Just got my master test kit this is what I found

[Chris McMahon]

Hi Everyone,

Lets see my system has been running for three weeks on regular hose water. We have a high calcium content here in the desert. Anyway the system has a bit of algae in it, which I assume is a good thing.

I busted out the Master Test Kit and here is where I am right now.

 

Tests                                                      Results

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PH                                                          < 7.6

High Range PH                                           8.1

Ammonia                                                   0.0

Nitrite                                                        .25 PPM

Nitrate                                                       10 PPM

 

I did get some seaweed extract yesterday and added a cup. It turned the water dark. I will be adding a small (cap full each day)

I have some lettuce growing and doing well. I also have some Watermellon plants coming up.  I expect I will want to grow some Tilapia. Any advice on what should I do next to get the system cycled?

 

 

 

[TCLynx]

I would not recommend adding seaweed extract all the time.  Perhaps an ounce or two each week or so per 100 square feet of grow bed.

 

Your next step is to add some ammonia source to between 1-4 ppm of ammonia and then wait for the levels to drop.  Once you get to the point where you can dose ammonia up to your chosen level and have both ammonia and nitrite drop to 0 within 24 hours you will be fishlessly cycled.

 

Provided your media is not limestone or marble, you can expect the pH to drop naturally as your bio-filter cycles up but if you are constantly adding really high pH well water the pH may still tend to stay high.  I might suggest having a barrel with an aerator to adjust the water pH before adding it to the system if you find the pH doesn't drop down enough naturally.

[Chris McMahon]

I built a chop II system from 275 gallon IBC totes. I will upload pictures when I make it look good. Anyway I am using 3/4 inch gravel because it was cheep and should work well enough. The grow beds are 4'3" by 3'4" and I have three of them.

Can I use ammonia from under the sink or will that hurt the system? That may be a dumb question but I am not afraid of questions I am afraid of making a mistake.

 

[TCLynx]

It is a good question.  Cleaning ammonia has a few different kinds you need to figure out which one you have.  You may use clear ammonia that has no soap, detergent or fragrance added.  One way people often test to see if the ammonia is appropriate would be to look at it, is it clear or cloudy?  Then shake it up, if it gets bubbles or suds then avoid it.  If it has any sort of fragrance other than a nasty strong ammonia smell, then avoid it.

 

Other ammonia sources might include (though this is not a complete list) urea fertilizer or hummonia (aka, urine or pee).  However, urea or urine have the drawback of a delayed reaction before you will be able to measure any ammonia so must be used with care so as not to overdose the system.  One trick is to bottle the urine and leave it sealed up for a few weeks which will allow the urea content to convert to ammonia before use, this also has the side benefit of killing off any e.coli that might have gotten into the urine as it passes out of a human body.

 

Sorry if all that grosses you out but it is a free source of ammonia provided you collect it from a healthy person not on any horribly strong medications.

[Chris McMahon]

Well I have been to three stores and the only thing I can find is Ammonium Hydroxide and Surfactant. I found some other stuff but it had scent or detergent in it. Should I try this or keep looking?

[TCLynx]

either keep looking or pee in a bottle.

suficants, sents and detergents are all bad for fish and bio-filter bacteria.

[Chris McMahon]

I found it at True Value Hardware. Clear ammonia with no additives. Your going to find a better selection at home improvement stores then at grocery stores.

[TCLynx]

I expect Ace and True Value and other small hardware stores to be the best places to look.

[Chris McMahon]

Today

PH >                 7.6

High PH =          8.3

Ammonia =        3.0

Nitrite =             .25

Nitrate =            1.0

[TCLynx]

Now you wait till the ammonia gets to 1 or lower and dose that amount again.  If the nitrite is way high, then you might do smaller ammonia doses till the nitrite spike comes down too.  Then you will dose to between 1-4 ppm ammonia and see if both ammonia and nitrite are down to 0 within 24 hours, once you get to the point where you can dose and have both ammonia and nitrite down to 0 in 24 hours, you are cycled up.  Let ammonia and nitrite get down to near 0 before adding new fish but keep feeding the bacteria regular doses of ammonia until shortly before getting fish or they will starve and die back.

 

And away you go.

[Chris McMahon]

How long will it take to see an ammonia drop? It' been holding for three days now. Should I expect a slow decline or a sudden drop? Also should I make any adjustments to the PH it's also holding at above 8.0?

[TCLynx]

I think usually you will see a slow decline at first and then it will drop more rapidly.  The nitrite will also spike as the ammonia declines and the Nitrite spike tends to last even longer usually.

 

How much above 8 for the pH?  What is your source water?  City water or from a limestone aquifer?  If it is only just barely above 8 you could probably just leave it since as the system gets cycled the pH will naturally drop.  However, if you want to adjust it down, you are better off doing it before you get fish.  After you get fish you can adjust top up water in a holding tank and let it settle before adding it to the system if the reason for your high pH is the source water.  If your media turns out to be the reason for high pH, well no amount of acid will correct that until all the limestone has dissolved.

[Chris McMahon]

My nitrite has spiked at 5.0 so it's going as expected. My PH is at 8.3 it has not changed at all, ammonia is at 4.0 and holding I didn't add anymore I think I am just better with the test kit now. The Nitrate is also rising to 5PPM

I have blocked out as much of the sun as I can on the sump and tank to prevent algae growth.I had a little but I want to nip it now before is gets out of control.