Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

How long are you leaving the test before observing it??

For all the years I have had the kits, the instructions have said to wait 5 minutes. I wait 5 minutes and the test indicator is greener than yellow. I wait ten minutes and the test indicator is still greener than yellow. I wait 30 minutes, and surprise, it's still greener than yellow. The test is still sitting on my desk, and it's still greener than yellow some three hours after testing. Except in the first few seconds after mixing and shaking the sample, the indicator has never been yellow.

What's your point?


P.S. And the indicator has a manufacture date of May 2011, so are in date.

I get the same thing bunson. It is common for me to repeatedly get reading that wre not 0.25 or zero for many weeks in a row. But sometimes I also get a very definate yellow/zero.

In fact.. The colours on the scale are so similar I'm hardly ever sure of an "exact" reading, I always assume I am between the two nearest colours.

Yes, I get the occasional zero and I get an occasional higher reading.

IMHO it's just a phenomenon which occurs from time to time, possibility dependent on any number of factors, but in general, none of my systems nor any of the systems I have installed for friends have zero ammonia as a per se rule, as there is nearly always a detectable trace of ammonia present whilst there are fish in the system. (One system I helped build for a friend frequently has zero ammonia and nitrites because there are no fish and he is supporting his system on an ad-hoc basis with Charlie Carp until he sources some. I'm pretty sure this will change after fish are added, we'll have to wait and see.)

Based on what you guys are saying, I will go ahead and feed at .25 ammonia. Any higher, I'll stop till it drops back to that.

There was a reason I asked Bunson.... and your reply covers a possible question that may have arisen from your answer...

You're correct that tests suggest waiting for 5 mins... but the ammonia test can sometimes darken in colour if left longer... and that was where I was going...

The fact that you point out that this doesn't occur... means your test result is valid....

IMO... a trace ammonia reading is not worth stressing over... and certainly not a trace derived by extrapolation between the two colour gradients... (no offence meant in any way)

And yes.. there are various reasons why a trace reading might occur... especially when regularly feeding high growth fish such as trout...

And yes Ronmaggi... you can feed your fish with an ammonia reading of 0.25...

Just do so lightly... test, and skip a feed if the level rises beyond that... until you can regularly feed without the ammonia rising and not disappating within a few hours...

Just out of curiousity Bunson... run your system 15/45 timed for a week or two.... and see if your trace ammonia dissapears...

My system normally runs 15/45 but I had it running CF after one fish death (acute constipation?) which happened just before I went into hospital.

edited: better grammar

So no difference in the trace ammonia reading???

I was wondering if the retention time of timed flood & drain might make a difference...

Timed F&D or CF, doesn't appear to make a difference (or, not a visible difference under the employed testing regime)


Note: Fish were added 27 Mar.

Ph 8.2
Ammo .25
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 20
No change, they were fed yesterday. I fed them again today. The bell peppers, capsapsiums to you aussies, are coming in strong. The grape vines are getting massive. The jalapeño is getting taller. The dill we planted by seed is poking through. I think that the Swiss chard is about ready to start harvesting on. Today I added the juice of four lemons to see if the ph. would at all be impacted. I also buried them in one of the growbeds. So far all of the lemon juice I have added has done nothing. We will see...

You'd need a truckload of lemons to make any impact Ron.... and adding that amount of "acetic" acid... would be detremental to your bacterial colony...

Treat your top up water with Hydrochloric acid... and over time, along with the natural depletion of the carbonate buffer through nitrification.. the pH will fall...

Adding untreated top up source water... will just be adding more carbonate buffer back to your system... (which is fine later when your pH might need adjustment back upwards)

I never see any traces of amm in my tests.... mind you I only test maybe once every 3 months or when I introduce new fingerlings.

Acetic acid is in vinegar. Ascorbic acid is in lemons. Not that I am saying your wrong about the ammount. I was going by what other people have posted as to how to lower ph. I had some lemons that were soon to go bad, so I thought "why not?" So far, absolutely ineffective. Such is life... At least the lemons aren't going moldy in my fridge. I think the only reason that I am growing lemons is because I feel like I can not grow only limes. In San Diego everyone always has some lemons to give away. You feel bad rejecting them, so they end up in your fridge only to go bad. You know it is the same story in their fridge too.