Plant PPMs & Nh3/Nh4 PPMs

[wh33t]

Quick questions.

I have a very nice (if I do say so myself) Tri-Meter that can measure water temp, ph and ec/ppm/cf. I also have an Ammonia nh3/nh4 test kit. I have taken readings from both and I'm pretty sure I understand what is going on, but I wanted to ask some pro's and make sure.

My nh3/nh4 test kit reports I'm sitting around 1ppm of Ammonia. That's what this kit tests right? I presume that 1ppm is ok? The fish seem fine anyhow.

My Tri-Meter reports my PPMs as being 210 and climbing almost hourly. Does this mean the bacteria are doing their thing and food is now available for plants?

[keith_r]

you've mentioned ppms a couple times, parts per million of what?

[wh33t]

you've mentioned ppms a couple times, parts per million of what?

That's exactly my point. Of what? The Ammonia test kit reports 1mg/L which I believe translates to 1ppm. So what it's reporting I have 1ppm of Ammonia? Or nh3/nh4? I dunno.

My EC meter reports 210ppm. Of what? I dunno. That's what I was asking I presume it's 210ppm of nitrate plant soluble food

[urbanfarmer]

you've mentioned ppms a couple times, parts per million of what?

That's exactly my point. Of what? The Ammonia test kit reports 1mg/L which I believe translates to 1ppm. So what it's reporting I have 1ppm of Ammonia? Or nh3/nh4? I dunno.

My EC meter reports 210ppm. Of what? I dunno. That's what I was asking I presume it's 210ppm of nitrate plant soluble food

Yes, 1 mg/L of ammonia/ammonium translates to 1 ppm of ammonia/ammonium, which is NH3/NH4. The NH3 in the water is what kills the fish, and the pH will give you an indication of how dangerous your level really is. You should not have 1 ppm in a system that is cycling and in proper balance. You should never see it go above 0.25 ppm. What is your nitrite/nitrate readings?

In Aquaponics, we don't really care too much about the "EC" reading or your TDS ppm, which is what that would translate to. The reason it is climbing probably has more to do with the fact you are throwing fish food in the water!!! LOL TDS... Total dissolved solids...

You are approaching this from a hydroponic mindset... although I happened to have just ordered a device like that, but in my case I am doing "research" in my AP systems... you really only need to know your pH after you know your system is properly cycling.

[wh33t]

you've mentioned ppms a couple times, parts per million of what?

That's exactly my point. Of what? The Ammonia test kit reports 1mg/L which I believe translates to 1ppm. So what it's reporting I have 1ppm of Ammonia? Or nh3/nh4? I dunno.

My EC meter reports 210ppm. Of what? I dunno. That's what I was asking I presume it's 210ppm of nitrate plant soluble food

Yes, 1 mg/L of ammonia/ammonium translates to 1 ppm of ammonia/ammonium, which is NH3/NH4. The NH3 in the water is what kills the fish, and the pH will give you an indication of how dangerous your level really is. You should not have 1 ppm in a system that is cycling and in proper balance. You should never see it go above 0.25 ppm. What is your nitrite/nitrate readings?

In Aquaponics, we don't really care too much about the "EC" reading or your TDS ppm, which is what that would translate to. The reason it is climbing probably has more to do with the fact you are throwing fish food in the water!!! LOL TDS... Total dissolved solids...

You are approaching this from a hydroponic mindset... although I happened to have just ordered a device like that, but in my case I am doing "research" in my AP systems... you really only need to know your pH after you know your system is properly cycling.

Hydroponics is all I know so far. Still learning.

Well my PH is 8.1 and I'm not sure what my NH3 reading is. How do I get that? All I have is the Ammonia Test Kit that measures NH3/NH4 but it doesn't measure them separately per say. I have two bottles of some liquids that I mix with 5ml of the tank water. I shake it and then wait 5 minutes and it changes colour. That's where I got the original reading of 1mg/L. How do I measure just NH3? My fish look great if that matters at all. The water is also crystal clear, and there is no smell.

[urbanfarmer]

Your kit is giving you a reading of the TAN, total ammoniacal nitrogen. Use this: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fa031

Or I can do it for you tomorrow, but I am too tired right now. Also, notice that the amount of unionized ammonia in the water goes up by a factor of 10x for every point in pH you go up. Anything above 7 starts having a dangerous proportion of the TAN as unionized. This is the main reason I suggest to keep your pH between 6.8 - 7.0 in another thread.

[keith_r]

a sudden change to the ph can kill your fish, if you apply anything to bring it down, to it slowly..
my ph started high. right at the edge of both the low range and high range test.. but it eventually fell
get yourself a "master test kit", i found mine at a petsmart for about 24 bucks
the hardest part of starting a system is practicing patience
sorry for misunderstanding your ppm query..

[urbanfarmer]

For some reason, my pH drops NEVER yielded an accurate pH reading from my water!!!!!! I went through 2 kits 1 from Amazon and 1 from my local pet store. They did NOT yield accurate results. I bought a test meter/probe device, another pH test kit from the hydro store, and I used litmus (pH paper) from my biology class. What did I discover? The pH test from the "Freshwater Master Test Kit - API" does not work well to read pH. It does give a reading, but it was WAY off. ALL the other ways I tested it were very close to each other (never more than 0.2 pH off) whereas the API kit could be off by 1-2 points... and often times I noticed it would give roughly the same reading every time. It only seemed to change if the pH went above 7 or below 7. The reason that's interesting is because they sell those very cheap children's pH test kits that only read if the solution is acidic or basic... and it happens to be the same color as the API low pH test kit...

Anyway, enough of my ranting. The rest of the tests seem to work (not that I compared them, but they seemed to change when I intentionally introduced things like ammonia or nitrate into the system). Always have another way to test you pH. In your case, use your fancy hydroponic meter!!!

[keith_r]

interesting about the ph test kit..
i have an api test kit.. i tested my tap water straight outta the tap several times, and after letting it sit for 24 hours.. most times it dropped about .2 overnight..and was always a little higher than my ft water... but both the high level and low level test were always within .1
i'm sure i'll be improving my "testing" in both abilities and hardware over time

[wh33t]

Your kit is giving you a reading of the TAN, total ammoniacal nitrogen. Use this: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fa031

Or I can do it for you tomorrow, but I am too tired right now. Also, notice that the amount of unionized ammonia in the water goes up by a factor of 10x for every point in pH you go up. Anything above 7 starts having a dangerous proportion of the TAN as unionized. This is the main reason I suggest to keep your pH between 6.8 - 7.0 in another thread.

So what I'm getting is that I should add in some PH down to bring it down to 7. But do this process slowly. Say .1 every hour?