Hey I'm about to start cycling my tank using ammonia i bought at Ace Hardware (its like 10% ammonia) and i was wondering what are the steps on cycling it...do i need to introduce bacteria first before putting ammonia in? And isnt it 5 drops a day until Nitrites start showing up?
Cycling using pure ammonia HELP
- Thread starter The_Wolfman
- Start date
Here's a nice article on all types of cycling. Good luck -- I'm getting ready to do the same thing myself!
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=81388
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=81388
ok so i keep reading that you have to get the ammonia level up to 5ppm but on the kit i got (The API Master Test Kit) it doesnt have 5ppm it has 0ppm 0.25ppm, 0.50ppm, 1.0ppm, 2.0ppm, 4.0ppm, and 8.0ppm???
I use one capful for any size tank and then test weekly for three weeks or until I have nitrates showing and then do a large water change every 3 days. (Do NOT replace the filter media during this time.) I also "feed" the tank daily.
ok i just added 15 drops of ammonia into the tank and tested it and its only at like 0.25ppm lol its going to take a while to get to 5ppm
I haven't cycled in awhile, but I've always added ammonia daily to keep it at 4ppm, after nitrites show up in a couple of days, I maintained the ammonia at 2ppm. After a week, the nitrites will disappear, the nitrates will shoot up to ~120ppm, and that's when it's done.
It would be a good idea to measure your ammonia after you add a capful to your tank so you'll know what you're working with.
It would be a good idea to measure your ammonia after you add a capful to your tank so you'll know what you're working with.
lol oh i didnt know you could just add a capful of ammonia...hey i had another question, am i suppose to introduce bacteria to the tank or does just adding ammonia to a new tank create the benefitical bacteria???
Wolfman and Leeser, the 5 ppm is a pretty nominal value. If your kit tests at a 4 ppm value, that will be fine for the measurement. We often talk about this as if you could read your values to several decimal places but the reality is that 4 or 5 ppm will look about the same on the API test kit. I figured that my 10 gallon takes a bit less than 1/2 tespoon to get to 5 ppm so if you ratio that to your tank size and start with half that dose you will be able to test where it took you and know how much more to add.