View Full Version : Ammonia and Algae
NeonTetra
08-23-2016, 10:16 PM
Hello!
Do i have a future problem of algae here or it will dissapear? i am in cycle process (10 days)
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Also i want to know how much ammonia do i have to put in the aquarium to feed my bb: I used today for the first time: 14 ml = 198 drops (ammonia 25%)
Can you help me please :D?
Thanks
I'm afraid you have way too much ammonia in the tank. The beginner's guide will need to be edited to correct this error.
For a 60 gallon tank, and using 25% ammonia solution, you only need 2 or 3 ml, or about 50 drops, or 1/2 teaspoon.
You should drain 75% of the water and fill it back up with fresh water. Then use the ammonia test kit to check it. Anywhere between 2 ppm and 4 ppm is the right amount. All you really need is 2 ppm.
Here is an online calculator. Set salinity equal to 0.
https://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/AmmoniaCycling.php
guggas
08-24-2016, 12:53 AM
Algae needs two things to grow: nutrients and light. Right now you have high nutrients in the water because of the ammonia, but once thats done it should be better. If your doing a lot of water changes you probably wont have a lot of nutrients in the water but there will be some. In your other thread you had your tank set next to a big glass door, I dont know if thats going to cause a problem with algae but if you do have an algae problem its because its geting too much sunlight. Personally, if thats where you want your tank, i say try it and if it turns out to be too much algae you need to reduce the exposure to sunlight. It might be ok once the tank cycles and your doing frequent water changes.
bluelagoon
08-24-2016, 10:38 AM
I did mention a few days ago in another thread that you might have an algae issue because your tank is too close a natural light source.I've been there done that.
NeonTetra
08-24-2016, 01:08 PM
I'm afraid you have way too much ammonia in the tank. The beginner's guide will need to be edited to correct this error.
For a 60 gallon tank, and using 25% ammonia solution, you only need 2 or 3 ml, or about 50 drops, or 1/2 teaspoon.
You should drain 75% of the water and fill it back up with fresh water. Then use the ammonia test kit to check it. Anywhere between 2 ppm and 4 ppm is the right amount. All you really need is 2 ppm.
Here is an online calculator. Set salinity equal to 0.
https://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/AmmoniaCycling.php
I did what you suggested and my ammonia is now 4 pmm :D, i will add ammonia tomorrow and measure again, thank you! And the calculator very helpfull, should be included in the begginer guide :book:!
Algae needs two things to grow: nutrients and light. Right now you have high nutrients in the water because of the ammonia, but once thats done it should be better. If your doing a lot of water changes you probably wont have a lot of nutrients in the water but there will be some. In your other thread you had your tank set next to a big glass door, I dont know if thats going to cause a problem with algae but if you do have an algae problem its because its geting too much sunlight. Personally, if thats where you want your tank, i say try it and if it turns out to be too much algae you need to reduce the exposure to sunlight. It might be ok once the tank cycles and your doing frequent water changes.
Someone (i swear, not me xD) left open the curtain and the tank received aprox 3 hours of direct sunlight, so i think that is the reason :(
I did mention a few days ago in another thread that you might have an algae issue because your tank is too close a natural light source.I've been there done that.
Someone (i swear, not me xD) left open the curtain and the tank received aprox 3 hours of direct sunlight, so i think that is the reason :(, let see what happens
Larry Bugg
08-24-2016, 04:36 PM
It isn't just the natural light. How long are you running the lights over the tank? If you are leaving them on for a extended period of time then that will grow the algae also.
NeonTetra
08-31-2016, 06:32 PM
It isn't just the natural light. How long are you running the lights over the tank? If you are leaving them on for a extended period of time then that will grow the algae also.
Hi Larry, I am running the lights 12 hours a day, but leaving the curtain closed, has worked very good in keeping low algae in the roots of my Epipremnum aureum :), i was running the lights 14 hours before i read your reply, and i read that with 12 it would be fine, and it worked :D. Thank you.
I have now another question guys :S
First of all i bought 2 anubias barteri var barteri, mother plant, they are beatiful, here it is a picture of them, they are on 2 river rocks that i boiled up for 10 min and then wait them to cooldown (all that dirt you see is earth of the anubias that i am going to clean...
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I tested my water, here is a picture of the parameters, the ammonia i think it is 5 ppm, because i add ammonia today (25% concentration, 3 ml) because the ammonia was 1 ppm. The NO2 it is 5,0 ppm and the NO3 it is at 0 ppm. I havent changed my water since saturday, the same day i started using seachem stability for seeding my aquarium, after no succed with microbacter7 of brightwell.
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So these are the results of using seachem product after 5 days! In the store where i bought seachem they told me not change my water for 2 weeks using seachem, so i did not waste the bacterias on the water changes (part of the bacterias are floating on tha water so if i take out that water i would take the bacteria also, thats what they told me)
Do i need to change my water now? Or wait the 2 weeks that they told me? Of course that i dont have any fish in the tank. So there would be a problem if i dont change my water until i reach the 2 weeks?
two utes
08-31-2016, 06:38 PM
Makes little difference at this stage but it appears that you are using the 'Saltwater' color chart in that last picture...Check your Ammonia test kit box, you should have another color chart in there for freshwater
NeonTetra
08-31-2016, 06:42 PM
Makes little difference at this stage but it appears that you are using the 'Saltwater' color chart in that last picture...Check your Ammonia test kit box, you should have another color chart in there for freshwater
LOL, you are right, with the freshwater card, the color is of 4 ppm
The people at the store mean well, but after a few days it is fine to do partial water changes if it is needed, just not more than half of the water. The bacteria are mainly in the filter by now.
