Wee As An Ammonia Source?

[saz326]

More and more people seem to have issues finding ammonia for fish free cycling so it made me think about the most readily available liquid around. Wee.

It has many components, some undersired but most present in low concentrations in fish excretion (assumption!) Also, wee is technically sterile when it comes out so wouldnt be introducing unwanted bacteria to the equasion.


Organic components:

Urea - Urea is an organic (i.e. carbon-based) compound whose chemical formula is: CON2H4 or (NH2)2CO. It is also known as carbamide. Urea is derived from ammonia and produced by the deamination of amino acids. The amount of urea in urine is related to quantity of dietary protein.

Creatinine - Creatinine is a normal (healthy) constituent of blood. It is produced mainly as a result of the breakdown of creatine phosphate in muscle tissue. It is usually produced by the body at a fairly constant rate (which depends on the muscle mass of the body).

Uric acid - Uric acid is an organic (i.e. carbon-based) compound whose chemical formula is: C5H4N4O3.
Due to its insolubility, uric acid has a tendency to crystallize, and is a common part of kidney stones.

Other substances/molecules - Example of other substances that may be found in small amounts in normal urine include carbohydrates, enzymes, fatty acids, hormones, pigments, and mucins (a group of large, heavily glycosylated proteins found in the body).


Ions

Individual elements:

Sodium (Na+) : Amount in urine varies with diet and the amount of aldosterone (a steroid hormone) in the body.

Potassium (K+) : Amount in urine varies with diet and the amount of aldosterone (a steroid hormone) in the body.

Chloride (Cl-) : Amount in urine varies with dietart intake (chloride is a part of common salt, NaCl).

Magnesium (Mg2+) : Amount in urine varies with diet and the amount of parathyroid hormone in the body. (Parathyroid hormone increases the reabsorption of magnesium by the body, which therefore decreases the quantity of magnesium in urine.)

Calcium (Ca2+) : Amount in urine varies with diet and the amount of parathyroid hormone in the body. (Parathyroid hormone increases the reabsorption of calcium by the body, which therefore decreases the quantity of calcium in urine.)


Small groups formed from a few different elements:

Ammonium (NH4+) : The amount of ammonia produced by the kidneys may vary according to the pH of the blood and tissues in the body.

Sulphates (SO42-) : Sulphates are derived from amino acids. The quantity of sulphates excreted in urine varies according to the quantity and type of protein in the person's diet.

Phosphates (H2PO4-, HPO42-, PO43-) : Amount in urine varies with the amount of parathyroid hormone in the body - parathyroid hormone increases the quantity of phosphates in urine.


Thanks Google for the info!



If you were to use a few ml at a time I guess it would act as an ammonia source and possibly nitrite and nitrate source too to some degree. You would need to do a fairly hefty water change to ensure the water was clean for fish introduction but I imagine you could cycle the tank to the stage where you could use a small amount of fish food as a nutrient source.

...

.. .

...
..Its not that gross. We all make it!

i want a good discussion here. It has to be a better way to do things than forking out for bottles of ammonia, cycle, and all those other "filter start" treatments out there.

 

[Jenste]

chemistry is NOT my strong point but I am quite interested in seeing responses to this!

 

[ZoddyZod]

this has been suggested before, it can be done.....but how do you judge the concentration of the ammonia? Pee in the tank, test, then pee some more?

 

[saz326]

this has been suggested before, it can be done.....but how do you judge the concentration of the ammonia? Pee in the tank, test, then pee some more?

easier for a bloke than a lass then

....Excuse me fella - can I borrow you for some direct addition?


I guess there would be a little prep work. make a soultion first - test it, then add accordingly? I havent exactly ironed out the method yet Zod. Issue I guess would be colour - trying to match colour of a test solution up when colour already existe in the wee solution.

 

[Tizer]

People who work on fish farms in Holland/China often take a piddle in the tanks. Its not a new thing, its just not erm...discussed in great depth

 

[fluttermoth]

Surely you'd pee into a jug, and add it bit by bit; not straight into the tank!

I really don't see why it wouldn't work; people have peed on their compost heaps to 'accelerate' them for donkey's years (only men though; apparently it doesn't work so well with women's pee; so lady fishkeeper's BFs might be suddenly more in demand than they were )

 

[Tizer]

Why would it not work with lady pee? do they posses some bizzare additional filtration system? or is it just that squatting over a compost heap isnt very lady like?

 

[This Old Spouse]

I'd think that unless you can walk and squat at the same time, the concentration would be too much in one spot?

And overall, doesn't the composition of your pee depend on what you've had to eat and drink? And couldn't this affect the, erm, outcome?

 

[BigbruiserAl]

Why would it not work with lady pee? do they posses some bizzare additional filtration system? or is it just that squatting over a compost heap isnt very lady like?

Now that cheered me up and a genuine LOL

 

[fluttermoth]

I think it's probably something to do with hormones

 

[the_lock_man]

Why would it not work with lady pee? do they posses some bizzare additional filtration system? or is it just that squatting over a compost heap isnt very lady like?

I can't comment on the specifics of male and female urine, but there is certainly a small difference between male and female sweat - female is slightly more acidic. A certain chain of pubs were using a type of door handle which had a ring of gold leaf around the handle at the end. On the door to the gents, the handle still had its gold ring. On the ladies, however, the gold hard disappeared.

This was found to be the case on pretty much all pubs where these handles had been used.

If there's a difference in sweat, then it's not inconceivable that there's a difference in urine.

 

[fluttermoth]

Ah! That could be it; *****'s urine is more acidic than dog's, that's why they ruin your lawn.

So maybe the ladies should pee in SA tanks and the men should do the Rift valley ones...

 

[micko]

I think this topic was on a while ago. Someone said that although urine contains ammonia that there isn't that much in it.

Now, as I didn't know urine was a compost accelerater I will now go and pish all over my compost heap.

If I get arrested for indecent exposure I'll refer the Police severice of Northern Ireland to this thread.

 

[fluttermoth]

I'll be a witness for you (but maybe you should do it last thing at night )

 

[micko]

Where's the fun in that?