see the nitrite(NO2) begin to rise and before long it will be measuring at the highest level your kit can measure. That's the "nitrite spike" and we often say it starts the second phase of fishless. Regular measuring of pH becomes increasingly important in the second phase to guard against a pH crash.

Its good to think of your water during fishless cycling as a "bacterial growth soup" and adjust it to optimize bacterial growth. I'd recommend you raise your temperature to 29C/84F and be measuring pH. Since your pH is in the 7s, it may be subject to dropping later, depending on the hardness of your water. Keep posting stats so that members can help. Always mention its "fishless", what the tank size is and the rough coverage of plants, so we are reminded. With your stats, always mention what day of fishless you are on and how many hours its been since ammonia was added when you took the stats. Oh, and be sure to test your ammonia add at about 15min after you make it a few times to be sure of the 4-5ppm level, don't just trust the calculator.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Novisteel]

Hi

Thanks you both for your replies.

I believe that I am on the right track now and need not concern myself with the Ammonia/Ammonium issue. I was concerned that if I did not have sufficient Ammonia the Bacteria would die off. I can now see that this is not a problem.

I continue to monitor daily and will post back in a week or so.

Once again many thanks.