Ammonia hydroxide or chloride?
- Thread starter Swiftwind
- Start date
dont add amonnium chloride... very nasty stuff. it is ammoina enhansed by concentrated chlorine. they are chemicaly bonded, so even water dechlorinator might not get rid of the chlorine.
i personaly only feel comfortable with using a bit of fish food. you might have to wait a few days longer, but its the only true safe way i know, for things could exist in the comercial products.
i personaly only feel comfortable with using a bit of fish food. you might have to wait a few days longer, but its the only true safe way i know, for things could exist in the comercial products.
i dont know why they would want to do that, but im pretty sure they are using the ammonia hydroxide, not much better, for it contains some trace chemicals, but if you are cycleing a 30 gallon or smaller, even small ammounts can be dangerous.
i still think you should go with the food or just buy biospira and fish
i still think you should go with the food or just buy biospira and fish
are you talking about ammonium hydroxide?? I used NH4 when I was a janitor..nasty stuff that extra hysdrogen molecule made it very dangerous to work with (required an air filter)
typically we worked with aqueous ammonia .
typically we worked with aqueous ammonia .
Yes, sorry.. Ammonium hydroxide. I heard it's better to use ammonium chloride when doing a fishless cycle. So I should just skip the ammonuim and go straight for fish food? I've read a lot of posts on this forum about people adding ammonium/ammonia to start off their cycling process.
I'm not a chemist, but I play one on TV.
I use clear ammonia from Wal-mart (great valvue brand) ingredients are Ammonia, water, and cheleating agents. Any Clear ammonia should work, but watch out for surfactants scents and anti mildew agents. Most folks say shake it and if it sudses up don't use it. I prefer to read the ingredients personally.
Ammonia dosing gives you a much more precise control over your fishless cycle, and takes a lot of the guesswork out of it. fish food will work, but it's really hit and miss and comes with it's own problems.
For more detail this article will clarify, and roan had a stickey here on ammonia sources which outlined many proven safe brands.
Cycling
I use clear ammonia from Wal-mart (great valvue brand) ingredients are Ammonia, water, and cheleating agents. Any Clear ammonia should work, but watch out for surfactants scents and anti mildew agents. Most folks say shake it and if it sudses up don't use it. I prefer to read the ingredients personally.
Ammonia dosing gives you a much more precise control over your fishless cycle, and takes a lot of the guesswork out of it. fish food will work, but it's really hit and miss and comes with it's own problems.
For more detail this article will clarify, and roan had a stickey here on ammonia sources which outlined many proven safe brands.
Cycling
Ahhh I had that article saved to my favourites but for some reason the page wasn't showing up anymore. I've been trying to look for it for a couple of days.
So it is just 100% pure ammonia I should buy? I only have 1 hour before I can go and buy some (on my lunch break!).
So it is just 100% pure ammonia I should buy? I only have 1 hour before I can go and buy some (on my lunch break!).
I just went to the supermarket (huge one, 3 or 4 levels) an hour ago and had a look around for an ammonia product but couldn't find one. I even asked a shop assistant, and they had no idea what I was taking about! They didn't know what ammonia was! 
So, next best thing I guess.. I got some tropical fishfood. Oh well.. guess I'll have to have a look somewhere else. Maybe a hardware store? Hmm..
So, next best thing I guess.. I got some tropical fishfood. Oh well.. guess I'll have to have a look somewhere else. Maybe a hardware store? Hmm..