How much ammonia in a 5 gallon tank?

D

debi999

AC Members
Jan 8, 2006
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Hi,
How many mls of ammonia should I put in a 5 gallon for te fishless cycle.

And after that I'm planning to put some plants in. The reason I'm not putting the plants first and then ammonia is I don't have a heater yet. I'm planning to get plants from walmart, petsmart plants had all brown leaves. Any opinions on walmart plants?

How often should I check for ammonia levels, once I start the cycle?

Thanks,
D
 
from what ive learned, when you start a fishless cycle, it is much easier to get and maintain your levels without plants. once you finish your cycle, put your fish and plants in at the same time. as for the amount of ammonia to add; however much it takes to reach a reading of 5ppm. i think the guesstiment is 4-5 drops per 1 gallon.
i havnt even practiced what ive preached yet but, just sharing what ive learned. i am very new at this and some of the "veterans" on this site will set you straight.

good luck!
 
Yes it's that "however much it takes to reach a reading of 5ppm" that gets you. Take some time and do some scientific testing of your particular household ammonia as their concentrations vary greatly. Here's what I did:

1. Measure out an accurate gallon of water into a clean bucket.

2. Add 2 drops of your ammonia.

3. Test. Are you above 1ppm, below 1ppm or right at 1ppm? If you are right at 1ppm then you are done. If not then proceed.

4. Dump the bucket, rinse the bucket, dry the inside of the bucket bone dry then fill back up with 1 gallon of water.

5. If you are below 1ppm add one more drop of ammonia than last time. If you are above 1ppm add one less drop of ammonia than last time.

6. Repeat until the answer to #3 is "right at 1ppm".


So after this somewhat lengthy process you have the magic number of drops of your ammonia solution from your dropper that equal 1ppm in 1 gallon of water.

So in my case it ended up being 3 drops equals 1ppm in 1 gallon of water. So I wanted the 18 gallons of water in my tank to hit 5ppm. The calculation was:

3 drops x 5 = 15 drops to hit 5ppm in one gallon of water.

15 drops X 18 = 270 drops to hit 5ppm in 18 gallons of water.


I would guess that in a tank as small as 5 gallons you would really want to nail this number as there is not much leeway.
 
Being a beginner myself makes it easier. I just did this process a few weeks ago so it is fresh in my mind.
 
Of course I am in the minority in that I fishy cycle but in a 5 gallon with plants and twice weekly water changes I would bet dollars to donuts that you would not have an ammonia spike. Of course that would be dependent on not overstocking and doing water changes. There's a lot of information on cycling a tank with plants--BTW, if you fishless cycle, adding plants is counterproductive.

I just really don't understand fishless cycling a 5 gallon. It just seems unnecessary, especially with plants available and light stocking. I understand why people fishless cycle larger tanks, although I don't do it, but small tanks and a light bio-load (which a small tank should have anyway) shouldn't need fishless cycling, especially with plants.

In the past 18 months, I've set up 3 tanks with less than 10 gallons. One for newts with about 4 gallons, one 5.5G for a betta, and another 2.5 for endler's livebearers and shrimp. All moderately to heavily planted. Have never had an ammonia spike with weekly 50-75% water changes. I've been monitoring my 2.5G nightly for signs of an ammonia spike, it's my newest tank and I'm "experimenting". In 6 days, no ammonia spike.

If I am wrong, I will gladly admit it. But my results just have not seen the need for fishless cycling a small tank. I am willing to be educated, but so far my results have just not seen the need for spending 5 weeks fishless cycling a 5 gallon tank. Throw a dozen plants in especially a bunch of anachris, put in the betta, shrimp, a pair of killies or whatever your fancy, monitor levels, change water religiously, and enjoy your nano tank.

Jackie
 
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