what type of Ammonia?

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StevieM

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I am looking into starting another tank soon, and I want to fishless cycle it. I did some looking around for clear Ammonia of the highest concentration I could find. The only place I found any was at a Wal-Mart type grocery store in my area. Has anyone used PARSON's ( sp.?) clear ammonia to do this? I know if you shake it , the good stuff you should really look for will not bubble , right? Well , Parson's does....and its the only bottle I could find , even in hardware stores. If anyone has any experience with Parson's or any type of over the counter clear ammonia , you answers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

steve

PS, I live in the Niagara Falls / Buffalo area of western New York. Those of you who have fishless cycling experience , if you can throw a store name out there where I can look in my area....that would be swell also!!
 
You're looking for the plainest household-strength NH3, without "lemon-fresh" scent, bubbles, or other ingredients. (There will be some stabilizer that's unavoidable, apparently.) Non-sudsing Parson's should be fine.

Don't add ammonia beyond 5 ppm. You can't give it a speed-up jolt. So a stronger strength isn't an advantage.

Good luck. You've read Chis Cow's articles on fishless cycling...
 
thanks for the reply....that's about what I figured. My other two tanks I cycled were of the fishy variety so I thought I would give the "less" option a try. I will re-read all materials I have gathered on the subject and give it a shot. Thanks again

steve
 
Try this

Cross the border into Canada and try a Canadian Tire or one of our discount grocery stores. The brand I bought over here was "Amex Clear Ammonia", made by Colgate Palmolive. It does not foam up when shaken, it is fairly strong and quite cheap.
 
Chela-what?

I've gotten certain ammonia-based products at pet stores designed specifically for fishless cycling (can't recall the name though). Expensive, and a rip off no doubt, but I wasn't sure if the other ammonia I had was usable.

The grocery store bought one was labeled 'Clear Ammonia' and the only other ingredient was a 'chelating agent'. Is that safe or relevant for aquarium use? It didn't fizz at all...
 
I looked in 2 or 3 Home Depot's for the sauce before I found it in a Shop Rite supermarket. I got the store brand "Clear Ammonia". Your in Wegman's country, aren't you? Try there. In the cleaning aisle. Cheap, the plainer the better. You'll get some bubbles -- a bit like shaking water, takes a few moments longer to clear. You don't want suds. It should clear in a few seconds.

Don't worry about the strength. I've cycled a 30 and (almost finished) a 10 and I'm still a good bit from the bottom of the handle. I'd guess you could cycle a 2 or 3 100g's with just the one jug.

Just in case you haven't come across it yet, this is the classic Chris Cow article on fishless.
 
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