Fishless Cycle Advice

[Nosnibor]

Hi all,

I just want to confirm the amount of ammonia I'm putting in is correct for the fishless cycle. Basically would you say that that 1ml per 10 UK litres is too much?

Not too sure if it is showing up too dark for the stage I'm at that's all.

Cheers

Martin

 

[Squid]

I used the following calculation to work out how much to put in. (depends on the % solution of your ammonia)

so.. 5ppm

if 1 litre is 1000 ml, then 1000 litres is 1 million ml...

then 5ml of pure ammonia is 5 ppm in that soltion..

so

100,000 ml of water would require 0.5 ml ammonia

10,000 ml of water (ten litres) would require 0.05ml of ammonia

the solution is only about 10% ammonia, so that would need 0.5ml of my solution (in fact it was the homebase one.. but i rounded it up)

so i tested this in a bucket and it went green (somewhere over 4ppm, but not entirely sure as the kit is not that clear over 4ppm)

so..

my 180 litre tank would require 18 * 0.5 =9ml of my solution..

Hope that helps, but as you can see, it depends on your ammonia solution. I also used a syringe to get the ml right instead of drops, so it depends on how many of your drops there are to a ml. You can get a small syringe from a chemist.. or use one of those medicine things or a small measure (be careful if people are using it for medicine still.. might no be the right thing to do there).. lol

Cheers
Squid

 

[Nosnibor]

I used the following calculation to work out how much to put in. (depends on the % solution of your ammonia)

so.. 5ppm

if 1 litre is 1000 ml, then 1000 litres is 1 million ml...

then 5ml of pure ammonia is 5 ppm in that soltion..

so

100,000 ml of water would require 0.5 ml ammonia

10,000 ml of water (ten litres) would require 0.05ml of ammonia

the solution is only about 10% ammonia, so that would need 0.5ml of my solution (in fact it was the homebase one.. but i rounded it up)

so i tested this in a bucket and it went green (somewhere over 4ppm, but not entirely sure as the kit is not that clear over 4ppm)

so..

my 180 litre tank would require 18 * 0.5 =9ml of my solution..

Hope that helps, but as you can see, it depends on your ammonia solution. I also used a syringe to get the ml right instead of drops, so it depends on how many of your drops there are to a ml. You can get a small syringe from a chemist.. or use one of those medicine things or a small measure (be careful if people are using it for medicine still.. might no be the right thing to do there).. lol

Cheers
Squid

Blimey Squid,

It's as if you had my setup hee hee.

I have a 180 litre tank too and I also have the Homebase ammonia (9.5%). I worked it out wrong then, I had nearly twice as much than you did and thought it was too high (I hope this doesn't effect the development of the bacteria that kills off the NitrIte).

That's for working it out for me I have no head for figures I can tell you. So would I right in saying that if I want to get the ppm to a lower figure, the following would be correct:

4ppm would require 7.2ml of solution?
3ppm would require 5.4ml of solution?

Thanks again

Martin

 

[Squid]

That sounds about right.. ! 18 * 0.4 mls =7.2.. as you said

I had rounded the 9.5% up to 10% for the example, but its hardly going to make a difference..

You can test it in a bucket with th right amount for 10 litres or something, but you should be fine.

Good Luck
Squid

 

[rdd1952]

I would think that 1ml per 10 litres would be too much. For me, 1ml will raise 5 gallon to about 5 ppm and 10 liter is only between 2.5 and 3 gallon. Best to check in by adding to a bucket first rather than putting too much in the tank.

 

[Nosnibor]

I would think that 1ml per 10 litres would be too much. For me, 1ml will raise 5 gallon to about 5 ppm and 10 liter is only between 2.5 and 3 gallon. Best to check in by adding to a bucket first rather than putting too much in the tank.

Indeed rdd1952,

Thanks to squid I have the perfect amount now. Looks like I did put twice the amount in the tank

I take it this won't damage my cycle process in anyway?

