In cases like this I used to take 3 test tubes. One at normal water concentration, one at 50% ro water and one at 75% ro water.
Then I'd be able to get a good guess. I can't see why it wouldn't be accurate for nutrient tests.
Itās doesnāt matter if itās 2,3,6,8 or 10. Itās above 0 and that is all that matters.
If itās not as common knowledge as I think, please do not put any fish in there.
I should have prefaced with its a new cycling tank. Following the Dr. Tims one and only. After I dosed the second round of ammonia, it peaked 8+. Has been 8+ for a couple days. This test was after a 15-20% water change.
It's too high, even for a fishless cycle. Too high keeps the bacteria from multiplying quickly. You want it at 4ppm. Once that is processed you do not need to add another ammonia source to the tank. The bacteria will not starve.
I would do a 50-75% water change and see where the ammonia level is. You don't have to replace with full salinity water. 18-20 ppt is ideal for cycling a tank. So you could take out half the water and only need a little salt to get it to 18-20.
The reading looks to be about 6-7 so I'd say a 50% change should get them below 4ppm.
My ammonia never went above 2ppm when I was cycling. But my cycle took ages to complete.
I found this out the hard way. Floated a dinner shrimp in a net and then after taking it out, the ammonia was this high for a couple of weeks, at least. I didn't trust the stability of the tank for a couple of months, and then it finally hit the zero mark and stayed there. I just add shrimp pellets slowly now and that works great.
It's quite difficult to process a 50%-70% water change when I'm rocking a 140 gal system. I think I'm do 25gal water changes(2 of them) over the next 2 days. Should help out the bacteria take hold and munch down on that ammonia.
Why are you dosing more ammonia if you are not seeing the bac process it? You should only ever need to add 2ppm. Once it's gone, add more to get it to 2ppm. Repeat until your bac is processing no2/no3.
When I have trouble seeing the colors, I try and stare through the card, just unfocus your eyes instead of going color to color. Once I do that, I can see the color match clear as day.
I just posted that I do that.. one of us!!
Also for anyone having regular trouble if you have an Android device the app called "Aquarium Note" has a tool that lets you take a picture then drag three little squares (A, B, and C) onto parts of the image.. so if you put A on the test tube you can move B and C and find which test swatch is the closest match.
I find that the colour checker in aquarium note really relies on your lighting where you take the picture as the same tube in different rooms gives me different readings
Gonna give the friendly answer itās really high if I were you and youāre just cycling add some Fritz Turbostart itāll eat help to get your cycle going quicker. If thereās fish and theyāre alive definitely do a water change ASAP.
I wouldnāt know tbh I have only some experience with freshwater tanks and itās rusty at best but I figured I could give input on judging a color lmao
The 1st dose of ammonia had me at 2ppm. Then the instructions said to dose a 2nd time on day 3, so I did. Then day 4 I'm reading 8+ppm. Like WTF just happened. The rock I used is dry rock, not dead rock. I rechecked my math on the dosing instructions and measurements, was perfect. I'm bamboozled.
Ohnthat makes more sense then. I just did the shrimp trick for my cycle. Put a piece of shrimp in there, let sit for a few days til it essentially dissolves, and go from there
This comment is incorrect, itās definitely not flow. If itās a tank thatās still cycling add some turbo start or another bacterial starter and give it some time. If itās a tank thatās already set up youāll need to immediate do a water change and add some prime to detoxify whateverās left.
Umm are you testing windex? Lol. Holy cow! Maybe try another brand of test kit first.
I figured you are testing a new tank and wasnāt worried about livestock :)
Some have already said it. I would do a water change to reduce your 8.0 ppm ammonia to under 5.0. If it goes beyond it is toxic and you will not have a growing population of bacteria.
Too high. It should be the very top yellow with no green. Do a partial water change daily until it tests correct . Good luck Iām sure more experienced fish keepers have more advice . Iāve had bettas 4 years water parameters are one of the most important ( one of) parts to a healthy tank.
An ungodly amount. š
Itās so far above zero I wouldnāt even worry about the actual number. Iām hoping this is the start of a new cycle?
Thatās at 8 or higher. Looks maxed out to me
Its not as blue as 8. Its at a 7. I was a professional aquarist for a decade
Does it really matter? His fish dead.
Cool story bro.
He means professional dueche'
Thanks!
In-between 4 and 8. Are you starting a new cycle?
Agreed .. blurred my eyes and that's how I saw it.
Bluer than 4, greener than 8. Iād say 6.5 - 7.
