Dr Tim's Ammonium Chloride

[dcocinci]

So I have to start my tank over, it is currently broken down and I've sterilized it all. The first time I did a fish in cycle with TSS and some zebra danios.

This time I'm going to use Dr Tims one and only along with Dr Tims ammonium chloride.

The ammonium chloride says 4 drops per gallon, I have a 65 gallon tank. I'm thinking there is a better way to do this than sit there and count 260 drops from that bottle. I have small measuring cups that measure mL that you get with like children's medicine that I boiled to clean out and could use. I guess I could count out 260 drops just the first time into a cup like that and then going forward I'll know where to fill that cup to for the rest of the times I have to dose. Or someone here who has used it before and is likely smarter than me might have a better idea ?

3 weeks from today I'm leaving on vacation for a week so I'll likely wait until I get back to start it back up. I don't want the person watching the house to have to deal with a cycling tank. Also, I bought a large piece of driftwood to put in the tank and I'm hoping by then it will be water logged enough so it does not float. It has been soaking for almost a week already.

 

[NavyChief20]

20 drops per mL from a standard eyedropper. 1 gallon is .25 mL so 1 mL per 5 gallons.

 

[Mick Frost]

Or 0.00013 gallons = 2ppm = ??
Edit: buggered up the conversion, I don't do metric

 

[ValerieAdams]

When I did mine it came out to about a teaspoon per 10 gallons

 

[NavyChief20]

Or 0.00013 gallons = 2ppm = ??
Edit: buggered up the conversion, I don't do metric

Metric is just easier for chemistry purposes.

 

[Jayd976]

If I remember correctly the directions on the bottle were double what's needed. Its a typo that still hasn't been corrected a search on the product will yield this error and explain the right dosage.

 

[Mick Frost]

Metric is just easier for chemistry purposes.

Maybe, but when SirI starts telling me to turn in 4 km she might as well just grab the wheel and give it a hard left. I rely on my Conversion app a lot, and it told me 0.5ml (that's so not right).

 

[Goldiemom]

Jayd976 is correct. It is 2 drops per gallon, not 4. I love Dr. Tim’s products but he is terrible about updating information. He changed the formula several years ago but hadn’t changed the bottle instructions.

 

[Rob Shannon]

Jayd976 is correct. It is 2 drops per gallon, not 4. I love Dr. Tim’s products but he is terrible about updating information. He changed the formula several years ago but hadn’t changed the bottle instructions.

I’ve seen bottles with both 4 and 2 drops per gallon. I think the labels are correct he just changed the concentration. I used an API test kit tube to measure my dosing. The line is 5mL.

 

[Jayd976]

4 drops is the misprint 2 drops per gallon is correct.

 

[dcocinci]

I got 2 bottles. Both say 4 drops per gallon hut I have seen other places as well that say that is a mistake so I'll start with 2 per I guess and see how it goes

 

[Goldiemom]

Better to have to add then try to reduce.

 

[dcocinci]

I emailed Dr Tims just to see what they said because this is not the first place I've read 4 drops is incorrect.

"4 drops is correct but you can use less at first. You need substrate and if you are using ‘live’ substrate reduce the amount of ammonia since live substrate adds ammonia."

I also asked about conversion to mL to avoid counting hundreds of drops:

"1 teaspoon equals about 5 ml which is 100 drops
1 tablespoon equals almost 15 ml which is 300 drops
1 drop is 0.05 ml"