Should I Let Ammonia Drop To 0 Ppm?

I was just thinking...Shade89, have you ever done an ammonia test on your tap water? If the test kit is faulty, the tap water will also possibly test at .5 ammonia. Maybe you can try this with untreated tap as well as treated with prime tap. It might help indicate whether or not it's necessary to buy a new kit.

Good idea. Sometimes I am slow to think of things that make perfect sense.

 

Good idea. Sometimes I am slow to think of things that make perfect sense.

I do not think you are slow....well....maybe we both are because I didn't think of it until this morning. ops: I laughed when I saw your post but I was torn between a like and a funny, but had to go with the funny.

 

I was just thinking...Shade89, have you ever done an ammonia test on your tap water? If the test kit is faulty, the tap water will also possibly test at .5 ammonia. Maybe you can try this with untreated tap as well as treated with prime tap. It might help indicate whether or not it's necessary to buy a new kit.

I've tested straight from the tap since the beginning of the cycle and got 0.25. Sorry for asking again but if I do the test with the treated water do I need to wait a certain amount of time before testing? I'm hoping (hoping!) it might not matter though. Here are my test results for today:

PH: 8.4
Ammonia: 0 - 0.25
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 40-80

The ammonia really looks below 0.25 but it's not pure yellow like on the chart to read 0. I think you guys told me that it rarely does that anyway right? Also at this point I should bring it up 2.0 again?

Oh and sorry mattgirl I didn't want you to think I was ignoring your suggestion about using half of the test tube. I just did a full test today just to be sure.

 

I would never think that Shade89

You don't have to wait to test treated water. If the ammonia is there the test will pick it up whether the water is treated or not. Prime doesn't remove the ammonia. I just turns it into ammonium. the test doesn't know the difference between ammonia and ammonium.

edited to add: those test results are telling me that this cycle is done. I would go ahead and add 2ppm ammonia one more time. If it is gone in 24 hours the cycle is done.

 

I've tested stThe ammonia really looks below 0.25 but it's not pure yellow like on the chart to read 0. I think you guys told me that it rarely does that anyway right? Also at this point I should bring it up 2.0 again?

Some people's test kits do seem to register .25ppm of ammonia all of the time, and the test may have a bit of an error margin.

I think testing right after treating with Prime is fine. It was mainly to see if both tests looked about the same or if the one treated with Prime looked a little greener than straight tap. Because if your water is treated with chloramine then once its treated with Prime, you might have a greener result. But mainly it was to see how close to 0 your test kit can test. Because there seems to be a trace in your tap, it's possible that is as low as your particular test kit registers. You could try it on bottled water if you have any to see if it's a true 0 from that...but I'm not sure what mattgirl thinks but maybe she will want to accept a .25 reading from your tank as a 0 reading. I guess the other question is, how do you feel about that? Would you rather buy another test or take a sample into the fish store to see if there is a trace in your tap water? You can use your tap as a baseline if other tests agree with yours.

I am very happy with what I am seeing though, so I would be good with dosing to 2ppm to see what happens. mattgirl, what are you thinking?

I see mattgirl managed to post. I haven't been able to get mine to go, but maybe this time.... lol, I think my phone is auto correcting or I've typed a whole lotta @'s. Must really want your attention! Lol

 

Some people's test kits do seem to register .25ppm of ammonia all of the time, and the test may have a bit of an error margin.

I think testing right after treating with Prime is fine. It was mainly to see if both tests looked about the same or if the one treated with Prime looked a little greener than straight tap. Because if your water is treated with chloramine then once its treated with Prime, you might have a greener result. But mainly it was to see how close to 0 your test kit can test. Because there seems to be a trace in your tap, it's possible that is as low as your particular test kit registers. You could try it on bottled water if you have any to see if it's a true 0 from that...but I'm not sure what mattgirl thinks but maybe she will want to accept a .25 reading from your tank as a 0 reading. I guess the other question is, how do you feel about that? Would you rather buy another test or take a sample into the fish store to see if there is a trace in your tap water? You can use your tap as a baseline if other tests agree with yours.

I am very happy with what I am seeing though, so I would be good with dosing to 2ppm to see what happens. mattgirl, what are you thinking?

I see mattgirl managed to post. I haven't been able to get mine to go, but maybe this time....

I have actually been trying to post for a while now and was finally able to.

I too am very happy with what I am seeing.

 

I have actually been trying to post for a while now and was finally able to.

I too am very happy with what I am seeing.

Do you want him to dose?

 

Do


Do you want him to dose?

Yes, I should have just made a new post but instead I just edited my previous post advising him to add 2ppm ammonia one more time.

 

Ok I just dosed to 2ppm. In a couple of hours I'll test the ammonia again just to see where it is and I can do the treated tap water test also. I'll probably have to get another test kit anyway. The ammonia bottles feel very empty and I'm surprised there are still drops coming out. I put my 3 pieces of decor back in the tank also so if the ammonia processes slowly again there's a chance that might have something to do with it.

