Hello,
I am using the Hanna Marine Master HI97115 to test NH3, NO2 and NO3 daily while I cycle the tank with aquavitro seed (bottle bacteria) and NH4Cl. The numbers seem to be going in the wrong direction. Ammonia is going up (no fish and no more NH4Cl added. The Nitrate was going up but today it went back down.
Am I missing something or doing something wrong? I can't work out where the additional NH3 is coming from or where the nitrate has gone. Am I just fretting over noise in my data from fluctuations in test accuracy? I know this level of detail would not be visible if I were using a standard colour test chart. I expected the ammonia would have some downwards movement by the 4th day.
I didn't test on the 13th when I added as the tester was not working (it would not connect to the app and I was not sure if I was going to have to take it back to the store so I didn't want to open the reagents). Based on 350ish L of water the 19ml of NH4Cl should have taken the ammonia to a bit over 2ppm according to the bottle. So it seems odd that it would drop 0.76 in 24 hours and then start heading back up and would produce 18 NO2 and 0.9 NO3 in 24 hours and then nothing for 3 days.
data below. (more info in the build thread if needed.
I am using the Hanna Marine Master HI97115 to test NH3, NO2 and NO3 daily while I cycle the tank with aquavitro seed (bottle bacteria) and NH4Cl. The numbers seem to be going in the wrong direction. Ammonia is going up (no fish and no more NH4Cl added. The Nitrate was going up but today it went back down.
Am I missing something or doing something wrong? I can't work out where the additional NH3 is coming from or where the nitrate has gone. Am I just fretting over noise in my data from fluctuations in test accuracy? I know this level of detail would not be visible if I were using a standard colour test chart. I expected the ammonia would have some downwards movement by the 4th day.
I didn't test on the 13th when I added as the tester was not working (it would not connect to the app and I was not sure if I was going to have to take it back to the store so I didn't want to open the reagents). Based on 350ish L of water the 19ml of NH4Cl should have taken the ammonia to a bit over 2ppm according to the bottle. So it seems odd that it would drop 0.76 in 24 hours and then start heading back up and would produce 18 NO2 and 0.9 NO3 in 24 hours and then nothing for 3 days.
data below. (more info in the build thread if needed.
Measured | Added | |||||||
Date | Time | Salinity | NH3 (ppm) | NO2 (ppb) | NO3 (ppm) | Salt (g) | seed (ml) | NH4Cl (ml) |
6/1/2024 to 12/01/2024 | | | 13300 | |||||
13/01/2024 | 12:31:00 | 33.6 | ||||||
13/01/2024 | 13:00 | 33.5 | 45 | 19 | ||||
14/01/2024 | 15:00 | 33.9 | 1.24 | 18 | 0.9 | 22.5 | ||
15/01/2024 | 21:26 | 34.2 | 1.30 | 15 | 1.2 | 22.5 | ||
16/01/2024 | 23:51 | 34.2 | 1.34 | 19 | 1.3 | 22.5 | ||
17/01/2024 | 20:40 | 34.3 | 1.37 | 18 | 0.9 | 22.5 |