Steve28 Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 Hi everyone new to the forum. I was hoping to get some info on when would be the best time to start planting . I’m about a week into my new tank cycle. Using UNS controsoil which is leaching out a lot of ammonia. My ppm is about 7+ppm my question is it safe to plant with such high ammonia levels or should I wait it out. What would be an acceptable ppm to start planting to avoid killing any plants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 Plant the crap out off it but you need to do a huge water change and get that ammonia down below 2ppm. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve28 Posted March 18 Author Share Posted March 18 On 3/18/2024 at 6:48 PM, Mmiller2001 said: Plant the crap out off it but you need to do a huge water change and get that ammonia down below 2ppm. Should I be doing daily water changes till I get to a stable 2ppm ? What percentage of water do you recommend I change it’s about a 5 gallon tank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 I’d do a 60% or more. And then necessary water changes to keep it between 1 to 2ppm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 On 3/18/2024 at 7:47 PM, Steve28 said: What would be an acceptable ppm to start planting to avoid killing any plants Ammonia by itself isn’t going to kill your plants. Ammonia is actually the preferred form of nitrogen for any plant. In or out of the water. Out of the water, in soil, it’s not really stable and converts down to nitrate. Or clings to water in the soil. Ammonia is the number one fertilizer for most field crops. It is actually one of the most dangerous also. Being that it’s very hydroscopic. In the open air it sucks the moisture from everything. If humans are exposed to the vapor it causes burns and sometimes blindness. By pulling the moisture from skin and eyes. But, no. I wouldn’t be concerned about a high level of ammonia while planting your tank. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rube_Goldfish Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 On 3/18/2024 at 9:50 PM, Tony s said: Ammonia by itself isn’t going to kill your plants. Ammonia is actually the preferred form of nitrogen for any plant. In or out of the water. Out of the water, in soil, it’s not really stable and converts down to nitrate. Or clings to water in the soil. Ammonia is the number one fertilizer for most field crops. It is actually one of the most dangerous also. Being that it’s very hydroscopic. In the open air it sucks the moisture from everything. If humans are exposed to the vapor it causes burns and sometimes blindness. By pulling the moisture from skin and eyes. But, no. I wouldn’t be concerned about a high level of ammonia while planting your tank. Plants do preferentially take up ammonia as a nitrogen source, if I'm remembering Diana Walstad correctly, but there is an upper limit where ammonia becomes toxic even to plants: "As a base, under neutral conditions it exists as ammonium ion, which, at low external concentrations is a preferential nitrogen source for most plants but at higher concentrations it is phytotoxic." https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235984189_Importance_of_ammonia_detoxification_by_plants_in_phytoremediation_and_aquaponics Unfortunately, I have not been able to turn up an LC50 for ammonia for phytotoxicity. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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