Yet another newbie
- Thread starter PumpkinPie
- Start date
So, I was reading another thread that suggested 4-8 drops of ammonia per 10 gallons of water to get a cycle going. I basically dipped the handle of a spoon in my bottle and let ong big drop fall in the tank and then shook the excess off the spoon into the tank, so maybe 2-3 drops max. Should I add a couple more? How long do I need to wait to test?
that should be good!!! test the next day is best IMO, i would say to get a couple guppys for the tank...they require mimial space!!!...and i would get 1male and 2females if you want breeding if not get 3-4 males!!!!
good luck!!!!!!
good luck!!!!!!
You will be fine with that for starters. Let it settle overnight and test with a good liquid test kit tomorrow. It is best to be a bit under then need to add more, than to be too far over and have to lower the level.
I mean long-term. It's just fine for ripping out heavy metals and stuff after a water change. I do it often enough for 24 hours after. It's the constant compulsive carbon dosing that I refer to.
Then you would realize it is more tahn a 24 hr thing..it depends on what you are removing and the concentration of it in your replacement water. Your statement of ..
Nylon wool, water clarifier (on tanks where the bottom can be heavily gravel vac'ed) and UV sterilization can take care of anything I've come up against.
is misleading that those products replace the chemical purification that carbon does.
Your continued statements about carbon being inferior are also mis'leading unless you state what it is specificvally.
Making broad general statements without background is useless for the OP.
Nylon wool, water clarifier (on tanks where the bottom can be heavily gravel vac'ed) and UV sterilization can take care of anything I've come up against.
is misleading that those products replace the chemical purification that carbon does.
Your continued statements about carbon being inferior are also mis'leading unless you state what it is specificvally.
Making broad general statements without background is useless for the OP.
I offered general statements based on experience, yes. I'm not here to write a thesis paper for him. He can check the veracity of my statements for him self. If he wanted clarification, I would think he would ask for it. Did he ask you to speak for him?
This also seems to be a situation of tu quo que, since you're willing to accuse me of lacking detail while you your self are not willing to fill in any blanks either as to what carbon does. You know, it doesn't seem ANYONE has mentioned what it does specifically. I wonder why you cite me, when if anything the initial fault of not fulfilling a reasonable burden of proof would be on the unsupported thesis of carbon usage, and my antithesis second. Would you rather I demanded sources from them, and accused them of being unhelpful due to their ambiguity?
If you want it with sources, then I'll humour you a little...
absorbtion of:
Mercury:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1205/095758204323162328
Copper:
http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=1515600
Tanic Acid:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2004.11.011
Methylene Blue:
http://pkukmweb.ukm.my/~mjas/v11_n2/Yamin%20UITM.pdf
Ripping out tannic acid for pH is pointless unless you're running a rift lake or simmilar high ph/high caco3 tank. The solution? caco3 in the form of aragonite. Otherwise, just boil the wood to stop making your tank turn brown. Otherwise, the rest of this looks like things you would get in tap water or through medication; the sort of thing that can be filtered out through multiple turnovers fairly thoroughly within 24 hours at even a ratio of 1gph/gal. Carbon will also rip out some other things found in tap water, but these are the main points of concern for poisoning fish. If you really want me to get sources for that, I'll dig up acceptable tap water params from various governing bodies (2 or 3 handle it I believe) and list the levels of a few areas compared to the ld50 for what ever animal I can find evidence for. We can cross-compare toxicity with frequency, and work from there.
Ok, so I added more ammonia before reading the post that said to wait until tomorrow to test. 
I am hoping I didn't over do it. My test only reads up to 6ppm, I think, so I can't test up to 8ppm as suggested. If it is clearly at 6 (or above), should I tear it apart, and rinse everything and refill it and start over? Or should I just do a large water change and hope for the best? The bacteria from the plants will eventually eat the ammonia right? (although it will take longer, right?)
I am hoping I didn't over do it. My test only reads up to 6ppm, I think, so I can't test up to 8ppm as suggested. If it is clearly at 6 (or above), should I tear it apart, and rinse everything and refill it and start over? Or should I just do a large water change and hope for the best? The bacteria from the plants will eventually eat the ammonia right? (although it will take longer, right?)Ok, so I added more ammonia before reading the post that said to wait until tomorrow to test.
I would just do a 50% water change and then allow the cycle to continue. Good luck and please keep us posted!
