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-   -   understanding ammonia (http://www.arofanatics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=449919)

ranmaru1987 17-01-2011 06:30 PM

understanding ammonia
 
hi all.. stumbled across this website and chart for aquarium ammonia.. so next time before u panic and do lots of things which may screw up your water parameters take a look at this chart and see if your ammonia is really at toxic level or not.. as those test kits that we use measures total ammonia which is ammonia + ammonium and ammonia is the toxic one..

http://www.dataguru.org/misc/aquarium/AmmoniaTox.html

kennedy 19-01-2011 01:43 AM

thanks for sharing the link.

Hershley 19-01-2011 02:09 AM

Nice link on ammonia ... thumbs up for u

Spakase 19-01-2011 09:55 PM

If you notice, it is virtually impossible to kill fishes with ammonia poisoning if you maintain a low ph of 6.5.

Although it is published that nitrifying bacteria starts dying at ph below 6, there are also studies that they continue to function even at a ph of 5. There are various strains of Nitrosonomas and Nitrospiria, a stable ph (even at low levels) allows them to grow and perform their function. Nevertheless a ph of 6 to 7 should be safe, taking into account also the fishes' requirements, some tend to be more comfortable at the lower ph range, eg SA fishes including PB, whereas others prefer a higher ph eg CAs.
As for xb, reds, the range of 6 to 7 is perfectly fine.

Ryan Red 19-01-2011 10:03 PM

yes, amonia toxis when temp and ph at certain lvl reading. thanks for putting this awareness. up you. :D

fish grow well also factor on certain ph, temp.

ranmaru1987 19-01-2011 10:14 PM

Yes.. It's true that with pH below 6.5 it's virtually impossible to kill a fish.. Bu one thing hobbyist tends to forget is that nitrite though less toxic han ammonia, gets more toxic with increased pH.. So is it best to keep pH at 7? Although we can decrease the toxicity of nitrite with 0.3% salt concentration..

P.S I tried to find a table for nitrite toxicity but to no avail..

Ryan Red 19-01-2011 11:51 PM

.
Nitrite harmful to fish cause when it go through the fish grill it convert to methemoglobin (less oxygen or taken away oxygen). trying to simplify as below extract info from web.

if am wrong please correct it.





Nitrite is an intermediate compound in the nitrogen cycle and is converted to nitrate by the Nitrobacter bacteria of a healthy biological filter. In a freshwater tank, levels above 0.05 parts per million (ppm) will likely be harmful to the fish. The problem is common during the "new tank syndrome" after the ammonia has been converted to nitrite by Nitrosomonas bacteria. This usually occurs between weeks one and two of a cycling biological filter.

Nitrite enters the fish by crossing the gill membrane. Problems arise because nitrite is capable of oxidizing (chemically changing) hemoglobin to methemoglobin in the bloodstream. This condition is known as methemoglobinemia and can be fatal since methemoglobin is an inefficient carrier of oxygen.

Tiggy 20-01-2011 01:24 AM

Very much thanks to Ranmaru1987 for sharing this article. It is very interesting indeed!

Spakase 20-01-2011 02:09 AM

Quote:

Yes.. It's true that with pH below 6.5 it's virtually impossible to kill a fish..
This is a fact that many may not know about, the tables show clearly that many fears are purely speculative. It's like ghosts, one say one thing, every one gets paranoid. But there are actually no ghosts, at least I don't believe in them!
In an established tank, with a low ph, IMO there is no way for a fish to be poisoned by ammonia.
Having said that, in a new tank, there is a danger of ammonia poisoning if the situation is not well managed. Much depends on the bioload, monitoring, and remedial action.

Quote:

Bu one thing hobbyist tends to forget is that nitrite though less toxic han ammonia, gets more toxic with increased pH.. So is it best to keep pH at 7? Although we can decrease the toxicity of nitrite with 0.3% salt concentration..
There should not be nitrite in an established tank. One must always remember that nitrite comes about from the conversion from ammonia by Nitrosonomas. Nitrospiria is present to convert nitrite to nitrate. They are like twin cousins both Nitrosonomas and Nitrospiria, they exist together in the same filter media. Whatever is converted to nitrite is immediately converted to nitrate.
In an established tank, you don't have a situation whereby ammonia after being converted to nitrite will take time to be converted to nitrate.
You may have a situation whereby there is not enough nitrifying bacteria, in which case, the laggard will be ammonia. Never nitrite IMO. And ammonia is not poisonous as we have already seen, when the ph is kept low.
Having said that, in a new tank, nitrite is the biggest challenge because it takes a long time for Nitrospiria to be established and to reach peak performance in the filter.
But only during tank cycling.

Spakase 20-01-2011 02:18 AM

I don't know if my comments make sense.

The point I wanted to make is that a lot of what we believe in are actually very speculative and not true in real life. Here we have a scientific example.:p


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