Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

damned american TV. If i ever pronounce second (as in wait a second) with a T or seem to loose the H from Herbs, please, slap me

Thanks Steve for the info. Question My total water volume tank and sump is approx 7000 lts. By my calc to bring it to 2ppm I would need to add 56ml of 25% ammonia. A 500 ml bottle would give me approx 8.3 doses. Is this correct?

Thanks AP

8.3 is right, i just realised that after the accurate math i went and got all "general" with the 10 doses

it will probably give you more like 1 initial dose and then 15.6 subsequent doses to re-raise it from 1ppm back to 2ppm when needed

but who is counting?

Steve what about using UREA to kick start the cycle?

AP

might work. it owuld need to be acted upon my urease Sp. enzyme i think that breaks it down into ammonia. naturally found in urine i think..........

having trouble with the ammonia?

if you're not shy then just give it the human touch.

LOL

Steve this guy on the other forum says he has used urea and it acts just like fish wastes. He also said to use calcium nitrate. I would have copyed and pasted it here but I don't want to accidently cause trouble and be disrespectful. If you can can you go the the other forum and read the subject "Pure ammonia" and the post about "urea" and let us know what you think. Not checked out the purchase of ammonia yet but would like to cycle the system with a safer product to handle.

Thanks

AP

Question EVERYTHING.

i don't care if you read it on this forum, another forum, from the guy on the corner or on the web in general

I can not see how Ca nitrate is gonna cycle anything. at all. ever. much better use would be for home made fireworks, red i believe

Fish wastes are ammonia. human liquid waste is primarily urea.

Urea is broken down both by urease (one again not sure on the spelling) and general decomposition to ammonia.

The decay of urea into carbon dioxide is catalyzed by urease:

(NH2)2CO + H2O → CO2 + 2NH3

If you use either urea or urine an ammonia test may show quite low levels then when tested again 24 - 48 hrs later it will be literally off the charts.

I believe this to be because the urea is being decomposed into ammonia.

Hope this helps AP

Fish produce ammonia as a waste byproduct of protein and amino acid metabolisms. Urea (or uric acid) is the result of the converstion of toxic ammonia wastes by land dwelling organism.....

Generally birds and saurian reptiles (ancestorial reptiles, like lizards, excliding snakes) excrete uric acid, while the remaining species, including mammals, excrete urea in urine.

Two oddities of note.... tadpoles excrete ammonia (as fish) but shift to urea production when they metamorphize to frogs. And Dalamatian dogs excrete urea in the form uric acid in their urine rather than in the urea form.

So the principle component responsible for kick starting the cycling process when using "hummonia" is actually the urea in the urine anyway.

These days urea is synthetically made.... but the same product.....

High in nitrogen and phosphate, readily soluble.....

how is urea high in phosphate? or did you mean urine?

So rupert urea will work or not? Sorry it's been a long day

AP

yes

Urea is a weird compound that bonds up three phosphate ions in with the normal carbon/nitrogen bonds.....

Gets it from the enzymatic breakdown of the amino acids like adenozene triphosphate (sp?) ATP etc.... most amino acids are high phospate compounds....

Wiki Urea Cyle

yeh, but if you're starting witih bought urea there aint gonn abe not phosphate bound up

True, true Stevo...

Man made Urea ..... (NH2)2CO.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urea