Is there any general rule with how much ammonia/gallon to get 3ppm?
- Thread starter Yoemen
- Start date
Depends on the type / concentration of your ammonia. Also, liquid ammonia decreases in concentration over time, so age matters. IMO, you're just going to have to test it.
FWIW, in a 2-gallon tank, with slightly less than 2 gallons of water, I got the ammonia up to .5ppm by taking a 1/8 teaspoon measuring spoon (about the dimensions of a popcicle stick), dipping it into the ammonia (not filling the spoon, dipping it) and then swishing the spoon around in the water. The ammonia was from Ace Hardware and is supposedly 10% ammonia.
Liz
FWIW, in a 2-gallon tank, with slightly less than 2 gallons of water, I got the ammonia up to .5ppm by taking a 1/8 teaspoon measuring spoon (about the dimensions of a popcicle stick), dipping it into the ammonia (not filling the spoon, dipping it) and then swishing the spoon around in the water. The ammonia was from Ace Hardware and is supposedly 10% ammonia.
Liz
Someone who's fishless cycled and kept up with their numbers, check this:
ml of ammonia solution = 0.378 x (gallons of tank) x (ppm ammonia desired)/(percent ammonia in ammonia solution).
e.g., ParadoxLizs example: 0.378x(2)x(5)/(10) = .378 ml solution. (I assume she meant 5 ppm and not .5 ppm). If you prefer teaspoons, (I use a ml-graded medicine dropper for such things - available at any drug store for cheap and very easy to use), there are approximately 5 ml in a tsp, so this is about 1/13 tsp.
ml of ammonia solution = 0.378 x (gallons of tank) x (ppm ammonia desired)/(percent ammonia in ammonia solution).
e.g., ParadoxLizs example: 0.378x(2)x(5)/(10) = .378 ml solution. (I assume she meant 5 ppm and not .5 ppm). If you prefer teaspoons, (I use a ml-graded medicine dropper for such things - available at any drug store for cheap and very easy to use), there are approximately 5 ml in a tsp, so this is about 1/13 tsp.
Pretender said:
That equation does not work at all. What does the 0.378 stand for?
Here is how to determine PPM, give or take. You should be able to determine how many ml of NH3 solution is needed by the NH3% in solution. Although, this equation does not guarantee the NH3% printed on bottle is accurate.
ppm of NH3= [((NH3%)*(ml of NH3 Solution)*(1,000,000/ml of H2O in aquarium))]
ml of NH3 solution = [(ppm of NH3)/((NH3%)*(1,000,000/ml of H2O in Aquarium))]
3785 ml = 1 gallon
To get the number your looking for use 3 for ppm, the percentage of NH3 in your bottle of ammonia, and 3785 for ml of H2O in aquarium.
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Yoemen said:
gallons of tank - self-explanatory.
ml of NH3 solution - milliliters of the solution you bought at the store to add to the tank.
percent ammonia in ammonia solution - The solution you buy in the store is not pure ammonia. This number is the percentage of that solution that is ammonia. ParadoxLiz gave the example that her Ace solution is 10%. (Put 10 in the equation. Do not express it as a fraction - i.e., 0.1).
ppm ammonia desired - the concentration of ammonia that you want in your tank after adding the ammoni solution. If you want 5 ppm, use 5 in the equation.
The 0.378 takes into account all of the conversion factors (gallons to milliliters, ppm to ml/ml, etc.)