Clarification Of The Target Ammonia Level Fishless Cycle

[HomeAtLast]

I feel like this is a lame question, but I would rather ask then mess up and after searching the forums I cannot find it asked or explained elsewhere.

I am starting a fishless cycle in a 3 gallon heated tank. It is up and running for 24 hours with the tank temperature stable at 80 degrees F. The fishless cycling protocol calls for my adding a measured amount of clear ammonia that brings the Ammonia reading up to 4 to 6 ppm.

Will someone clarify is this the TOTAL dissolved Ammonia reading on the color chart I compare to after the 15 mintues? Or do I have to calculate the toxic Ammonia using the percentages in the the pH and temperature chart with the kit (Red Sea Fresh Test Kit for NH3/NH4+) Am I even using the appropriate test kit?

Thanks.

 

[Majjie]

I'm not familiar with your test kit - but just use the total ammonia reading. It's not an exact science - fishless cycling

You need a lot of ammonia to encourage the growth of bacteria from scratch - but it doesn't have to be any exact amount and you can get problems if the level is too high. Personally I wouldn't go over 5 ppm.

The only time you need to worry about the pH - and the toxic levels of ammonia - is if there are fish in the tank. Hopefully that will never happen