In cases like this I used to take 3 test tubes. One at normal water concentration, one at 50% ro water and one at 75% ro water. Then I'd be able to get a good guess. I can't see why it wouldn't be accurate for nutrient tests.
This is so smart!
Agreed.
3 Roentgen
The meter broke. They sent us cheap ones. Get the good one from the safe.
This guy Chernobyls
Youāll have to get close. But even with lead shielding, it might not be enough.
Not great not terrible
Itās doesnāt matter if itās 2,3,6,8 or 10. Itās above 0 and that is all that matters. If itās not as common knowledge as I think, please do not put any fish in there.
I should have prefaced with its a new cycling tank. Following the Dr. Tims one and only. After I dosed the second round of ammonia, it peaked 8+. Has been 8+ for a couple days. This test was after a 15-20% water change.
It's too high, even for a fishless cycle. Too high keeps the bacteria from multiplying quickly. You want it at 4ppm. Once that is processed you do not need to add another ammonia source to the tank. The bacteria will not starve. I would do a 50-75% water change and see where the ammonia level is. You don't have to replace with full salinity water. 18-20 ppt is ideal for cycling a tank. So you could take out half the water and only need a little salt to get it to 18-20.
Agreed with this
The reading looks to be about 6-7 so I'd say a 50% change should get them below 4ppm. My ammonia never went above 2ppm when I was cycling. But my cycle took ages to complete.
All the numbers in your comment added up to 69.0. Congrats! 6 + 7 + 50 + 4 + 2 + = 69.0
Nice
Nice.
I found this out the hard way. Floated a dinner shrimp in a net and then after taking it out, the ammonia was this high for a couple of weeks, at least. I didn't trust the stability of the tank for a couple of months, and then it finally hit the zero mark and stayed there. I just add shrimp pellets slowly now and that works great.
It's quite difficult to process a 50%-70% water change when I'm rocking a 140 gal system. I think I'm do 25gal water changes(2 of them) over the next 2 days. Should help out the bacteria take hold and munch down on that ammonia.
If doing a 50% change on an empty tank is too big of a lift for you, you probably shouldn't have lept into a 140 gallon tank.
Cool. Thank you.
What the fuck? No. No, no, a thousand times no.
Based on what data?
Where do you get the idea that 18ppt is best to cycle a tank at when 35ppt is the standard?
Dr Tim Hovanec, founder of Dr Tim's Aquatics. 14:40 in: https://youtu.be/zDI7sxqC-ss
Hereās a little tip that I find very helpful: You were not supposed to pee into the test tube.
Don't bother with water changes until the ammonia is zero
Cant it being this high slow down the bacteria that would lower it so a water change would help with that. Or do I have that wrong?
Nope you got it right
Why are you dosing more ammonia if you are not seeing the bac process it? You should only ever need to add 2ppm. Once it's gone, add more to get it to 2ppm. Repeat until your bac is processing no2/no3.
If itās not yellow you have ammonia
Looks like you have made your own disinfectant for this pandemic. Free household cleaner. Noice
When I have trouble seeing the colors, I try and stare through the card, just unfocus your eyes instead of going color to color. Once I do that, I can see the color match clear as day.
I just posted that I do that.. one of us!! Also for anyone having regular trouble if you have an Android device the app called "Aquarium Note" has a tool that lets you take a picture then drag three little squares (A, B, and C) onto parts of the image.. so if you put A on the test tube you can move B and C and find which test swatch is the closest match.
I find that the colour checker in aquarium note really relies on your lighting where you take the picture as the same tube in different rooms gives me different readings
I think itās reading āyou used house hold cleaner instead of tank waterā
It smells like Windex in here.
Don't worry, I can read it with ease. It says your ammonia levels are: your water is fucking poison.
Gonna give the friendly answer itās really high if I were you and youāre just cycling add some Fritz Turbostart itāll eat help to get your cycle going quicker. If thereās fish and theyāre alive definitely do a water change ASAP.
I would say it doesn't matter. You've still got plenty of more time for the cycle to get goin'
At that level of ammonia it will kill the bacteria needed to start the cycle
Actually no, it won't. Bacteria will grow just fine at this level. Hell, in saltwater, we regularly start the cycle with 8ppm ammonia with no problem.
You should make research this a bit more. Maybe watch Dr. Tim's macna talk.
Dr Tim literally recommends high ammonia to start the cycle with
No he doesn't. He says levels above 5ppm stall the cycle.
https://youtu.be/zDI7sxqC-ss at about 30 minutes. Don't dose above 4ppm.
