So i got back into fish keeping after taking a few years away, ive got the tank running and fishless cycling, i have a good amount of plants and moss, i have spent a good amount of time scaping the tank and do not want to tear it apart, so i had noticed that the cycle was going slow its been going a little over a week only eating a small amount of ammonia, i did some scaping tonight and did a 50 % water change to make it easier to get my plants and moss set up, when i went back to dose the tank i accidently shake the bottle and notice it foams up, so im sure it has some sort of sufracant(spelling) in it... is this a lost cause or can i just do some water changes to get all the ammonia out and try to find a pure ammonia, i used to get mine from ACE but they dont sell unscented in stores near me anymore
Great value clear ammonia
- Thread starter NeverFadeAway86
- Start date
I started my very first fishless cycle in late 2001 or early 2002. I did not know any better, i.e. had not read that surfactants might be an issue, so I used ammonia with them but nothing else. The way we did fishless back then was adding ammonia drops/gallon, What I learned, quite by accident.=, was that the surfactants did not matter, Now understand I did two things during the cycle. The first was I ran carbon during it and the second was at the end I did a huge, (about 90%) water change. I had no issues when this was followed by fully stocking the tank.
When I was finally clued into the use of surfactants, I did some research, The amount of surfactant in ammonia is quite small. When I then tried to calculate exactly how many ppms of surfactants were actually going into my tank, it was incredibly small. I was dosin 3 or 4 drops of ammonia per 10 gals of water.
The above said, I am not telling anybody to do what I did, you will have to make that decision for yourself. I did cycle a number of tanks this way before I became a bit of a nut about cycling and the microorganisms involved. The result of that was I found a better way- ammonium chloride. For those of us whp lack lab skills, Dr, Timothy Hovanec sells ammonium chloride for cycling. His original product used one or two drops per gallon but the current version requires 4 drops per gallon. For larger tanks it becomes easier dosing milliliters.
Since then I have penned three articlle on cycling for another site similar to AC. One was a foolproof fishless cycling method- as long as one adheres to the directions. The other two deal with how to rescue a fish in cycle gone wild.
For years when I was proned to setting up new tanks fast or selling as fish events I would have my own bio-farm going for cycling new filters and keeping cucled filters that way when I shut down tanks. Every time I restart the farm, I use both Dr. Hovanec's bottled bacteria and ammonium chloride.
One note- while I would accept ammonia which contains surfactatns- I would bever use any ammonia which is scented or which contains more than surfactants.
When I was finally clued into the use of surfactants, I did some research, The amount of surfactant in ammonia is quite small. When I then tried to calculate exactly how many ppms of surfactants were actually going into my tank, it was incredibly small. I was dosin 3 or 4 drops of ammonia per 10 gals of water.
The above said, I am not telling anybody to do what I did, you will have to make that decision for yourself. I did cycle a number of tanks this way before I became a bit of a nut about cycling and the microorganisms involved. The result of that was I found a better way- ammonium chloride. For those of us whp lack lab skills, Dr, Timothy Hovanec sells ammonium chloride for cycling. His original product used one or two drops per gallon but the current version requires 4 drops per gallon. For larger tanks it becomes easier dosing milliliters.
Since then I have penned three articlle on cycling for another site similar to AC. One was a foolproof fishless cycling method- as long as one adheres to the directions. The other two deal with how to rescue a fish in cycle gone wild.
For years when I was proned to setting up new tanks fast or selling as fish events I would have my own bio-farm going for cycling new filters and keeping cucled filters that way when I shut down tanks. Every time I restart the farm, I use both Dr. Hovanec's bottled bacteria and ammonium chloride.
One note- while I would accept ammonia which contains surfactatns- I would bever use any ammonia which is scented or which contains more than surfactants.
Just to add to the above, what does the ingredient list on the ammonia bottle show?
When I did my first fishless cycle in ~2012, the only bottled household ammonia I could find that listed only ammonia and water on the bottle was sold at my local Dollar store. I forget the name brand. I did list it on this site before.
When I did my first fishless cycle in ~2012, the only bottled household ammonia I could find that listed only ammonia and water on the bottle was sold at my local Dollar store. I forget the name brand. I did list it on this site before.
Water ammonium edta akleyle docedyl ben sulfanate.....
I have not notice any suds in the tank at all, the only reason i spotted it was because i saw white foam in the bottle after it got shook a little
I have not notice any suds in the tank at all, the only reason i spotted it was because i saw white foam in the bottle after it got shook a little
EDTA is used as a sufactant, among other uses.
Here is an example of a usable store brand ammonia
https://www.instacart.com/stop-shop/products/3192675-sb-clear-ammonia-all-purpose-cleaner-64-fl-oz
I would suggest you find another brand of ammonia which does not contain. Better yet, get this
https://www.amazon.com/DrTims-Aquatics-Ammonium-Chloride-Solution/dp/B006MP4QG6?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_9
or
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017A572NK/ref=dp_cerb_1
from https://www.britannica.com/science/alkylbenzene-sulfonate
Here is an example of a usable store brand ammonia
https://www.instacart.com/stop-shop/products/3192675-sb-clear-ammonia-all-purpose-cleaner-64-fl-oz
I would suggest you find another brand of ammonia which does not contain. Better yet, get this
https://www.amazon.com/DrTims-Aquatics-Ammonium-Chloride-Solution/dp/B006MP4QG6?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_9
or
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017A572NK/ref=dp_cerb_1
I for sure will not be using the ammonia any further it was only dosed once and less than a teaspoon... i am looking into fishys suggestion at the dollar stores and if that doesnt work ill look into those suggested for online purchase, i just obviously dont want to waste time or money buying fish or shrimp and they die because i was a dodohead for a day lol
This is the ammonia i just bought at dollar general not the one i already used
^ That looks good to me. It's clear, not foaming and as as long as it's not scented, you should be good to go. I just remembered the one I bought from the dollar store was Austin's brand. This was years ago so I'm sure brands have changed. It's too bad you're 300+ miles away from me. I'd give you a bag of bio media and you'd be good to stock.
I had a nice big bottle of ammonia from ace, when we moved 3 years ago i got rid of my tanks so im sure i tossed the bottle... i went back to ace to get a new bottle but then only carry one that says clean scent on it