Fishless Cycle - Ammonia Drop

[cotton-blossom]

My fishless cycle has began 15 days ago.
I kept adding ammonia (Homebase) to get readings between 3-5ppm. It used to take about 10-12 hours to convert it into nitrites and get back to zero.
I keep adding ammonia to reach 3-5ppm but that never happens, as after 3-4 hours is back to zero!! What am I doing wrong? Nitrite went off the chart. Nitrate used to be 20, and then dropped to 10ppm

Somewhere on your forum I found a guide and it says: "Every time the ammonia drops back to zero, raise it back up to 3 to 4 ppm and continue to check nitrites." On the other hand it says: "Add ammonia daily".
I'm not sure if I got it right. Does it mean I need to add ammonia just ONCE A DAY? My ammonia readings drop back to zero within 3-4 hours. Do I need to wait anyway til the next day? Or should I add ammonia immediately, when I see it reads ZERO. If so - that'd mean I need to add ammonia few times a day. Am I right??

And also. I used to add 5-7ml of ammonia (got 170l tank). Once I've seen it can feed bacteria for only few hours, I started to add more and more and now I add 10-15ml. That doesnt seem to help, as the ammonia reading go back to zero after 3-4 hours anyway.

Please help, as I got stuck

 

[phantomlink]

Its kind of odd to see it drop that fast so quickly, I'll let someone more experienced answer that question. As per the add daily or not, there are two different methods with liquid ammonia. The "Add and wait" method is what it seems you are doing right now. Add enough ammonia to get you to 5ppm or so, and once it drops to 1-2ppm add more. The "add daily" method where you add the same amount every day makes for a longer cycle but its generally used if you plan to heavily stock the tank or use alot of messy fish like goldfish or plecos. What kind of testing kit are you using?

 

[cotton-blossom]

Thanks anyway.
I use ammonia calculator I found on this forum. Last time it said I should add 7-8ml of ammonia. Dont remember. I did that and it took 3-4 hours to drop back to zero.
Btw - I use API tests.
I dont want to overdose but even if I added 15ml - it went back to 0 within few hours.
Should I stop adding ammonia after have added once a day? Should I wait til the next day? I dont get it.
How can I wait so long while all ammonia is being converted into nitrites in up to 4 hours?!?!

 

[The Taffy Apple]

Which API test kits are you using? I am unaware if they do a 'strip' version or not, but a liquid based one is always recommended.
If so, what is your nitrIte reading right now?

Terry.

 

[cotton-blossom]

I always use liquid tests.
Nitrite go off the chart. They go purple even before I stop dropping

 

[phantomlink]

Then you definitely arent ready for fish yet. You have the bacteria needed to convert the ammonia, now your waiting for the ammonia to convert the nitrite. It will be slow but if it happens like my tank you will go from 4-5 to 0 overnight when it's ready

 

[cotton-blossom]

You dont get me right.
You said the tank is ready for fish when ammonia drops from 5ppm to zero overnight.
My questions was - what to do if it drops back from 5 to zero in 3-5 hours?!

Actually - I dont even know it gets to 5ppm at all.
What I do is - I add ammonia (7-15ml in 170 litres tank), test it after few hours and the readings are 0-0,5ppm
So I add another 7-15ml etc.... It never ends

You dont get me right.
You said the tank is ready for fish when ammonia drops from 5ppm to zero overnight.
My questions was - what to do if it drops back from 5 to zero in 3-5 hours?!

Actually - I dont even know it gets to 5ppm at all.
What I do is - I add ammonia (7-15ml in 170 litres tank), test it after few hours and the readings are 0-0,5ppm
So I add another 7-15ml etc.... It never ends

 

[The Taffy Apple]

Then try testing it 10 mins after you add the ammonia.

Terry.

 

[phantomlink]

You dont get me right.
You said the tank is ready for fish when ammonia drops from 5ppm to zero overnight.
My questions was - what to do if it drops back from 5 to zero in 3-5 hours?!

Actually - I dont even know it gets to 5ppm at all.
What I do is - I add ammonia (7-15ml in 170 litres tank), test it after few hours and the readings are 0-0,5ppm
So I add another 7-15ml etc.... It never ends

You dont get me right.
You said the tank is ready for fish when ammonia drops from 5ppm to zero overnight.
My questions was - what to do if it drops back from 5 to zero in 3-5 hours?!

Actually - I dont even know it gets to 5ppm at all.
What I do is - I add ammonia (7-15ml in 170 litres tank), test it after few hours and the readings are 0-0,5ppm
So I add another 7-15ml etc.... It never ends

I wasnt aware that your nitrites were off the chart when you first said the ammonia drops to zero. You need both of them to be zero and ammonia from 5 down to 0 within 12 hours or less to be ready

 

[cotton-blossom]

What shall I do then?
Keep adding ammonia, even if that means adding it few times a day, to keep it between 3-5ppm, or shall I add it just once and wait until the next day, (being aware ammonia have dropped to zero after 4 hours).

 

[delta]

You say you don't even know if your ammonia even reached 5ppm. why not test a few minutes after you've dosed with ammonia to check that it has actually achieved your desired level. If the ammonia you have is a weak solution like the one I had you'll need to add way more than the calculator says to get a reading of 3-5ppm. The only way to know is to test after dosing.

 

[Yanks15]

You would be one of many that use Homebase ammonia and start to realize that using the calculator on this site doesn't work for you. That brand seems to be a bit spotty on quality. Your best bet is to dose the ammonia into a smaller container that you can relate directly to your full tank volume. You'll probably find that you need quite a bit more than you thought. Good luck.


Thanks,
Steve

 

[4seasons]

First off you tank is ready for fish only when you can add 2-4ppm ammonia every 24 hours and in 12 hours you have 0 ammonia AND 0 nitrite for a week straight. Then you do a huge water change to reduce nitrate and add fish.
Second, if your ammonia is dropping to 0 in just a few hours then only the first step of the cycle is done. Confirm that you are actually getting this fast a drop by checking 10 minutes after adding ammonia to see that you are getting the ppm you think.
Third, ammonia is converted to nitrite at a rate of 1:2.7. So if you keep pouring ammonia in at a high concentration your nitrite will get high enough to give you false readings. I would not add ammonia more than every 48 hours until you start seeing 0 ppm nitrite as well. I also wouldn't add more than 1-2ppm until you see 0 nitrites as well. The off the chart nitrites can really slow a cycle down.