how much ammonia produced ?

E

enmac

AC Members
Nov 10, 2006
25
0
0
Hi all

posted this on the newbie forum as well.

I know the answer to this will vary depending on the fish/size etc....

but i was wondering, what might be the average ammonia concentration be for say 15 small to medium sized fish in a 96L aquarium?

any info on this will do as i am having trouble locating any information at all on this.

im currently cycling my tank, and after a week ive had my nitrite spike ( i only added 1-2ppm of ammonia origionaly instead of having it up at the recomended 5ppm)

it would be intersting to see just how much ammonia an individual fish produces, thus can tweak how much ammonia is added for the cycle

cheers
 
mmmm I think you have your question a little skewed. I believe you are trying to ask how much ammonia the waste from your stock will produce. The answer to the ammonia concentration will always be: ideally zero. As far as how much ammonia you should add to cycle your tank, over kill won't hurt it if there is no fish in the tank. Remember, ammonia is food for the culture. If you overfeed it, and it grows beyond what your stock will supply, it will die off and find its population vs food supply level when you stock the tank.
 
Holy cow! I was just contemplating this when a friend was telling me about someone getting fish for Christmas, ammonia poisoning, etc....

I was wondering if there have been studies to see just how much ammonia is produced by ANY fish. I imagine there has been. It would be a handy piece of info, but as with any study, it would have been under strict guidlines/procedures. Are we going to feed the precise amount of food every day? Probably not. As mentioned, fish size (and species) will also influence the outcome. Hmm...a good question nonetheless, but I don't have the answer.:help:
 
basically ammonia=food=bacteria. the amount of ammonia is proportional to amount of bacteria needed to consume the ammonia..in a nutshell
however, you can reach a point of diminishing returns.

at 1-2 ppm ammonia you will produce enough bacteria to consume that amount of ammonia. it works up to 5 ppm..after that you have to be careful. too much ammonia will kill the bacteria or slow the cycle.
if you continue to add 1-2 ppm you should be okay..you just won't be able to dump a bunch of fish in without some detrimental effect.
the idea is to produce enough bacteria to compensate for the waste live fish will add to the tank.
even with a fishless cycle it is possible to have a mini spike ..remember you are trying to minimize the impact when live fish are added. the bacteria you estasblish in the fishless cycle should be able to compensate for the waste fairly quickly.

in answer to your question..the amount of ammonia produced by a fish is in part dependant on the species..some are big eaters and will produce more waste/ammmonia.
 
Last edited:
Shocker6966 said:
mmmm I think you have your question a little skewed. I believe you are trying to ask how much ammonia the waste from your stock will produce. The answer to the ammonia concentration will always be: ideally zero. As far as how much ammonia you should add to cycle your tank, over kill won't hurt it if there is no fish in the tank. Remember, ammonia is food for the culture. If you overfeed it, and it grows beyond what your stock will supply, it will die off and find its population vs food supply level when you stock the tank.
Click to expand...

Shocker6966 said:
mmmm I think you have your question a little skewed. I believe you are trying to ask how much ammonia the waste from your stock will produce. The answer to the ammonia concentration will always be: ideally zero. As far as how much ammonia you should add to cycle your tank, over kill won't hurt it if there is no fish in the tank. Remember, ammonia is food for the culture. If you overfeed it, and it grows beyond what your stock will supply, it will die off and find its population vs food supply level when you stock the tank.
Click to expand...

sorry, i perhaps didnt phrase that ata ll well !!!!:help:

i understand the cycle and that feeding your filter ammonia will produce more bacteria than required when the time to add your fish comes.

what i was hoping to find out was just exactly how much ammonia would a single fish produce ( again i know it would depend on species and size etc...) thought it would be helpful info to know

i had a problem cycling a tank for my girlfriend. to much ammonia initially, and led to having a tank full of planarians and a good few nematodes swiming like they own the place!!!!


thanks for the quick reply
 
star_rider said:
at 1-2 ppm ammonia you will produce enough bacteria to consume that amount of ammonia.
Click to expand...


i undestand that, it's just i was looking for maybe some stats, for example

6 cardinal tetras, 2 angels, 1 betta, 1 corry would produce: x mg ammonia

cheers
 
It would be impossible to answer your question as many factors will contribute to ammonia production, Some are fish waste, uneaten food decompisition, amount of food being given, how well fish usess the food. Fishless cycling is geared towards handling near/or full stocking. As Shocker6966 put it "ammonia is food for the culture. If you overfeed it, and it grows beyond what your stock will supply, it will die off and find its population vs food supply level when you stock the tank". It would be beneficial to start with a higher ppm but, the bacteria will also multiply to convert a higher bio-load, but you may see a mini-cycle.
 
enmac said:
i undestand that, it's just i was looking for maybe some stats, for example

6 cardinal tetras, 2 angels, 1 betta, 1 corry would produce: x mg ammonia

cheers
Click to expand...

again, there are too many factors that contribute to the ammonia output.
so it is nearly impossible to determine the ammonia output.
sorry reddog I didn't see your post..
but well put.
 
Last edited:
i realise its a pretty impossible question as there are so many factors contributing to the waste load.

i have a 96L aquarium

from what a previous reply has said, i wouldnt be able to fully stock my tank after the cycle ( 2ppm, then after spike adding 2ppm)
could i comfortably add half the stocking levels, say 7-8 medium (2-3") fish, and then carry on adding the remaning fish slowly ?
 
enmac said:
i realise its a pretty impossible question as there are so many factors contributing to the waste load.

i have a 96L aquarium

from what a previous reply has said, i wouldnt be able to fully stock my tank after the cycle ( 2ppm, then after spike adding 2ppm)
could i comfortably add half the stocking levels, say 7-8 medium (2-3") fish, and then carry on adding the remaning fish slowly ?
Click to expand...

yes you could partly stock the tank and slowly add more fish.
however, the big question I have is..what are you planning to stock..the tank is approx 25 us gallons..
what are these 7-8 med (2"-3")fish you plan on adding?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom