Dr Tim’s Ammonia Chloride dosing

[swoons]

I’m seeing mixed things about the proper amount to dose. I’ve read people dosing the recommended 4 drops per gallon but it being too much. Is there a downside to dosing well under the recommended? Will the cycle not start if so?

 

[Spare time]

You can dose less. I'd just follow the instructions.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I’m seeing mixed things about the proper amount to dose. I’ve read people dosing the recommended 4 drops per gallon but it being too much. Is there a downside to dosing well under the recommended? Will the cycle not start if so?

You can definitely dose less. You can dose none and just toss in some fish food too. Anything that will add some organic material.

 

[pecan2phat]

I would dose half the recommended and then use an ammonia test kit to see if you're at 2ppm. If not then add until.

 

[taricha]

nitrifiers grow and increase population just fine at ~1ppm or 2 or 3 or 5ppm ammonia, though 5ppm isn't desirable. Aim for 2, and don't worry if it's not exact.
Many of the accounts of cycling going slow at higher ammonia are simply because it's harder with a color change test kit to see a small drop from say 3ppm to 2.5ppm than a drop from 1ppm to 0.5ppm.

 

[PatW]

I like adding less. I will go with about 1 ppm ammonia. After NH3 and N03 go to 0 (and nitrates are ramped up), I add a second amount of about .5 ppm and see if it disappears over night. If I am not adding fish pretty immediately, I will add a drop or two (total) to the display tank just to keep the microbes happy.

 

[brandon429]

If it was me I'd ditch all testing, add any common cycling bottle bac someone wants, add two pinches of ground up flake food, wait ten days for this mix to stew among piled reef rocks in a display setup and it would be cycled

And if the bottle bac purchased was half dead due to storage error

Ten days wait plus degrading feed always shows decent ammonia control adhered to surfaces after a water change per any cycling chart.


For the ability to carry two clownfish, we have room to vary some of the initial setup it's a low load

One or two clownfish and a lysmata shrimp which is very sensitive and where surviving does indicate decent water quality is an easy bioload to manage and plenty good start for any new reef.

This notion of must add 2 ppm must add 4ppm nope I could get there with ten days wait, a stewing heated circulating flake food fed Dr. Tims cycling bac reef

It'll carry the bioload we want legit. It would do it on day one, day ten after blasting in protein to rot for over a week is the world's greatest gift to suspended water bacteria from any clade

I would literally trade gladly ten days wait for the peace of mind of no back and forth no worry no failed start date exact planning go date

 

[Idech]

You need to dose less. At least 50% less, even more. Go slowly and adjust. I think when I dosed according to the instructions I got over 4 ppm ammonia.

 

[brandon429]

I'm 100% sure if our hobby took all collective concern revolving around adding liquid ammonia to reef tanks + what api or red sea ammonia says, and focused all the energy on fallow and quarantine careful disease preps, millions of hobby fish could be saved

Bottle bac makers made this a dump and done issue, no thought required. you tilt the bottle over and dump into tank, ammonia is fine thereafter.

No wrestling needed... water bac in water got this. Our hobby should train cyclers to focus on fish disease immediately, the cycle needs no coaxing. Everyone can wait ten days



As the years go by and we still approach cycles with doubt and concern about incompletion we lose focus on disease prevention which has all the fish loss examples i know of currently. I've never seen anyone lose their initial bioload with even a basic cycling attempt.

The worst case scenario is a red herring it'll never happen

 

[Reef.]

You could always add the full amount over a week or so, then you will know you haven’t gone past the 5ppm mark.
Ammonia tests ime or not great, so testing to see the correct lvl is not going to help.

I used the full dose in one go, was fine for me.