Ammonia Used For Fishless Cycling
Sorting out Ammonia for Fishless Cycling
There seems to be more of a discussion on fishless cycling on a daily basis as fish keepers become more and more knowledgeable about the hobby they enjoy. One of the problems that a lot of fish keepers have is figuring out what type of ammonia to purchase to complete your fishless cycle and where to purchase it.
You most likely are not going to find ammonia at your local fish store or chain fish store as there overhead would make there price much more expensive then your big box store so they probably wouldn’t sell much. Just about any department store, grocery store, or discount store will carry ammonia. It will almost always be found with household cleaners, usually with floor cleaners such as Pine Sol and Lysol. Some of you may think how could I put something that I use to clean my floors into my fish tank? Won’t it harm my fish when I put them in? The answer is no. Ammonia is a natural element that is great for cleaning and disinfecting. It’s found in many household cleaning products such as window cleaner but it is also a by product of all organic waste. Urine and Feces contain a good amount of ammonia (including your fish's wastes) which is why we must cycle our tanks in the first place, so that the bacteria that breaks down the ammonia has a chance to develop in the tank.
As far as what kind of ammonia to purchase, you want to get one that is pure ammonia and water without any scents or cleansers in it. If the label says that it has chelating agents in it then it is generally considered ok and has been successfully used by members on this site. Make sure the ammonia doesn’t create suds when you shake it. If it does then there is most likely soap or surfactants in it. Make sure you do not use ammonia with surfactants or cleansers in it as it will harm your fish! Another thing to look for on the bottle of ammonia is that it doesn’t contain phosphates which will turn your water cloudy and possibly harm your fish if it is concentrated enough. If you can, look for a bottle that lists the ingredients. Basically what you want to find is a product that is just ammonia and water. If there is no ingredients listed on the bottle you intend to purchase then you may want to call the distributor to find out what chemical’s are in the ammonia or if there is no number write them or look them up on a website. A store may have an MSDS or Material Safety Data Sheet for chemicals that there employee’s will be working around or with. It may not hurt to ask the manager of a store if they do in fact have one for the ammonia that they sell and if they do if you could look at it. It will have the chemical analysis on it. If the store doesn’t have one then the manufacturer or distributor is required to send you one free of charge by law.
A sure fire way to make sure you are getting the right stuff is to purchase pure Ammonium Chloride which is extremely concentrated ammonia. If you do a search for it on your favorite search engine you will find lots of online retailers that sell it. You wont need much, however will have to find out what the dilution rate with water should be to make household strength cleanser from the distributor. By using ammonium chloride, there will be no doubt that you have the right stuff.
Here is a list of links to types of ammonia that other members have had luck using to fishless cycle their tank, and also a few links links to sites where you can purchase Ammonium Chloride.
Links to Ammonia that has been used for fishless cycle
Ace Ammonia
Great Value Ammonia
Kleenoff Ammonia
Links to Ammonium Chloride
http://www.sciencelab.com/page/S/PVAR/10408/SLA3415
http://secure.sciencecompany.com/pr...Product_ID=6378
Some images of safe ammonia:
The information in this article has compiled from the posts made in the Ammonia Solution Thread that was a sticky in General Freshwater. I would like to give all the members who posted in it credit. Thank you AC members !
Here is a link to the thread from which this information was taken.
Ammonia, Hard to Find -- Poss Solution?
Sorting out Ammonia for Fishless Cycling
There seems to be more of a discussion on fishless cycling on a daily basis as fish keepers become more and more knowledgeable about the hobby they enjoy. One of the problems that a lot of fish keepers have is figuring out what type of ammonia to purchase to complete your fishless cycle and where to purchase it.
You most likely are not going to find ammonia at your local fish store or chain fish store as there overhead would make there price much more expensive then your big box store so they probably wouldn’t sell much. Just about any department store, grocery store, or discount store will carry ammonia. It will almost always be found with household cleaners, usually with floor cleaners such as Pine Sol and Lysol. Some of you may think how could I put something that I use to clean my floors into my fish tank? Won’t it harm my fish when I put them in? The answer is no. Ammonia is a natural element that is great for cleaning and disinfecting. It’s found in many household cleaning products such as window cleaner but it is also a by product of all organic waste. Urine and Feces contain a good amount of ammonia (including your fish's wastes) which is why we must cycle our tanks in the first place, so that the bacteria that breaks down the ammonia has a chance to develop in the tank.
As far as what kind of ammonia to purchase, you want to get one that is pure ammonia and water without any scents or cleansers in it. If the label says that it has chelating agents in it then it is generally considered ok and has been successfully used by members on this site. Make sure the ammonia doesn’t create suds when you shake it. If it does then there is most likely soap or surfactants in it. Make sure you do not use ammonia with surfactants or cleansers in it as it will harm your fish! Another thing to look for on the bottle of ammonia is that it doesn’t contain phosphates which will turn your water cloudy and possibly harm your fish if it is concentrated enough. If you can, look for a bottle that lists the ingredients. Basically what you want to find is a product that is just ammonia and water. If there is no ingredients listed on the bottle you intend to purchase then you may want to call the distributor to find out what chemical’s are in the ammonia or if there is no number write them or look them up on a website. A store may have an MSDS or Material Safety Data Sheet for chemicals that there employee’s will be working around or with. It may not hurt to ask the manager of a store if they do in fact have one for the ammonia that they sell and if they do if you could look at it. It will have the chemical analysis on it. If the store doesn’t have one then the manufacturer or distributor is required to send you one free of charge by law.
A sure fire way to make sure you are getting the right stuff is to purchase pure Ammonium Chloride which is extremely concentrated ammonia. If you do a search for it on your favorite search engine you will find lots of online retailers that sell it. You wont need much, however will have to find out what the dilution rate with water should be to make household strength cleanser from the distributor. By using ammonium chloride, there will be no doubt that you have the right stuff.
Here is a list of links to types of ammonia that other members have had luck using to fishless cycle their tank, and also a few links links to sites where you can purchase Ammonium Chloride.
Links to Ammonia that has been used for fishless cycle
Ace Ammonia
Great Value Ammonia
Kleenoff Ammonia
Links to Ammonium Chloride
http://www.sciencelab.com/page/S/PVAR/10408/SLA3415
http://secure.sciencecompany.com/pr...Product_ID=6378
Some images of safe ammonia:
The information in this article has compiled from the posts made in the Ammonia Solution Thread that was a sticky in General Freshwater. I would like to give all the members who posted in it credit. Thank you AC members !
Here is a link to the thread from which this information was taken.
Ammonia, Hard to Find -- Poss Solution?
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