Tons Of Questions!

[Tstone]

That ammonia appears to be 2.5% ammonia, so you'd need to change the '9.5%' bit in the calculator. Can you have a look on the actual bottle and see what % it says?

Looks to me, from the calculator, that you'd need 87 or 88mls; I'd start with half that and do an ammonia test and see what concentration that's given you.

#41####.. well I went ahead and put 22 mL in it and I left for a family thanksgiving and i'm here now.. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you btw
Should I add about 20 more mL's when I get home of the ammonia?

 

[fluttermoth]

Hey, Happy Thanksgiving to you too

I'd do an ammonia test (and have a look at the bottle as well!) before you dose anymore; even 1ppm would be enough to start you off.

 

[Tstone]

What is ppm?
and are you referring to "the bottle" as my ammonia bottle? Because if so, I did and it doesn't say anything about the ammonia % ):
But when I get home, i'll do aia test,ss report back here with results, and se/e what you guys have to say before I touch it anymore

And just trying to jump a little ahead.. when I check my ammonia level, can you guys tell me I need x amount of ammonia if I have x% of ammonia after testing for my ammonia?
like say.. " if you test for ammonia, and it's at 5, you should add 10 mL of ammonia "
and I used random numbers... just trying to see if you can help me out by giving my an answer like that ^

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Happy Thanksgiving! I forgot because my family is celebrating on Saturday (conflicting schedules!).


Assuming fluttermoth is correct (and she usually is) and the ammonia you have (jug, bottle, whatever) then you will need 87mL of ammonia to dose it to 5 ppm (parts per million). So, when you get home, since you dosed it about 1/4 of what it needs, you should have a reading of about 1ppm. If that is the case when you test it, you can assume that a 5ppm dose is 87mL. In that case, simply dose out the remaining 65mL that you will need and you are all set. Test your ammonia at the same time every day until it starts to drop. When it hits zero, redose it to 5ppm (87mL).

 

[Tstone]

Happy Thanksgiving! I forgot because my family is celebrating on Saturday (conflicting schedules!).


Assuming fluttermoth is correct (and she usually is) and the ammonia you have (jug, bottle, whatever) then you will need 87mL of ammonia to dose it to 5 ppm (parts per million). So, when you get home, since you dosed it about 1/4 of what it needs, you should have a reading of about 1ppm. If that is the case when you test it, you can assume that a 5ppm dose is 87mL. In that case, simply dose out the remaining 65mL that you will need and you are all set. Test your ammonia at the same time every day until it starts to drop. When it hits zero, redose it to 5ppm (87mL).

Go home, check the ammonia, it should read 1ppm, if so, add 60 mL.. test ammonia a day later at the same time?
Sorry, I kinda just re worded everything you said, but I just wanna make sure everything is clear. I have to type things out and say them myself to fully comprehend them.




Ughhhhhh............ Just tested my ammonia after putting about 22mL into it and you guys said it shoud be around 1..... and this is what I got.....

 

[fluttermoth]

Oh, dear! It did say on the Walmart site it was 2.5% Sorry, but you might have to do a 50 or 60% water change to get it down nearer 4 or 5

Be good practice for you...

PPM = parts per million, btw.

 

[Tstone]

That's fine. I wanted to do a water change soon just to learn will everything be okay if I wait a day or two? Because that's the only time i'll have to mess with it with all this thanksgiving /:

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Well, that was based on the assumption that it was 2.5% ammonia. It would seem that one of a few things is going on. Obviously your ammonia is stronger than 2.5%. If it is 9.5% then you should be right at 5ppm, which looks about right. (Always check the color in natural light.) Another possibility is that you didn't put the full 110 gallons into the tank (definitely true if you hadn't substrated the volume of the sand. I would assume that the sand itself is about 10 gallons, so that means only 100 gallons needed. So, if you put 22mL into the tank with only 100 gallons, that means that the tank is at 5.5ppm currently, which makes sense given the color we see. (Granted we can't see the color as accurately in a picture as you can in person.)


If I were you, I wouldn't worry about it. I would drop the dose for 5ppm down to 19mL. No worries... Just start testing every 24 hours at the same time.

 

[Tstone]

So just check the ammonia level every day? That it?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

For now... yup.

 

[Tstone]

And it will keep rising, and then start dropping, and then one day, it'll be at zero, correct?
Then..... _____________________________ (Fill in the blanks )

 

[eaglesaquarium]

It won't rise. You don't dose the ammonia until it hits zero. The nitrites will eventually rise and then fall. But, ammonia will only fall (or stall) in a fishless cycle.

 

[Tstone]

So now I just check the ammonia every day... Is there anything else I should be checking? Am I waiting on my ammonia to be something specific?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

When the ammonia starts to drop, start to test nitrite. Yes, right now you are waiting for ammonia to drop to zero. Then redose 19mL of ammonia and keep testing daily. When you see nitrite starting to rise, then you can drop the dose to 12 mL for a while. Just keep posting here and someone will be around to help you every step of the way.

 

[Tstone]

Start testing for nitrate like tomorrow.. or after the ammonia goes to zero and I redose it with 19mL?