What is the frequency to test ammonia fishless cycling.

I started attempting to fishless cycle about four days ago. However, I just successfully got my ammonia reading in my tank to 4ppm. This was very difficult for me. I would like to know:
Do I dose my 4ppm of ammonia everyday regardless of ammonia level already in tank?
Ex: tank reads 4ppm before dose, then add an additional 4ppm to that?

or

Do I wait for ammonia levels do drop ever so slightly and dose that current level up to 4ppm?

I’m afraid of messing up my water as dosing my 29 gallon tank up to 4ppm was so difficult for me.

Thank you!

-Annastacia

 

Do not add more ammonia until it drops to near zero. Also 4ppm is higher than usually needed, 2ppm is plenty. It may take a week or 3 to drop down. Did you also add seeded filter media from an established tank? If you did that'll speed things up.

 

Do not add more ammonia until it drops to near zero. Also 4ppm is higher than usually needed, 2ppm is plenty. It may take a week or 3 to drop down. Did you also add seeded filter media from an established tank? If you did that'll speed things up.

Ok thank you! No old media added. Started from scratch scratch. Haha.

 

Never tried to cycle with ammonia, lets tag StarGirl she has helped many...

Good Luck!

 

I started attempting to fishless cycle about four days ago. However, I just successfully got my ammonia reading in my tank to 4ppm. This was very difficult for me. I would like to know:
Do I dose my 4ppm of ammonia everyday regardless of ammonia level already in tank?
Ex: tank reads 4ppm before dose, then add an additional 4ppm to that?

or

Do I wait for ammonia levels do drop ever so slightly and dose that current level up to 4ppm?

I’m afraid of messing up my water as dosing my 29 gallon tank up to 4ppm was so difficult for me.

Thank you!

-Annastacia

You got good advice above from KingOscar . . . No need to dose ammonia beyond 2 ppm or 3 ppm at most.

What brand of ammonia are you using and why was dosing so difficult?

Would this dosing calculator make it easier for you?
Ammonia Calculator for Aquariums - Spec-Tanks

 

Oh ok, good to know about the ppm.
I am using Arocep’s clear ammonia. I got it from Ace Hardware although it was not Ace Hardware brand. There was no ammonia percentage anywhere on the bottle so that made it difficult. I also am not good in math even though I always use the aquarium calculators. My husband helped me tremendously. And thanks for the link!

You got good advice above from KingOscar . . . No need to dose ammonia beyond 2 ppm or 3 ppm at most.

What brand of ammonia are you using and why was dosing so difficult?

Would this dosing calculator make it easier for you?
Ammonia Calculator for Aquariums - Spec-Tanks

I use that exact same calculator. I love it. But my ammonia had no percentage on the label. I had to test and add .

Never tried to cycle with ammonia, lets tag StarGirl she has helped many...

Good Luck!

How do I add her?

 

Oh ok, good to know about the ppm.
I am using Arocep’s clear ammonia. I got it from Ace Hardware although it was not Ace Hardware brand. There was no ammonia percentage anywhere on the bottle so that made it difficult. I also am not good in math even though I always use the aquarium calculators. My husband helped me tremendously. And thanks for the link!

I’ve only ever used the Ace Hardware janitorial brand, but I know it’s been difficult to find.

So long as the brand you’re using is pure ammonia (no surfactants or scents in the ingredients), you should be good to go! What size is your tank?

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

I’ve only ever used the Ace Hardware janitorial brand, but I know it’s been difficult to find.

So long as the brand you’re using is pure ammonia (no surfactants or scents in the ingredients), you should be good to go! What size is your tank?

Good luck and keep us posted.

Hey, yes I’ve tried long and hard to find the ace brand with no luck. My ammonia seems pure because I shook the bottle and no real bubbles came up. My tank size says 32.8 gallons when I use the volume converter. Although, the box says 29 gallons. The measurements are 30L 13W 19H.

Thanks!

 

How do I add her?

No need to add StarGirl . . . She‘s been tagged twice now so she’ll see this post when she gets back online. She’ll let you know if she disagrees with my advice!

Hey, yes I’ve tried long and hard to find the ace brand with no luck. My ammonia seems pure because I shook the bottle and no real bubbles came up. My tank size says 32.8 gallons when I use the volume converter. Although, the box says 29 gallons. The measurements are 30L 13W 19H.

Thanks!

I looked quickly at the ingredients for the Arocep brand. . . Looks like it’s pure ammonia!

Seems like you’ve done your homework.

 

Nice! And thanks for tagging her! You’ve been a great help. At what point do I reduce my ammonia to 1/4 if it’s dose?

No need to add StarGirl . . . She‘s been tagged twice now so she’ll see this post when she gets back online. She’ll let you know if she disagrees with my advice!


I looked quickly at the ingredients for the Arocep brand. . . Looks like it’s pure ammonia!

Seems like you’ve done your homework.

Nice! And thanks for tagging her! You’ve been a great help. At what point do I reduce my ammonia to 1/4 if it’s dose?

 

How long do expect this process to take?

 

How long do expect this process to take?

I heard about a month.

 

I heard about a month.

This is what I do.
I fill the tank. I add between 30-50% of the tank volume in live plants. Once the plants start growing (usually around 10 days). I then add fish a few at a time.

 

Oh ok. This sounds great!

This is what I do.
I fill the tank. I add between 30-50% of the tank volume in live plants. Once the plants start growing (usually around 10 days). I then add fish a few at a time.

Oh ok. This sounds great!

 

Oh ok. This sounds great!

Oh ok. This sounds great!

This is really simple and if you plan to have a planted aquarium is really easy to do

 

Sounds good, thank you!

This is really simple and if you plan to have a planted aquarium is really easy to do

Sounds good, thank you!

 

It's easy to tag someone. Just put the @ symbol in front of the screen name of the person you want to tag. For example to tag you I would type "@"Anna G (without the quotation marks. And just so you see how it shows up in your notifications I'll tag you without the quotation marks Anna G

 

Once you can figure out how much ammonia makes 2-3ppm it will be a lot easier for you. Not so much monkeying around.

Then wait for it to drop close to zero then bump it back up. Im guessing it may be awhile before it drops any. Somewhere around +/- 3 weeks you should start to see your nitrites.

 

It's easy to tag someone. Just put the @ symbol in front of the screen name of the person you want to tag. For example to tag you I would type "@"Anna G (without the quotation marks. And just so you see how it shows up in your notifications I'll tag you without the quotation marks Anna G

Ok, thank you!

Once you can figure out how much ammonia makes 2-3ppm it will be a lot easier for you. Not so much monkeying around.

Then wait for it to drop close to zero then bump it back up. Im guessing it may be awhile before it drops any. Somewhere around +/- 3 weeks you should start to see your nitrites.

Thank you so much! This is a huge help! I have a good idea now what will take me there as I’ve kept a journal.