I uploaded two pictures. The first one just shows that the ammonia is currently at 2ppm after I dosed it about two hours ago.

The second picture shows:

• Treated tap water (with prime) (Left)
• Untreated tap water (right)

Not sure what to think about this. I'll let you guys be the judges.

 

I uploaded two pictures. The first one just shows that the ammonia is currently at 2ppm after I dosed it about two hours ago.



The second picture shows:

• Treated tap water (with prime) (Left)
• Untreated tap water (right)

Not sure what to think about this. I'll let you guys be the judges.

It does look like prime does affect the reading. It doesn't look like you have any ammonia in your tap water so I don't really know what it is telling us. First thought was the difference between ammonium and ammonia but that isn't it because there is no ammonia there to turn into ammonium. Maybe chloramines register this color?

What are your thoughts toosie ?

 

It does look like prime does affect the reading. It doesn't look like you have any ammonia in your tap water so I don't really know what it is telling us. First thought was the difference between ammonium and ammonia but that isn't it because there is no ammonia there to turn into ammonium. Maybe chloramines register this color?

What are your thoughts toosie ?

Yeah, I think there might be a trace on the right from chloramines but only a trace and 0 on the left, so I'd say the test kit seems to be working ok.

Thanks for your efforts Shade89.

Let's see what tomorrow brings now.

 

Today's readings:

PH: 8.4
Ammonia: 1.0
Nitrites: 0 - 0.25
Nitrates: 40-80

I'm wondering if any of the decorations actually have anything to do with it or maybe it just needs some more time for the bacteria to develop. I know I've seen people say it can take up to 2 weeks to fully cycle after adding TSS+. I'm guessing I shouldn't be too concerned about that small nitrite reading. Right now I can either:

1. Leave the decor in for another 24 hours and test again
2. Take the decor out, re-dose to 2.0 and test again in 24 hours
3. Any other suggestions?

Edit: Now I'm questioning why I added the decor back in so quickly. I guess I got too excited after seeing a 0 ammonia reading.

 

Today's readings:

PH: 8.4
Ammonia: 1.0
Nitrites: 0 - 0.25
Nitrates: 40-80

I'm wondering if any of the decorations actually have anything to do with it or maybe it just needs some more time for the bacteria to develop. I know I've seen people say it can take up to 2 weeks to fully cycle after adding TSS+. I'm guessing I shouldn't be too concerned about that small nitrite reading. Right now I can either:

1. Leave the decor in for another 24 hours and test again
2. Take the decor out, re-dose to 2.0 and test again in 24 hours
3. Any other suggestions?

If it is deco you really like I would leave it in don't add any more ammonia and check again in 24 hours. If the ammonia doesn't drop it will lead me to believe it has something to do with what is happening. If you take it out now you will never know for sure whether it is the problem or not.

If the ammonia doesn't drop to negligible by tomorrow go ahead and remove the deco, dose up to 2 ppm and check in 24 hours. If it does go down after removing it you can be pretty confident that is the problem.

You really just want to do one thing at a time. If not you won't now exactly what is causing the glitch.

 

Test results for today:

PH: 7.6
Ammonia: 0 - 0.25
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 80 - 160

So I'll leave the decor in and dose the ammonia to 2ppm again unless there are any objections.

 

Test results for today:

PH: 7.6
Ammonia: 0 - 0.25
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 80 - 160

So I'll leave the decor in and dose the ammonia to 2ppm again.

Sounds good. If it were me though I would do a water change to get those nitrates down before adding more ammonia. I really am thinking this tank is cycled.

 

Sounds good. If it were me though I would do a water change to get those nitrates down before adding more ammonia. I really am thinking this tank is cycled.

I think I want to try 2ppm one more time and see what happens just because the last time I did a water change everything sort of stopped processing completely. toosie what do you think?

 

I agree, just don't touch the filter.

 

Ok I haven't dosed yet. I'll do the water change first.

 

Ok I haven't dosed yet. I'll do the water change first.

Just be sure you treat the water first and get it close to the same temp and it really shouldn't affect this cycle. I have a feeling you have a strong one at this point.

 

I just did about a 70% water change and treated it with prime. I have a second thermometer I normally check the temperature with so that was fine also. I did another test right after:

PH: 8.2
Ammonia: 0 - 0.15
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 20 - 30

I then dosed ammonia to 2ppm. I'll test again in 24 hours.

 

Just wanted to add one more thing. The heater is still installed so the temperature will remain between 80-81F for now. When the tank gets cycled I'll still want to remove the heater and I'll have to make sure the ammona is still being processed, but I'll worry about that later when the time comes.

 

Just wanted to add one more thing. The heater is still installed so the temperature will remain between 80-81F for now. When the tank gets cycled I'll still want to remove the heater and I'll have to make sure the ammona is still being processed, but I'll worry about that later when the time comes.

I don't think removing the heater and allowing the water to cool down will cause a glitch in the cycle. Folks that have goldfish keep the water cooler and still have a cycled tank so that tells me cooler water isn't a problem.

