Ammonia Won't Rise.

[tetra]

Recently, I started cycling a 75 gallon aquarium. I added some fish food in there to kick start it. But when I tested the water, the ammonia was only at 0.50 ppm, then I added more food the next day, same thing. but eventually, it got to 1 ppm. But I need at least 2 ppm. It has been a few weeks and it is still at 1 ppm (after adding food of course). Any ideas why this could be happening? Thanks in advance.

[Katherine]

Are you testing Nitrite and Nitrate as well? Why do you need it to get to 2ppm?

[tetra]

Yes, I have test nitrite and nitrate. Their both at 0 ppm. It was recommended on a source to get the ammonia to at least 2 ppm cause if it was below 2 ppm the nitrogen cycle wouldn't work properly.

[Pepere]

The nitrogen cycle does just fine without 2 ppm ammonia.

it is a nice test to dose your tank to 2 ppm Ammonia and see that the bacteria can fully metabolize it to nitrate with o ppm Ammonia, 0 ppm Nitrite within 24 hours of the Ammonia dose.

 

It is also incredibly difficult to titrate to tha dosage with fish food.  You simply dont have the control to know how much ammonia will result from the food you add.

 

Fritz Fishless fuel lets you dose ammonia easily. Iirc 4 drops per gallon of water doses to 2 ppm, but that is from memory… read the instructions rather than my memory…

https://www.amazon.com/Fritz-Aquatics-Fishless-Solution-Aquariums/dp/B08MLCY3TT

 

 

[tetra]

If so, do I really need Fritz fishless fuel? My ammonia is only at 1 ppm and that is in the range of 1-3 ppm.

[Scapexghost]

Are there plants in the tank

Edited February 26 by Scapexghost

[tetra]

Not now, but I'm planning to.

 

I don't have the fertilizers and plant tools yet. There's just sand in the tank

[AllFishNoBrakes]

My suggestion would be to feed the tank like you’re going to feed your fish. The whole, “your tank needs to process X amount of ammonia” has nothing to do with it, really. Your tank needs to able to process as much as you’re going to feed the tank. 
 

Remember that once your tank is cycled, you will most likely add groups of fish over time. You need it to process that baseline of the first fish, and as you add more fish you can slowly increase feeding so the bacteria can catch up and process the new amount of food. 
 

I have 13 tanks and have never cycled them to X amount of ammonia. 

[Pepere]

On 2/25/2023 at 8:13 PM, tetra said:

f so, do I really need Fritz fishless fuel? My ammonia is only at 1 ppm and that is in the range of 1-3 ppm.

No. You don’t “need” to add liquid ammonia drops.  Ghost feeding to add ammonia works fine to cycle a tank.  The bacteria do not “need” 2 ppm ammonia to establish themselves.

[Pepere]

On 2/25/2023 at 10:32 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

My suggestion would be to feed the tank like you’re going to feed your fish

This is, of course fairly difficult for a newcomer to the hobby to determine.

how do you know how much you are going to feed the fish?  Most instructions on feeding fish is to give as much as they will eat in 2-3 minutes…

 

or, “just a pinch”…. How big a pinch is a pinch?

I also love the instruction to promptly remove any uneaten food…. I so want to see the diligent fish keeper who sits with a stop watch and gravel vacs any spare flakes after 3 minutes,,.

And an experienced fish keeper generally has tanks already set up to get filter squeezings or media to jump start the cycle on a new tank…

I think an argument can be made for the benefit of a product like fishlesss fuel for a newcomer… but it certainly is not necessary.  You can also make an argument that dosing with fishless fuel is no more expensive than using fish food to decompose in to ammonia.  5 ml for 25 gallons of water.  After first dose it will likely take at least a week for levels to drop to consider redosing.  And a 2 ounce bottle can repeat that 12 times…

 

both methods work just fine though.

[tetra]

Sense feeding the tank works just fine. I think I'll stick to that. Thanks!

