Wondering how to get 5 ppm of ammonia in new 45 gal tank

The easiest way to accomplish that is to add a little bit of ammonia, let it circulate about one hour and test the water.

Depending on your results, you'll know how much else to put in. For example, if you added 4 spoons of ammonia and obtained a reading of 3ppm, you'll need about 3 more spoons to get to 5ppm.

Using a formula can be theoretically useful, but in practice it might fail, since ammonia concentration may vary from one product ot another. Also, the amount of water you have in your tank will not be exactly the tank rated capacity, depending on your gravel, decorations, water level and filter capacity.

Don't worry if you go a little over 5ppm. If your concentration gets too high, just change a proportional amount of water and retest.

Remeber to use clear ammonia. Avoid mixed products that contain other ingredients.

Good luck on your new tank. Be patient and do a complete cycle b4 adding any fish or plant.

its also ok if your a little under. anywhere from 4-6 should be fine for a fishless cycle.

the only things in the ammonia should be "Water, Ammonia, and Chelating agent" anything else is harmful to the fish.

Actually, the best way to tell if the ammonia is good is to shake it. If it foams, it's no good. Don't use it.

A lot of manufacturers do not list surfacants on the label, even when the product has them.

Roan

where do you find a surfactantless ammonia? i was looking but cant find it.

The problem in recommending a brand is the formulations can change without notice. The Ace Hardware brand Janitorial Strength Ammonia was just ammonia and water the last time I bought it.

lol cool i have been looking for it at walmarts and publix all have surfactants and all this time i just had to go a block from my house to the ace lol.