Right now you have only half the cycle bacteria, the kind that make nitrite. It will take time for the other one to grow -- it reproduces more slowly.
It helps to keep nitrite at 5 ppm or less, so I would change 1/3 of the water and not add any more ammonia until it gets below 1 ppm, and then only add 2 ml of ammonia, that way the nitrite won't get as high.
1 ppm of ammonia becomes 2.5 ppm of nitrite. This means the nitrite will climb very high as the ammonia is consumed. After a few days you should start seeing nitrate.
NeonTetra
08-31-2016, 08:51 PM
The people at the store mean well, but after a few days it is fine to do partial water changes if it is needed, just not more than half of the water. The bacteria are mainly in the filter by now.
Right now you have only half the cycle bacteria, the kind that make nitrite. It will take time for the other one to grow -- it reproduces more slowly.
It helps to keep nitrite at 5 ppm or less, so I would change 1/3 of the water and not add any more ammonia until it gets below 1 ppm, and then only add 2 ml of ammonia, that way the nitrite won't get as high.
1 ppm of ammonia becomes 2.5 ppm of nitrite. This means the nitrite will climb very high as the ammonia is consumed. After a few days you should start seeing nitrate.
DJW Thank you for your answer! Very complete and helpfull :D, i will follow your advice :)
NeonTetra
09-02-2016, 08:48 AM
So i did the wc and the ammonia right now it is 0, but the nitrate it is 5,0, did not went down, what i should do?
I think you meant to say the nitrite is at 5 and didn't go down? The nitrite was higher than 5 before you changed some water. Its normal for it to go off the chart at this stage.
The bacteria are doing a good job with the ammonia, but the bottled bacteria didn't have any of the kind of bacteria that convert nitrite. It will eventually establish itself. I have had the same thing happen with bottled bacteria.
It is OK for the ammonia to reach 0, but you don't want it to stay at 0 for too long. Add another 2 ml of the 25% Amm... try to keep it above 0 and below 3 ppm. If the ammonia is going down to zero in 12 hours or less, it is better to check and add if needed twice a day.
You can do a 50% water change tomorrow, to keep the nitrite from getting too high.
NeonTetra
09-02-2016, 11:46 AM
I think you meant to say the nitrite is at 5 and didn't go down? The nitrite was higher than 5 before you changed some water. Its normal for it to go off the chart at this stage.
The bacteria are doing a good job with the ammonia, but the bottled bacteria didn't have any of the kind of bacteria that convert nitrite. It will eventually establish itself. I have had the same thing happen with bottled bacteria.
It is OK for the ammonia to reach 0, but you don't want it to stay at 0 for too long. Add another 2 ml of the 25% Amm... try to keep it above 0 and below 3 ppm. If the ammonia is going down to zero in 12 hours or less, it is better to check and add if needed twice a day.
You can do a 50% water change tomorrow, to keep the nitrite from getting too high.
Yes! i mean nitrite (sorry my main language is spanish and some times i confuse them hahaha) Ok, i will follow your advice, thanks again for the help DJW :D
English speakers confuse these all the time too.:)
NeonTetra
09-03-2016, 02:40 PM
So... I got my first spike on NO3 :D:D:D:D, not much but something it is something hahaha
My NO2 it is high as always and my ammonia it is at 0 ppm, the bacteria reduce ammonia now super fast :bounce:
I am going to keep feeding with ammonia and do WC 2 times a week, my discus arrives the 22th of september :evilgrin: so i have time :D
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two utes
09-03-2016, 06:35 PM
:thumbsup:
NeonTetra
09-20-2016, 09:15 PM
Hello!
Yesterday i wanted to test how my filter was getting rid of ammonia and how the cycle was going (i did measure parameters every day but never calculate it in 24 hrs period)
So... I put 4ml of ammonia (25% concentration) at 10 pm, today at 10 pm i measure the readings: Ammonia 0.5 ppm - Nitrite 1,0 mg/l - Nitrate 0.
I measured the readings of nitrite during the day and fluctuated between 0,5 mg/l and 1,0 mg/l
Is this tank cycled? :bounce2:
It doesn't make sense that both ammonia and nitrite are being reduced, and nitrate reads 0. You were seeing nitrate over 2 weeks ago and should still have it. Try testing again for nitrate... make sure you shake the reagents real good.
NeonTetra
09-21-2016, 09:31 PM
It doesn't make sense that both ammonia and nitrite are being reduced, and nitrate reads 0. You were seeing nitrate over 2 weeks ago and should still have it. Try testing again for nitrate... make sure you shake the reagents real good.
Just for the record: Prodac NO3 test sucks, always the same inexact results...
I bought another test, from Sera, got 25 mg/l of NO3, and still 0 ammonia and NO2, so think it is cycled :D
Thank you for your guidance
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