Dr Tim’s Ammonium Chloride %

[Ryan Rioux]

Hello all! Got back into the hobby and Started a new tank yesterday . 20G AIO Waterbox cube . Used about 8lbs of liverock from a local fish store in Rhode Island .

Dosed a 4 OZ bottle of Fritz turbostart 900 into the tank yesterday evening and this morning added 3 ML of Dr Tim’s ammonium Chloride solution . Wondering what the actual % of the solution is ? Read some conflicting reports of 4% and 6% .

Was supposed to test tomorrow morning Sunday at 8 am which was the 24 hour mark but decided to test tonight and ammonia was at about 0.25-0.4 ( Red Sea test kit and API test kit ) tested with both . Still planning on testing tomorrow morning but want to be sure I’m doing this correctly .

Also having an issue with my salinity being too low . Made the saltwater and when I made it , my Refractometer measured 1.026 for salinity . Went to test water in the tank today after recalibrating with a solution and it measured 1.021 . Plan to mix some saltwater up with a salinity level of 1.028 or so and do a 5 gallon water change . Hoping this is okay and does the trick .

Ordered a Tropical Marin Hydrometer and want to get a Milwaukee digital Refractometer . Hoping these are more accurate and easier to use than the Refractometer . Sorry for the long post ! Been out of the hobby for 5+ years . Feels new again!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I believe the Dr Tims concentration may have changed at one point. I'd follow the directions on your actual bottle.

The Dr Tims web site selling it currently says 4% (40 mg/L total ammonia).

https://store.drtimsaquatics.com/Am...f_tjPyDLOswScwoESOG2wqbQZOT0MdL35U5QGkp5z9DOZ

 

[Ryan Rioux]

I believe the Dr Tims concentration may have changed at one point. I'd follow the directions on your actual bottle.

The Dr Tims web site selling it currently says 4% (40 mg/L total ammonia).

https://store.drtimsaquatics.com/Am...f_tjPyDLOswScwoESOG2wqbQZOT0MdL35U5QGkp5z9DOZ

Thank you! Yes I read 4% as well and then saw a thread somewhere stating they were dosing according to the 4% and getting sky high readings that equated to a 6% solution .

Started a waterbox 20 and accounted for about 18 gallons of water because of substrate and rock . Added 4.25 ML of Dr Tim’s this morning about 8 am . Just retested a few hours later and both API and Redsea test kits are reading about 2.0 PPM for ammonia . I am going to retest everything tomorrow ! Any idea when I should be testing for nitrites and than nitrates ? Appreciate the input and help .

Again I’ve been out of the hobby for years but happy to be back in !

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

what source of bacteria?

 

[Ryan Rioux]

what source of bacteria?

Fritz turbostart 900 is what I used .

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Ok, yes, I missed that in the first post. It acts pretty fast. :)

 

[Ryan Rioux]

Ok, yes, I missed that in the first post. It acts pretty fast. :)

No worries ! I’m hoping it’s getting close . Ammonia seems to be dropping to 0 or very close within a 24 hour period ,
Nitrites are present and nitrates starting to slowly rise . Just not a fan of the tests . Using Redsea test kit and api as a secondary . Sometimes just tough to determine which color matches up . Just dosed 4ML more of Dr Tim’s ammonia chloride which is right around 2 ppm . Hopefully I’m doing it all correctly lol

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

If ammonia drops from 2 ppm to less than 0.3 ppm in a day, you are good to go. It need not drop more due to testing issues.

 

[Ryan Rioux]

If ammonia drops from 2 ppm to less than 0.3 ppm in a day, you are good to go. It need not drop more due to testing issues.

@Randy Holmes-Farley thank you ! Appreciate the help . So basically at this point as long as ammonia dropping in 24 hours , perform 50% water change and can add a couple of clowns the weekend ?

Will probably add some more fritz at the same time as adding the clowns . Was always under the impression I had to have nitrites fall to 0 in that 24 hour period as well .

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

@Randy Holmes-Farley thank you ! Appreciate the help . So basically at this point as long as ammonia dropping in 24 hours , perform 50% water change and can add a couple of clowns the weekend ?

Will probably add some more fritz at the same time as adding the clowns . Was always under the impression I had to have nitrites fall to 0 in that 24 hour period as well .

I would not bother with the water change, unless there is some unusual reason.

Nitrite falling is not needed, IMO, and is just a carryover from fresh water where it matters. Nitrite is just not toxic in marine systems.

This article shows it takes hundreds of ppm of nitrite to kill a marine fish, and as little as 1 ppm to kill a freshwater fish.

http://web.archive.org/web/20170827023605/http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-06/rhf/index.htm

 

[Ryan Rioux]

I would not bother with the water change, unless there is some unusual reason.

Nitrite falling is not needed, IMO, and is just a carryover from fresh water where it matters. Nitrite is just not toxic in marine systems.

This article shows it takes hundreds of ppm of nitrite to kill a marine fish, and as little as 1 ppm to kill a freshwater fish.

http://web.archive.org/web/20170827023605/http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-06/rhf/index.htm

Awesome , thank you . Just did some testing . Dosed 4 ML last night of ammonia and it’s down to 0 on both REDSEA and API test kits .

Only reason for water change to is to reduce any nitrates and also get my salinity up. My salinity is currently at 1.024 . Trying to get it up to 1.026 .

Definitely going to read that article for some peace of mind lol last time I cycled a tank I used instant ocean bio spira , it worked great but took a couple weeks and waited for ammonia and nitrites to fall.

 

[BeanAnimal]

I would not dose any more ammonia, it is pointless. I would just add water and let evaporation raise your salinity. Why waste the water on a change when it is not needed.

Don't worry about reducing nitrates, they will take care of themselves as the system matures, and they are not harmful to marine fish anyway.

 

[Ryan Rioux]

I would not dose any more ammonia, it is pointless. I would just add water and let evaporation raise your salinity. Why waste the water on a change when it is not needed.

Don't worry about reducing nitrates, they will take care of themselves as the system matures, and they are not harmful to marine fish anyway.

Appreciate the input ! Any help is greatly appreciated ! I ended up doing a small water change just to get salinity to 1.026 . Using a Milwaukee digital Refractometer now . Easier and more accurate from what I’ve read . Added a pair of beautiful Mocha Vinci clowns today. Stopped by a place out in Kingstown MA called Lovely Pets . Great little spot for anybody in MA RI or NH .

Spot I’m stuck at is the way to setup back chambers . I bought 2 INTANK media baskets . First chamber is supposed to have filter sock but I’m torn between just using that for skimmer . Might just install the filter sock for now til my water change next weekend .