The only reason for the higher temp during the cycling process is bacteria grows faster in warmer water.

 

March 16th results:

PH: 8.2
Ammonia: 1.0
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 30 - 40

So it's still processing 1ppm in 24 hours. Maybe it just needs a little more time.


I'll be getting slightly off topic here by talking about fish so if you guys want me to I can start a separate thread for these questions:

1. I just wanted to mention again that I would be starting off with about 3 danios. I'm wondering if 1ppm would be enough to handle these for now since they're such small fish? Would it be an appropriate time to get them or should I continue aiming for 2ppm?

2. If the 3 danios produce less ammonia than 1ppm then that would kill off a certain amount of present bacteria correct? And if I added say 5 more danios a month later and they produced exactly 1ppm I would just have to keep doing water changes until the filter can handle 1ppm again?

3. This first link below has information about guppies but I might not be getting them anymore since I saw these Longfin Blue Danios (and guppies might nip their fins).




It says the water temperature range for guppies is between 68-82F which is pretty wide. I know someone else who responded to this thread said they weren't sure if guppies can handle cold water temperatures. I just wanted to know if this website is accurate or if there's a better source I could use?

 

To be perfectly honest I would get the ammonia down as low as possible either by waiting for the bacteria to process it or with a water change and go ahead and add my full school of danios.

I know a lot of folks recommend adding just a few at a time but it doesn't make sense to me to grow a bunch of bacteria just to let it die back only to have to go through growing it back a little at a time.

You have to do whatever is most comfortable for you but I think if this tank will process 1ppm ammonia there is enough bacteria to handle a small school of danios.

I can't for the life of me figure out why it won't process all of the ammonia. It is producing nitrates just as it should and you don't get nitrates if there isn't ammonia/nitrite eating bacteria in there.

 

To be perfectly honest I would get the ammonia down as low as possible either by waiting for the bacteria to process it or with a water change and go ahead and add my full school of danios.

I know a lot of folks recommend adding just a few at a time but it doesn't make sense to me to grow a bunch of bacteria just to let it die back only to have to go through growing it back a little at a time.

You have to do whatever is most comfortable for you but I think if this tank will process 1ppm ammonia there is enough bacteria to handle a small school of danios.

I can't for the life of me figure out why it won't process all of the ammonia. It is producing nitrates just as it should and you don't get nitrates if there isn't ammonia/nitrite eating bacteria in there.

I think I'll be able to go the fish store on Tuesday. So if the ammonia goes down to 0 tomorrow and I'll bring it up to 2ppm. This way by Tuesday it should be at 0 again. I'll unplug the heater after dosing tomorrow just to make sure it's still processing 1ppm in 24 hours. If all goes well then on Tuesday I'll perform another big water change to get the nitrates down before adding any fish. Then I'll keep testing daily to just to see how things are moving along.

Just one more question. How much water do you recommend I change weekly after adding fish? Or does it just depend how much nitrates are present? I'll of course do the gravel vac maintenance to suck up any waste.

 

I think I'll be able to go the fish store on Tuesday. So if the ammonia goes down to 0 tomorrow and I'll bring it up to 2ppm. This way by Tuesday it should be at 0 again. I'll unplug the heater after dosing tomorrow just to make sure it's still processing 1ppm in 24 hours. If all goes well then on Tuesday I'll perform another big water change to get the nitrates down before adding any fish. Then I'll keep testing daily to just to see how things are moving along.

Just one more question. How much water do you recommend I change weekly after adding fish? Or does it just depend how much nitrates are present? I'll of course do the gravel vac maintenance to suck up any waste.

It sounds like you have a good plan.

Let your numbers be your guide as to how much water to change each time. I normally do 30% weekly on my 55 but at least once a month I do 50%. In fact today was my 50% day on each of my 3 tanks plus a 75% on the 2.5 gallon snail jar. .

 

I did a big water change earlier and got my first two Zebra Danios in the tank. I'm having trouble getting them to eat but I'll start a new thread for help with caring for them. Hopefully all goes well. I uploaded a short video because they move around too quickly for me to take a snapshot of. I'll continue to test daily and make sure I keep up with water changes as required. I know they are only two tiny fish but for me it's so exciting!

I just wanted to say thank you very much to mattgirl, toosie, Momgoose56 and everyone else for helping me out through this whole process

 

Congrats Shade89! I think you could handle more than two, but do what feels right to you. Lots of times it helps to just keep the lights off in the tank the first day and not worry about feeding them until the following day. It helps them to settle in better. Good luck with them! The tank looks really great!

 

I am very proud of you and your abundance of patience.

I agree with toosie Just give them time to get used to their new home. It isn't unusual for fish not to be interested in food at first. They will eat once settled in and hungry.

 

congrats on the cycled tank!! gosh I know how it feels to finally get finished with a cycle. it's so relieving to finally see fish in the tank, right?

 

Congratulations! Great job with persistence and for being able to sift through suggestions to get the job done! You get the 'Plethora of Patience' award!