still waiting :/

G

grays

AC Members
May 7, 2009
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Hey guys and gals, I am still trying to get my fishless cycle started oddly enough lol. I have a 55 gallon tank and am trying to get the ammonia started.... every fish store if been to gives me the :headshake2: look when i try and explained the fisheless cycle and do not have ammonia to add. Thus i have turned to just adding fish food to hopefully get everything kicked off. Its been 4 days and ive added like a pack of fish food my ammonia is still 0. Tips or ways to add ammonia? should i just put some dead stuff in there? lol


P.s. my PH is off the chart at 8.5 and very hard water :(
 
You can buy a bottle of ammonia at a home improvement store, a drug store, probably even the grocery store. Get a small bottle and just make sure it is pure ammonia with no additives.
 
You can stop by a hardware store like Home Depot/Lowes/Ace Hardware, super markets like Shoprite/A&P/Stop&Shop, or maybe even stores like Walmart or Target to pick up some ammonia. Ammonia is used as a cleaning agent so make sure to check the ingredients only include ammonia and water. You can also do the shake test. Shake the bottle and if there are bubbles and suds, you don't want to buy that.

Add a capful and give it 30 mins to an hour to circulate in the tank and test your ammonia. You can then gauge how much you need to add to make it about 4-5 ppm.

Some people also put a raw shrimp in a media bag/stocking and let it decay to put ammonia into the tank. The bag and stocking keeps the decaying shrimp in the bag so there is no mess.


Hope that helps. =)

Someone beat me to it. -_-
 
lol ok will do. Also about my Ph / hardness / alkalinity they are all off the chart should i address this now or after the cycle? My water is well water and i know its very very hard.
 
ace hardware has a brand that has no surfactants in it 10% ammonia. its ace brand janatorial strength cleanner and works great. i was told to stay away from those containing scents and sufactants.
 
No need to worry about water hardness while you cycle the tank. The best way to lower the hardness is to mix in some RO or distilled water to your source. That may not be necessary however. Many folks keep softwater fish in hard water with high PH.
 
It took some doing to find what i was needing this morning thx for all the info guys. I hit up prolly 10 places in all and the shake test proved to be an awesome tip :)
 
ph = 8.5 + ( the test only shows upto 8.5 )
Alkalinity = 300 + ( the test only shows upto 300 )
Hardness = 300 + ( the test only shows upto 300 )
 
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