Cycled System Ammonia Rising

[keith_r]

yeah, 3ppt.. i hate when that happens (the ppm/ppt switchup)
yes, i was suggesting that if nitrites and ammonia were rising, treating with salt would help the fish deal with stress..
some fish don't appreciate salt that much though..
cukes and strawbs will not handle 3ppt, but they're the only two i can think of at the moment

[Bioritize]

Hey Guys,

This may not belong here but it came to mind talking about ph adjustment. What about using vinegar (acetic acid) for ph down? What would that do to the chemistry? I have also heard of using baking soda to push it up. Any feedback on this crazy idea?

[keith_r]

honestly.. i'd leave the ph be.. and when it drops, add a buffer like shell grit...
but if you want to experiment with bouncing it with different "treatments" and stressing your fish with each change... go for it!

[jared.plowman]

OK here is an update on my Blood Meal additions. Attached are some images of the "treatment" tank I have setup.

As a refresher I only added ~1/2tbsp of Blood Meal to this 14L tank! and today I measured:
Ammonia: >8ppm (holy jumpin jesus!!)
Nitrite: 1ppm

So it looks like the Ammonia is converting, hurray! But, this should be sent out to the world, Blood Meal is dangerous for small systems. If I didn't do a massive water change I could have killed all my fish.

[urbanfarmer]

Nice experimental evidence.

So, the evidence does seem to support the hypothesis that the bloodmeal was raising the ammonia and subsequently all other products of the nitrogen cycle because of its low solubility and (likely) low surface area to volume ratio implying it has a slow reaction with the aqueous solution and nitrifying bacteria.

However, did we do a control group? I mean it's more than possible it's your tap water!

[jared.plowman]

Yeah if my tap water was creating 8ppm ammonia I don't think I would be typing to you right now!!! Hahahaha since we leave a big jug of tap water out to de-chlorinate for a few days before drinking it.

[davidstcldfl]

jared, just wondering...do they use 'just' chlorine in Vancouver...or Chloromines, which remains in water for at least a month or so...

[urbanfarmer]

Yeah if my tap water was creating 8ppm ammonia I don't think I would be typing to you right now!!! Hahahaha since we leave a big jug of tap water out to de-chlorinate for a few days before drinking it.

Chloromine with adequate biological activity can yield ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate in your water! Chloromine is basically 1 part ammonia and 1 part chlorine...

[foodchain]

Curious. My dechlorinator states it takes out the chloramine too. BUT I have seen some that dont't too. Never paid much attention to this before.

[jared.plowman]

I checked the Vancouver water treatment and they use UV for first stage and small amounts of chlorine for their second. The water here is pretty good, easy to drink out of the tap. I can see the valley where the reservoir sits from my apartment. My girlfriend mentioned something about chloromines occurring anywhere there is chlorine, is that true?

An update to the Blood Meal treatment tank. It started to smell really bad, even with aeration and a filter. I am going to try and keep the ammonia down below 5ppm this time, I heard this is the optimum ammonia level for cycling. What do you think would cause it to smell so bad before? I had a lot of really nasty slime when I cleaned the treatment tank... hmmmm very interesting!!