Ammonia

[Fishytaletold]

Morning all, my tank has finally cycled! I just can’t seem to get the ammonia below 0.25. I’ve attached a picture of the test I carried out this morning on ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. The test tube on the far left is my tap water tested for ammonia. The readings were the same yesterday. About 3’days ago I added a very small amount of ammonia, which it seem to handle well. It’s just I can’t get rid of that slight tinge of green. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks Adrian

 

[Guyb93]

I’d just drop a snail in n see what’s happens but that’s not actually advice worth noting ahahah @Essjay will help with water chemistry

 

[Fishytaletold]

I’d just drop a snail in n see what’s happens but that’s not actually advice worth noting ahahah @Essjay will help with water chemistry

?

 

[Essjay]

The tank ammonia is slightly greener than your tap water ammonia, and nitrite has a hint of purple. At this stage I would add enough ammonia to get 3 ppm half an hour after adding it, then test again tomorrow. The half hour wait is to allow it to mix in thoroughly.

Which method have you been using for cycling?

 

[Fishytaletold]

The tank ammonia is slightly greener than your tap water ammonia, and nitrite has a hint of purple. At this stage I would add enough ammonia to get 3 ppm half an hour after adding it, then test again tomorrow. The half hour wait is to allow it to mix in thoroughly.

Which method have you been using for cycling?

Thanks. I’ve been fishless cycling with ammonia for about 5 to 6 weeks. I will add the ammonia later.

 

[Essjay]

Have you been following the method on here

Cycling Your New Fresh Water Tank: Read This First!

Cycling Your First Fresh Water Tank What is Cycling and Why is it Important? Fish waste, and especially fish breathing, plus uneaten food and other organic matter breaking down in a tank all produce Ammonia. This can quickly become toxic to fish if it is allowed to build up to any measurable...

www.fishforums.net

or another method?

You will see that in the method on here, the final stage is adding 3 ppm ammonia and if ammonia and nitrite are zero 24 hours later, the cycle is complete.

 

[Fishytaletold]

Have you been following the method on here

Cycling Your New Fresh Water Tank: Read This First!

Cycling Your First Fresh Water Tank What is Cycling and Why is it Important? Fish waste, and especially fish breathing, plus uneaten food and other organic matter breaking down in a tank all produce Ammonia. This can quickly become toxic to fish if it is allowed to build up to any measurable...

www.fishforums.net

or another method?

You will see that in the method on here, the final stage is adding 3 ppm ammonia and if ammonia and nitrite are zero 24 hours later, the cycle is complete.

Sorry if I wasn’t very clear. That is the method I followed and I can’t seem to rid of that final green tinge. I added

 

[Fishytaletold]

I added the 3ppm 3 days ago and yesterday and today I had same slight green colour.

 

[Essjay]

That's fine then, I just wondered if you were using some other method

If it was my tank, I'd still add 3 ppm ammonia and see what it's like tomorrow. In the photo there looks like a trace of nitrite as well (though I do realise that computer screens aren't the best way of comparing colours).

 

[Fishytaletold]

Sounds sensible. How long do think it should take for the ammonia to be processed (assuming that the tank is fully cycled)? I’ve put in the ammonia (3 ppm) and I will Post the results tomorrow. Thanks

 

[Essjay]

You know a tank is cycled when you add 3 ppm ammonia and 24 hours later there is zero ammonia and zero nitrite. If one or both are not zero, it's not cycled.

 

[Fishytaletold]

You know a tank is cycled when you add 3 ppm ammonia and 24 hours later there is zero ammonia and zero nitrite. If one or both are not zero, it's not cycled.

Update...
I added ammonia 4ppm (overdid it a bit!) 2 days ago. Tested today and this is the result today. I still can’t seem to get rid of that last bit of ammonia.

 

[Essjay]

It might be OK. Ammonia exists in tow forms in water - toxic ammonia and less toxic ammonium. The amount in each form depends on the temperature and pH, with more being ammonium at lower pH.
There are calculators to work out how much is in each form

Free Ammonia Calculator

Aquarium calculator; Estimate the free (un-ionized) ammonia (NH3) concentration, given the total ammonia concentration.

www.hamzasreef.com

Set salinity to zero, then enter info from your tank and tests. Once you've used 'calculate', tell us the number in the NH3 concentration box.

 

[Fishytaletold]

It might be OK. Ammonia exists in tow forms in water - toxic ammonia and less toxic ammonium. The amount in each form depends on the temperature and pH, with more being ammonium at lower pH.
There are calculators to work out how much is in each form

Free Ammonia Calculator

Aquarium calculator; Estimate the free (un-ionized) ammonia (NH3) concentration, given the total ammonia concentration.

www.hamzasreef.com

Set salinity to zero, then enter info from your tank and tests. Once you've used 'calculate', tell us the number in the NH3 concentration box.

Ok here’s the results. I have put the ammonia levels as 0.25 and 0.50 as it’s hard to more accurate than this.
0.25 = 0.0007
0.5 = 0.0013
Picture of calculator below:

 

[Essjay]

Those levels are not toxic for fish - your pH of 6.6 is the reason why. Fish can live in as much as 0.02 for several days with no harm. Your highest level is 10x lower than this.

I would go ahead and do the big water change then get some fish. But unlike most fishless cycles, I would not get a lot of fish now but take it slowly just in case. Keep an eye on both ammonia and nitrite daily after getting them to be on the safe side.