Martin

 

[martyn21uk]

Yeah sadly too much ammonia can slow the beginning of the process down or stop it from starting at all. If you've put twice as much ammonia in as you should have done and you're still right at the beginning, do a 50% water change and test your water again. That should bring it down to the correct level.

 

[Nosnibor]

Yeah sadly too much ammonia can slow the beginning of the process down or stop it from starting at all. If you've put twice as much ammonia in as you should have done and you're still right at the beginning, do a 50% water change and test your water again. That should bring it down to the correct level.

Yeah I thought that was a good idea to do a big water change but I just ran the tests and I'm quite happy with how good my tank is at getting rid of the ammonia. Last night I put around 10mg of ammonia in by mistake But this morning these are my results:

Ammonia: 2mg (wow.)
Nitrite: 0.5mg (nice.)
Nitrate: 7mg (huh!)

So I was pleased with that, the only thing I don't understand is that my tap water is Nitrate: 30mg When I tested the Nitrate from the tank the result colour came up quite quickly even though after the required time of sitting there developing it ended up with just 7mg! When I tested my tap water the result colour was clear until near the last few minutes!

I have a big peice of bog wood in there so not too sure if that will mess up the results much. I have plants coming soon, so hopefully all will tie in together

Martin

 

[rdd1952]

Some type of filter media will remove nitrate. Neolite and Nitro-zorb are suppose to. Plants will use some but not much.

 

[Nosnibor]

Some type of filter media will remove nitrate. Neolite and Nitro-zorb are suppose to. Plants will use some but not much.

Interesting rdd1952, I wasn't aware - thanks

I have a Fluval with the original media that came with it which I think will have to be changed at some date in the future. I have three trays each with two compartments. The top tray have BioMax ceramic rings in them, the middle tray has one compartment with BioMax ceramic rings and Carbon, the bottom tray also has Carbon in both compartments.

I've been hearing all types of advice with regards to media, so I'm waiting until I'm up and running with a mature filter. I have ready up that the ceramic media helps reduce ammonia and nitrite, but nothing about nitrate and I have no plants in there at the mo only a large piece of bog wood and sand

Do you have the Fluval over there in the states?

Martin

 

[rdd1952]

I don't think the carbon will remove nitrate and I know the ceramic rings won't. They media you have are fine. It's basically the same thing I had in my Fluvals when I started. After about 2 months, I removed the carbon completely and replaced it with Bio-Max along with the ceramic rings that came with the filter. It could be that the nitrate test was off a little as they can be inaccurate sometimes depending on how well you shake bottle 2 before using it.

 

[Nosnibor]

I don't think the carbon will remove nitrate and I know the ceramic rings won't. They media you have are fine. It's basically the same thing I had in my Fluvals when I started. After about 2 months, I removed the carbon completely and replaced it with Bio-Max along with the ceramic rings that came with the filter. It could be that the nitrate test was off a little as they can be inaccurate sometimes depending on how well you shake bottle 2 before using it.

Aaahhh interesting the plot thickens, well the hobby does anyway

So after a couple of months you think it's a good idea to replace the carbon bags with the same BioMax ceramic rings that are in the other compartments? So basically all trays and all compartments will have the same media?

Martin

 

[rdd1952]

That's what I currently have in my Fluval 305s (or 304s, can't remember but it's the older version). Ceramic rings or Bio-Max in all 3 baskets.

 

[Nosnibor]

That's what I currently have in my Fluval 305s (or 304s, can't remember but it's the older version). Ceramic rings or Bio-Max in all 3 baskets.

Excellent, wow easy one that one eh

In the book they state them as Fluval BioMax ceramic rings and to replace them every 3 months! Now I have been told that they do state to change them more often than necessary. But I know to make sure than when I do I only change one compartment at a time.

Does that sound right?

Cheers

Martin

 

[rdd1952]

Mine have been running for 2 years and I've never changed them at all. I just rinse them in a bucket of dechlorinated water every couple months.