[Pepere]

It works perfectly fine.  Dont worry that you are not at 2 ppm.   
 

when you get to 0 ppm Ammonia, 0 ppm Nitrite, and the presence of Nitrates, do a 50% water change to reduce nitrates and lightly stock the tank…. Then continue to test for Ammonia and nitrites.  Wait a few weeks before getting more fish….  That gives your beneficial bacteria time to grow and diversify more…

[nabokovfan87]

On 2/25/2023 at 3:47 PM, tetra said:

the ammonia was only at 0.50 ppm

You are showing ammonia in the water.... Job done in my book.

 

 

On 2/25/2023 at 7:32 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

My suggestion would be to feed the tank like you’re going to feed your fish. The whole, “your tank needs to process X amount of ammonia” has nothing to do with it, really. Your tank needs to able to process as much as you’re going to feed the tank. 

 

On 2/26/2023 at 1:44 AM, Pepere said:

This is, of course fairly difficult for a newcomer to the hobby to determine.

how do you know how much you are going to feed the fish?  Most instructions on feeding fish is to give as much as they will eat in 2-3 minutes…

 

or, “just a pinch”…. How big a pinch is a pinch?

I also love the instruction to promptly remove any uneaten food…. I so want to see the diligent fish keeper who sits with a stop watch and gravel vacs any spare flakes after 3 minutes,,.

I've set up "a few" tanks.  I added a QT tank the same day I bought the tank and had it setup with a filter, heater, and one fish.  There are a million things you could add to an egg dish, but none of them are necessarily wrong and things like background, your own experiences, your preferences, your struggles, and so on will all shape how you decide to accomplish something.

If I was starting from day 1 with a new tank, no matter if it's a 10G or a 120G, I set the tank up, add air, and let it run.  I don't care if it has a heater, I don't care if it has anything in it.  I want the water to move around and be water in an aquarium for a little bit.  As this point, maybe you need to do a WC if you didn't clean the tank beforehand.  Check level, fix anything you need to, then proceed to cycling.

Tip #1: Water changes do not break / stop / kill your cycle.  Changing water in a tank is normal.  If you see fungused food, yeah it's contributing ammonia, but "fresh" decomposing food probably does a better job.  Think of it the same way you'd feed compost.  If you want to keep the bacteria healthy, you need to feed it, mix it, churn it, etc.  If you're going to change water every 2 weeks, change water and don't be afraid to.  If you don't want to change water, don't.  It's entirely up to you.  Check your PH, KH, GH and track those in addition to your ammonia cycle, nitrites, and nitrates.

Tip #2:  You need ammonia, not a specific amount.  Water+Ammonia is the key here.  That's the chemical reaction and that encourages bacteria.  Once you get ammonia, then you get nitrites and eventually nitrates.

Tip #3:  You need patience.  "Good food takes time"  as they say.  If you want something handcrafted, artisan made, beautiful, and that does the job well, then you need to take the time to make sure the process is done well.  Sit back and picture what the tank will be.  Research, ponder, dream.  It's a glass box with limitless potential and could be anything you can envision, so take time to breath, imagine, and let the tank cycle.  Give the plants time to grow.  Give the substrate time to compact.  Give the bacteria places to colonize.  Give algae time to do it's thing and give the light, atmosphere, and the room itself time to acclimate with the tank.  You might find a humidity issue, you might have a window light issue, you might need to do a ton of different things or adjust the stand.  Get it setup right, then enjoy how well you did it.

Tip #4:  Once you have nitrite and nitrate take your time to add fish.  This is a specific point and it extends tangentially to the previous tip.  If you try to add a lot of fish you will cause too much stress on the animals, potentially have ammonia / nitrite poisoning issues, oxygenation issues, and other trials while you get to the point where the bacteria in the filtration can handle the bioload of the tank.  Add a few fish every week, maybe one species at a time.  Each time you add fish, move decor around to reset paths and boundaries.

Tip #5:  You don't have to, probably shouldn't feed the fish right when you add them.  Add the fish, monitor them. give them at least 24 hours if they have been fed regularly in QT.  If you have struggling fish, you might need meds and some fish won't eat in that case.  If they are bloated, you probably want to give them a few days to clear up.  Most of your ammonia comes from fish respiration.  Let the tank acclimate to the gill function of the fish and that aspect of the tank load prior to dumping in food.