Ammonia test advice

[Marmite]

Hi all,

This is my first post; I hope it’s in the correct place.

I am currently attempting to cycle a larger and a smaller tank. I started attempting a fishless cycle on the smaller (25 litres) for when my baby axolotls get a bit bigger. My problem has been that I cannot get a reading above minimal on my ammonia test. I’m in Germany and the only test I can find is the JBL drop test one. I’ve tested the tap water, household ammonia (25 percent) and the dosed small tank, where I used a calculator to work out how much ammonia to add and added 0.7ml at a time. I either get a minimal result or it stays clear- a 4/5ppm reading should be blue.

Do I have a bum test? Does it sound like I‘m doing something wrong? Should I order a different test from a different country? I‘m going insane not being able to properly start cycling.

Many thanks in advance for the advice.

 

[wolfen]

does the test say measures ammonia NH3 +NH4, or does it only test either NH3 or NH4. because the only jbl test kit I can find tests for ammonium (NH4). you need one that tests for TAN (total ammonia nitrogen, NH3 + NH4) as that is what you are trying to add at 4ppm. so no its not exactly a bum test it just only measures a fraction of the ammonia's. the jbl combi set has the full ammonia test but doesn't look like the seperate ones do. you can buy the api kits in germany but it looks like it has to be order only.

 

[Marmite]

does the test say measures ammonia NH3 +NH4, or does it only test either NH3 or NH4. because the only jbl test kit I can find tests for ammonium (NH4). you need one that tests for TAN (total ammonia nitrogen, NH3 + NH4) as that is what you are trying to add at 4ppm. so no its not exactly a bum test it just only measures a fraction of the ammonia's. the jbl combi set has the full ammonia test but doesn't look like the seperate ones do. you can buy the api kits in germany but it looks like it has to be order only.

Ah okay! I’ve read about the difference between the two and clearly didn’t understand properly. I’ll pick up the combi set.

Thank you very much for your reply!

 

[Marmite]

does the test say measures ammonia NH3 +NH4, or does it only test either NH3 or NH4. because the only jbl test kit I can find tests for ammonium (NH4). you need one that tests for TAN (total ammonia nitrogen, NH3 + NH4) as that is what you are trying to add at 4ppm. so no its not exactly a bum test it just only measures a fraction of the ammonia's. the jbl combi set has the full ammonia test but doesn't look like the seperate ones do. you can buy the api kits in germany but it looks like it has to be order only.

Just to update- I got a combined test and it worked as expected, so I’m back on track. Thanks so much for your help! I love it when there’s a simple solution