where to find the right ammonia?
- Thread starter ara35
- Start date
it may smell, but it is a tried and true method. takes a bit longer, however, since the food has to decompose before it creates the ammonia needed.
The coomonly accepted advice is to use pure ammonia. My experience has been different. I dont use scented ammonia nor one with any soap type products added. However, I have always used ammonia that says "surficants". This is stuff that will make the ammonia foam some when shaken.
No, I don't want surficants in my tank and here is how I have always handled it. Because there are no fish in the tank, the surficants cant harm them. By doing waterchanges regularly during the cycle, it minimizes the build up of the surficants. When the tank has finally cycled, I do one last huge water change and then drop a lot of fresh carbon into the filter(s). This seems to remove most, if not all of the surficants and in go the fish.
One note, the amount of surficants needed to do the job for which they are added is very very small. I have read articles saying as little as 0.005%.
Most recently this past summer I used this method on two Q tanks. In one I put 6 each sidthimunki loaches and 6 choprae danios. I am currently raising a number of choprae fry that were a suprise. The other tank was used to move a pair of angels into trying to get a spawn. They spawned twice but unfortunately ate the eggs.
This has been my personal experience. It works for me. You may or may not want to risk it.
No, I don't want surficants in my tank and here is how I have always handled it. Because there are no fish in the tank, the surficants cant harm them. By doing waterchanges regularly during the cycle, it minimizes the build up of the surficants. When the tank has finally cycled, I do one last huge water change and then drop a lot of fresh carbon into the filter(s). This seems to remove most, if not all of the surficants and in go the fish.
One note, the amount of surficants needed to do the job for which they are added is very very small. I have read articles saying as little as 0.005%.
Most recently this past summer I used this method on two Q tanks. In one I put 6 each sidthimunki loaches and 6 choprae danios. I am currently raising a number of choprae fry that were a suprise. The other tank was used to move a pair of angels into trying to get a spawn. They spawned twice but unfortunately ate the eggs.
This has been my personal experience. It works for me. You may or may not want to risk it.