How long to see ammonia
- Thread starter iap
- Start date
ChuckG
New member
This really depends.. if you have live rock in there that has things you'd like to survive thru an initial cycle then maybe dont pollute the tank as much.. say max the ammonia to 1.0 mg/L and that's it..
If everyting is dead base rock and there is nothing to kill then you can leave the shrimp in there drive the ammonia up higher if you want.. Just be prepared for it to start stinking.
Personally i think sometimes if the levels are driven up too high it takes too long for the bacteria to finally catch up. I like to drive the ammonia up to 1.0 then let it fall off to zero, then once nitrite peaks and is well into the process of falling off I will start adding a little more food to decay to keep the ammonia input up. The amount of food I add every day or two at this point is generally about one quater to half what i expect to feed the tank daily once the first fish are in it.
You might find that after the ammonia falls almost to zero that the test still shows some low level reading between between 0 and 0.25mg/L. This is normal and it should clean up to a solid 0.0 reading over the next couple weeks after the cycle is complete.
If everyting is dead base rock and there is nothing to kill then you can leave the shrimp in there drive the ammonia up higher if you want.. Just be prepared for it to start stinking.
Personally i think sometimes if the levels are driven up too high it takes too long for the bacteria to finally catch up. I like to drive the ammonia up to 1.0 then let it fall off to zero, then once nitrite peaks and is well into the process of falling off I will start adding a little more food to decay to keep the ammonia input up. The amount of food I add every day or two at this point is generally about one quater to half what i expect to feed the tank daily once the first fish are in it.
You might find that after the ammonia falls almost to zero that the test still shows some low level reading between between 0 and 0.25mg/L. This is normal and it should clean up to a solid 0.0 reading over the next couple weeks after the cycle is complete.
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iap
BOSS
Hm. I have 100lb of live rock in a 100g tank. Put a bunch of shrimp mush in it and tested for ammonia for the past 2 days but have 0 ammonia. I've tested for nitrites and have 0 as well. I've tested nitrates and have 0.
I also put 100lbs of the live sand from petco. Should I try some pure ammonia to see if I can get a spike? Or should I add some more shrimp to my mush bag? Or might I be cycled and good to go?
Sorry to bother but I want to make sure I'm doing it right so I don't end up killing a bunch of stuff.
I also put 100lbs of the live sand from petco. Should I try some pure ammonia to see if I can get a spike? Or should I add some more shrimp to my mush bag? Or might I be cycled and good to go?
Sorry to bother but I want to make sure I'm doing it right so I don't end up killing a bunch of stuff.
ChuckG
New member
if the live rock has been in captivity for a while it may already have a healthy population of bacteria to process the decay from your shrimp. If this is the case then you should see Nitrate slowly rise.. If you can determine nitrate is rising while ammonia and nitrate stay around zero then you have an established cycle.
i would leave your shrimp in there and monitor ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate then reevaluate things in a few days to see what has changed.
i would leave your shrimp in there and monitor ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate then reevaluate things in a few days to see what has changed.
wooden_reefer
New member
The rate of decay depends on the phsyical aggregate of the decaying material. I think this has to do with O2 level and surface area of attack by microbes.
If you had emusified the shrimp by using a blender on high for a couple of minutes and then pour the emusion in, ammonia should be detectable after 48 hours.
ChuckG
New member
You've been MIA.. :wave: Its a little rough trying to hold down the fort in your absence.
wooden_reefer
New member
It depends on what ammonia concentration you have in mind.
15 grams (half ounce) of moist shrimp will decay completely to give 1 ppm N ammonia in 100 gals of water.
If you don't want to save any lives on any LR, you can add to 5 ppm ammonia on days 1, 14 and 21, or also 28. More frequently in the latter half of the cycle if you use little water to cycle for a much larger DT. If you still "cycled a tank" instead of cycle the medium intended for a tank, the tank volume is critical. You need lower concentration and less frequent addition of ammonia if you still "cycle a tank".
If you have lives to save on LR, you may what to actually maintain a moderate level of ammonia, say 1 ppm.
Shrimps are sold on counts per pound, so you really don't have to weigh.
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wooden_reefer
New member
If I asked you to remove emusified shrimp you poured in two days earlier, how would you do so? Just think about it. Is it really so hard to think of decay?
15 grams of moist meat has about 3 grams of protein; dry protein has about 15% nitrogen. If you calculate, you will get about 1 ppm N ammonia in 100 gals of water.
Nitrification bacteria is an autotrophic bacteria, but it still need some trace elements to multiply. Many people use inorganic ammonia with great success, likely because the water is bound to have enough trace elements, but I always prefer to add some from organic protein for the trace elements.
In the summer when odor is not a problem anywhere, I would use emusified shrimp. In the winter in cold places, I'd use just 10% shrimp and 90% from an ammonia salt or inorganic ammonia.
wooden_reefer
New member
Actually, I don't cycle a tank anymore.
For my second cycle, in 1983 or 1984, I cycled my tank, a DIY AGA, with finely chopped shrimp. I still had not thought of using a blender then.
For my third cycle, I started to cycle the medium intended for the tank in a separate container using emusified shrimp. I thought of and confirmed the great advantages of cycling the medium intended for a tank, instead of cycling a tank.
Subsequently, I cycle the medium for a tank and pour the emusified shrimp into that separate container.