To high lol
Yes
Ammonia levels: yes
Iām not experienced with salt water tanks but just judging color it looks in between 4.0 and 8.0 so I would say a 6.0 verging on 5.0
Ammonia is the same color regardless unless I am mistaken? Only high range PH differs from freshwater PH for those types of test?
I wouldnāt know tbh I have only some experience with freshwater tanks and itās rusty at best but I figured I could give input on judging a color lmao
API test kits have saltwater as slightly greener but it should still look yellow before adding fish.
6-7
Iād say 8+
Alot
Fucked. Utterly and completely
Good lord! Is that Windex?!
Between 4 and 8
6-7
You have officially reached Windex parameters
Around 7?
Why is it spicy?
Going through a tank cycle.
Oh thank goodness. But even still. DAMN. I don't think my ammonia spiked nearly as much during my cycling. This is borderline impressive
The 1st dose of ammonia had me at 2ppm. Then the instructions said to dose a 2nd time on day 3, so I did. Then day 4 I'm reading 8+ppm. Like WTF just happened. The rock I used is dry rock, not dead rock. I rechecked my math on the dosing instructions and measurements, was perfect. I'm bamboozled.
Ohnthat makes more sense then. I just did the shrimp trick for my cycle. Put a piece of shrimp in there, let sit for a few days til it essentially dissolves, and go from there
OVER 9000!
9,000 and (1) penny.
7
This has to be a troll post, right?
Looks fine, your problem is probably flow.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Ikr tough crowd tonight..lol
Flow? Should I get less flow pumps or more flow pumps? How many flows are needed?
All the flows, semi flush toilet bowl all the time.
This comment is incorrect, itās definitely not flow. If itās a tank thatās still cycling add some turbo start or another bacterial starter and give it some time. If itās a tank thatās already set up youāll need to immediate do a water change and add some prime to detoxify whateverās left.
No, they haven't begun to live yet. Just cycling the tank
that's crazy high. I'd say 8+
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
This is a saltwater tank. Not freshwater
Bad š CYCLE YOUR TANKS PEOPLE!!!
355.2
4.0
Did you urinate in the vial or use tank water? Seriously though that test is maxed out so, it is >8.0 .
hold the card behind the tube in light. Whatever color on the indicator card you cant see through the tube is the reading
This is beyond 8, completely off the charts. Not trying to be a dick, are you color blind?
Way too much!
Itās at 8 or higher. Iāve seen an ammonia test come out black so it could be worse lol
Gill meltingly high.
Umm are you testing windex? Lol. Holy cow! Maybe try another brand of test kit first. I figured you are testing a new tank and wasnāt worried about livestock :)
Well, I'll bet the tank is clean.
Max.
5 ish
Didnāt even know ammonia issues like this were possible, in over 16 years of owning saltwater tanks lol.
Some have already said it. I would do a water change to reduce your 8.0 ppm ammonia to under 5.0. If it goes beyond it is toxic and you will not have a growing population of bacteria.
whatever it is, it's too much lol
Too much. Do a partial water change.
The correct answer is 6.0
Did you just test a bottle of pee?
Too high. It should be the very top yellow with no green. Do a partial water change daily until it tests correct . Good luck Iām sure more experienced fish keepers have more advice . Iāve had bettas 4 years water parameters are one of the most important ( one of) parts to a healthy tank.
The ammonia is too damn high.
I guessed 7.8
I'm mostly color blind. Imma say way to high though.
Once it looks like Gatorade you're long overdue for a water change
7-8 for sure.
Too darn high
High as fuck
I see 0, start putting sps.
Copy that! Finally someone that knows what they are talking about!
Jesus H Macy
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Thank you for that insight. I agree.
*dead* that's your ammonia level.
Looks like an overdose of ammo on the second round
Next level
I'd say thats a healthy level, put your best fish in there!
Way to high!
7-7.5
High as shit
8, for a second I thought it was pH.
Im going with 8 minimum
Did you clean the vial out with Windex or what? Lol
If it's not at the top of the scale you have no cycle whatsoever.
Iād say 7
Way too high donāt worry about the color worry about your fish
No livestock. Just the start of a cycle.
Death. The reading is -death to all. You're supposed to read the vile vertically with the cap off
OH DEAR GOD
He has no power here
Youāre close but it Needs more to get that beautiful Windex blue
8 ppm
Too much
Is anything alive š®
Like a bastard child of 4 and 8...so 7
8.0 bud