# How long do I add ammonia?



## CichlidAndrew (Jun 29, 2005)

I have been adding ammonia to keep it at 5ppm every day, so when do I stop adding the ammonia?


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## edouthirt (Jan 22, 2008)

Once you have a spike in nitrites... add enough ammonia each day to keep it at 2-3 ppm. Once you get a reading of 0 ppm ammonia and 0 ppm nitrites within 24 hours of adding ammonia to the tank... you're ready to go... just be sure to do a massive water change before adding your fish because your nitrates will be sky high!!


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## CichlidAndrew (Jun 29, 2005)

What must the nitrite be in order to consider it a spike?


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## edouthirt (Jan 22, 2008)

one day you will have 0 ppm nitrite and the next you will have a bunch of nitrites... that is the nitrite spike.


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## CichlidAndrew (Jun 29, 2005)

so nitrite spikes happen in like one day then?


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## edouthirt (Jan 22, 2008)

Well... it did for me at least...

Have you been measuring nitrites all along?


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## CichlidAndrew (Jun 29, 2005)

well my nitrite spiked to 1ppm today. is that a spike?


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## edouthirt (Jan 22, 2008)

It depends...

have you been checking for nitrites all along...

regardless it is safe to drop your ammonia addition to 2-3ppm if you are getting any nitrite reading...

Check daily and keep ammonia at 2-3 ppm and make sure to keep checking nitrites... once you have zero nitrites you are ready for the massive water change and addition of fish...

When you do you readings is the ammonia from the previous day being totally broken down to 0 ppm?


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## CichlidAndrew (Jun 29, 2005)

There is still ammonia left in the water from the previous days


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## edouthirt (Jan 22, 2008)

You also may want to test your tap water to see if anything is present in it.

And if you haven't already you should definitely go to the library section of this site... go to the Water Chemistry heading and read both the article on the nitrogen cycle and on fishless cycling.


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## stslimited84 (Oct 5, 2007)

sounds like good advice to me. I'm gonna be going down the fishless cycle road shortly.


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