How much ammonia do I add to start my cycle?

[wantvws]

Hi...anyone have an idea of how much ammonia should I add to my 210g tank to start the cycle? Any general rule of thumb? There's actually only about 165-170g of water in the tank.
Thanks in advance!!!
Robbie

[emonemo420]

well like we said in the other thread ...sadly there is no rule of thumb...i have seen a few sites that said ...

"Each day, add 4-5 drops of household ammonia (see tips for type of ammonia). Test the water for nitrite daily until it suddenly increases. This means the tank now has bacteria that can digest ammonia. "
"Now add 2-3 drops of ammonia per day instead of 4-5. Continue to test for nitrites until it goes back down to 0. Ammonia should be 0 too."now since u have such a big tank id double those if not triple those amounts cause i added a tablespoon a day for a week and a half to my 55 and that was to much but for u 10-15 drops or even a teaspoon a day then when u get nitrites cut it down to half that for a few days then cease it all together...i think u will get some good bacteria this way..but its MPO GL and the tank is beautiful im very very jealous

[wantvws]

thanks for the comments on my setup...and sorry about your fish from the other thread:(. I'll try a teaspoon and see where it gets my tank tomorrow evening.
Thanks!!
Robbie

[Grins]

From our cycling sticky:

"You can start off by adding X drops amount of NH3 until a level of 5ppm is achieved. This X amount of drops has to be added daily until the nitrITES spike. When the nitrITES spike dose the tank with ½ X (from previous step) amount of NH3 drops daily until nitrITE is 0ppm causing a nitrATE peak. Once again, once both NH3 and NO2 have checked out at 0ppm over several days, and your tank is cycled, do a large water change to reduce the NO3. "

[emonemo420]

i read that too but when i first started the hobby that confused the crap out of me so i like the easy numbers lol (plus i couldnt find that forget where i read it) good find grins

[Grins]

lol...I know.
Basically I just got it to 5ppm and then left it to do it's thing.

[wantvws]

See, that's where I got confused. The sticky (I did read it! Really!) read like I should add it daily and maintain it at X level...and then several people seem to have done exactly what you did, which is get it to a certain level and let it do what it needs to do.
I'm so confused. But I'm used to it. I'll raise the NH3 and then do a little dance and say some chants and let it go:dance:
Thanks!!!
Robbie

[Grins]

This hobby can quickly confuse anyone. There are so many ways to do things it can make a newbie trying to do things right throw up their hands in frustration.

[wantvws]

It's ok. Although the amount of information here is kinda like drinking from a fire hose, I'm not frustrated yet....I am just trying to learn what applies to my setup at the moment. As I get farther into it, I will try and learn more.
So long as my brain don't get full:)
The amount of help here is phenomenal! And well appreciated!!
Robbie

[emonemo420]

hence the reason i stated it the way i did...to be honest with u ...there is no "real" way to do it...it will either take longer or shorter...u could dump the whole bottle in there (not suggested) and it will just take 7 years to cycle or add 2 drops and it will still take a while ...either way its gonna take a little while...my best suggestion is do what i did (as long as u have decent LR) and *** a teaspoon a day for a few days then when u get nitrites cut the does in half for like 2-3 days then stop it all together and wait....thats what i would do if i were u...but its up to u