# How long for Ammonia to drop off?



## MalawiBlue (Dec 11, 2002)

Hi all, currently fishless cycling my 25 gallon and have been measuring every day. Started by adding a small amount of ammonia on first day.

Day 1 Ammonia was 0.25ppm - Added a little more ammonia after this measurement.
Day 2 Ammonia was 1.0 ppm
Day's 3-10 are all at 0.5 ppm

pH is about 8.2

Do I just need to wait a little longer for the ammonia to drop off before I start testing for Nitrites? Or should I do a bit of a water change?

I read the Fishless Cycling article on here several times.

Thanks in advance.


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

You need to wait.

It look my ammonia 16 day's to drop. and this is while filling 2 baskets in my xp3 with seeded media AND with a store bought bacteria (like dr. tims).

So wait until ammonia reaches 0ppm. then add ammonia again. your goal (before testing for nitrite) is to get your ammonia to 0ppm in under 24 hours.

So let's say you initially added 1 tsp of ammonia to get it to 1ppm.
When ammonia reaches 0ppm, add 1tsp again and test every 24 hours.

when it reaches 0ppm in:
- over 24 hours -- add 1tsp again
- under 24 hours -- test for nitrite and move to next step


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## DanniGirl (Jan 25, 2007)

Just wait. 
Don't bother with a water change- it will slow the cycling process. 
As of right now, the ammonia is slowly dropping so you will have a nitrite reading. (FYI, it takes a lot longer for the nitrite to drop than the ammonia.) So, essentially, this is the easy part.

The nitrites will skyrocket and you can do small partial changes to keep the readings below 2 ppm, but it's not necessary. From there, add a small amount of ammonia every couple of days. Once you have a nitrite reading, don't bother testing for nitrate; it skews the results.

When ammonia and nitrite read 0 in 24 hours, the tank is cycled.


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## MalawiBlue (Dec 11, 2002)

Thanks folks. I will just be waiting then! Thanks for the advice.


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## MalawiBlue (Dec 11, 2002)

Ammonia dropped off tonight! So I topped it up with some more water and added the same amount of ammonia as the beginning. Now I have to wait for it to process that and hope it does it within 24 hours. Correct?


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

MalawiBlue said:


> Ammonia dropped off tonight! So I topped it up with some more water and added the same amount of ammonia as the beginning. Now I have to wait for it to process that and hope it does it within 24 hours. Correct?


Correct. and if 24 hours passes and it is still not at 0ppm, wait until it reaches 0 and add ammonia again. Test once a day, there isn't a point in doing it several. And be patient.

For my tank, it tooks 5 day's to zero out when i added ammonia for the 2nd time.


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## MalawiBlue (Dec 11, 2002)

Thanks again.


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## newforestrob (Feb 1, 2010)

not to cause any confusion,but,when I cycle with liquid ammonia,once ammonia reads zero,I never test for it again,just tested for nitrites,which usually takes a few weeks to be consumed,not to say this method that has been posted by dsouthworth is wrong,just a different approach


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

There's no reason to continue to test for ammonia now. Start testing nitrites. Add ammonia every 2-3 days now, not every day. It can take a few weeks for nitrite to drop, so here's where you have to really be patient. It'll seem as though nothing is happening, but not so. I'd suggest testing every 3rd day, then dose ammonia. Stay the course until nitrite reads 0. Make sure KH is up enough that pH doesn't drop. You can do a partial water change every 3rd day also, if you like. Just don't do over 25-30% or so.


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## MalawiBlue (Dec 11, 2002)

Ammonia converted within 24 hours to 0 ppm!

Nitrites currently reading +5.0ppm. I think a small water change is probably in order.


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## MalawiBlue (Dec 11, 2002)

Added a bit of ammonia.

I did a water change of about 25% let it circulate and tested again for nitrites.

Reading is +5.0ppm

And the waiting continues ...


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## smiller (Feb 11, 2012)

prov356 said:


> There's no reason to continue to test for ammonia now. Start testing nitrites. Add ammonia every 2-3 days now, not every day.


But not until ammonia starts converting within 24 hours, right? My second dose of ammonia after my first zero reading took 4 days and my third dose is now at 3 days. Looks like tomorrow it should be at zero again.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> But not until ammonia starts converting within 24 hours, right?


Yes, but usually once it starts to drop, it zeroes out pretty quickly. It's unusual for it to take more than 24 hours once it drops to 0 first time. It appears that is the case with MalawiBlue's situation also.


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## smiller (Feb 11, 2012)

prov356 said:


> > But not until ammonia starts converting within 24 hours, right?
> 
> 
> Yes, but usually once it starts to drop, it zeroes out pretty quickly. It's unusual for it to take more than 24 hours once it drops to 0 first time. It appears that is the case with MalawiBlue's situation also.


That was my thought, also. We'll see what happens after this next dose.


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## MalawiBlue (Dec 11, 2002)

Nitrites sitting steady at 5.0ppm. Just waiting at this point.

Does it really take several weeks for this to drop?


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## DanniGirl (Jan 25, 2007)

Yes, it can take a while.


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## MalawiBlue (Dec 11, 2002)

I just got back from a weekend away and my Nitrites have dropped to 0! Now I am supposed to test Nitrates?


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## DanniGirl (Jan 25, 2007)

Now, add enough ammonia so your reading is 2ppm. Wait 24 hours and test ammonia and nitrite. If it's 0, the tank is cycled.

You can test nitrate before and after. It really doesn't matter if you test it before though. If the nitrate readings are high (after the ammonia test) do small, partial water changes to lower them.

Add ammonia 48 hours before fully stocking with fish.


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## smiller (Feb 11, 2012)

I am finally getting ammonia converted in 24 hours after almost three weeks. The 5th post on this page by humblepie has a possible explanation.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/texas ... ost1780128


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

smiller said:


> I am finally getting ammonia converted in 24 hours after almost three weeks. The 5th post on this page by humblepie has a possible explanation.
> 
> http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/texas ... ost1780128


4ppm of ammonia from chloramine is not a lot at all. This doesn't explain why an ammonia drop would take 3 weeks. Once bacteria build, they can handle that rather quickly.


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## smiller (Feb 11, 2012)

He said his kit showed 12, not 4. I have no clue, I'm just going by what he is saying.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

smiller said:


> He said his kit showed 12, not 4. I have no clue, I'm just going by what he is saying.


Chloramine was 12ppm, not ammonia, and that's if the kit was accurate. Since an ammonia test is done when someone first doses ammonia, any additional ammonia coming from chloramine will show up in that test. If ammonia is high, then a water change will bring it back down. The drop in ammonia during initial cycling happens quickly, at least the part we can measure. It doesn't gradually decline evenly. This happens because the bacteria multiply exponentially. So, once the testable drop happens, whether it starts at 1, 2, 4, or more ppm, it happens pretty quickly. If someone has a high chloramine level in their tap water, they may not have to dose ammonia at all. They may instead have to do a water change to bring the ammonia level down to 1-2ppm. Then call the water company and complain about the high chloramine.


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## smiller (Feb 11, 2012)

Thanks for clarifying! :thumb:

BTW.....my ammonia is now converting in 24 hours.


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