Plant PPMs & Nh3/Nh4 PPMs

[wh33t]

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..

No worries man! Thank you for responding with me.

[wh33t]

I read over the link that was posted for calculating unionized Ammonia. I think I understand what it means. I use my test kit to determine the TAN reading. My tan right now is somewhere between 1 and 2ppm. Lets say 1.5. So I look up on the chart (http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/LyraEDISServle ... d=16602117) and do the math -1.5ppm TAN x 0.0590 ( Ph [8.1] & Temp [19C] ) - Note: There is no 8.1 or 19C on the chart, so I rounded up to be safe. The formula gives me a UIA reading of 0.0885. Did I understand the document correctly?

So am I in trouble? Should I start putting in my Prime solution (apparently it detoxifies nitrites and other harmful things), lower my PH with PH-Down, dump some of my water out or a combination of all three?

[keith_r]

don't add anything! especially "aquaria" additives without completely understanding all the ingrediants!
wait on feeding the fish as well, until someone here with more understanding of unionized am chimes in

[wh33t]

don't add anything! especially "aquaria" additives without completely understanding all the ingrediants!
wait on feeding the fish as well, until someone here with more understanding of unionized am chimes in

K, good advice

[urbanfarmer]

pH down can lower your unionized ammonia by lowering the pH. If you're at 0.0885 at 8 and you lower your pH to 7, it should be roughly 10 times less. Could you give me a reading of your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate all at the same time? You want to make sure your system is cycling.

Here is an online calculator: http://www.petgoldfish.net/ammonia-calculator.html

24 Hour LC 50 (Goldfish) 7.2 mg/L NH3
Source: http://www.pestell.com/msds/Ammonium_Chloride.pdf

144 Hr for Goldfish: LC50 = 1.5 - 3.8 mg/L Ammonium metavanadate
Source: http://fscimage.fishersci.com/msds/01470.htm

The longer the exposure, the lower the ppm for a high mortality rate.

[wh33t]

pH down can lower your unionized ammonia by lowering the pH. If you're at 0.0885 at 8 and you lower your pH to 7, it should be roughly 10 times less. Could you give me a reading of your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate all at the same time? You want to make sure your system is cycling.

Here is an online calculator: http://www.petgoldfish.net/ammonia-calculator.html

24 Hour LC 50 (Goldfish) 7.2 mg/L NH3
Source: http://www.pestell.com/msds/Ammonium_Chloride.pdf

144 Hr for Goldfish: LC50 = 1.5 - 3.8 mg/L Ammonium metavanadate
Source: http://fscimage.fishersci.com/msds/01470.htm

The longer the exposure, the lower the ppm for a high mortality rate.

I'm not sure how to give you a reading of Ammonia, nh3 and nh4+. All I have is my Ammoina test kit (http://aquariumpharm.com/Products/Produ ... oductID=69), which turns the water a shade of yellow or green. It's pretty imprecise, but I have deduced my reading is 1.5mg/L (1.5ppm). My ph is still rising. It's at 8.3 now, temp is 20C, TDS is reading 260ppm for what it's worth. I have basically stopped feeding my fish until I figure out what is going on.

Also I should add that I do have PH Down which was suitable for my hydroponic veggies (at least that's what the garden store told me). I am open to heavily diluting it and putting it into the tank if that's what you suggest.

[urbanfarmer]

Oh, ok. Well, the high pH is good for the reproduction of the nitrifying bacteria; therefore, you might as well wait it out. Monitor the pH daily until you see it hit 0 or close to it. You can then start feeding the fish again. This could take a week. If your pH gets over 9 you can add a little pH down to keep it from going too high, but it shouldn't keep climbing for no reason.

The hydro pH down is usually phosphoric acid, which has 3 speciations of itself therefore acting as a buffer. It's food safe; so, it's most likely okay to use in your AP setup. If you get me a product and brand name, I can try to hunt down the MSDS for you.

[rfeiller]

If you use an electric pH meter you have to calibrate it frequently with solutions of 4,0 & 7.0. Don't use litmass paper it is easily fouled with humidity. The ppm is used exclusively in hydroponics to measure nutrient levels. Primarily ppm of. Nutrients/minerals. And also used to measurer hardness of water. The ppm can then be converted to the German scale of DH. The try meter you have (I have one also) was compiled to measure the hydroponics parameters. With all of the suspended organics from aquaponics I do not use it as a system monitor for AP.

[rfeiller]

I do not withhold food during the cycling of the tanks, but do large water changes (50% per day) instead to control amonia levels this maintains the health of the fish.

[wh33t]

Oh, ok. Well, the high pH is good for the reproduction of the nitrifying bacteria; therefore, you might as well wait it out. Monitor the pH daily until you see it hit 0 or close to it. You can then start feeding the fish again. This could take a week. If your pH gets over 9 you can add a little pH down to keep it from going too high, but it shouldn't keep climbing for no reason.

The hydro pH down is usually phosphoric acid, which has 3 speciations of itself therefore acting as a buffer. It's food safe; so, it's most likely okay to use in your AP setup. If you get me a product and brand name, I can try to hunt down the MSDS for you.

The Brand Name is Advanced Nutrients. The PH dropped to 8.2 today maybe a sign that the bacteria are finally kicking in. I think I'd prefer to let the cycle do it's thing naturally as long as the fish can handle it. How long can I go with out feeding the fish?