I've been having a hell of a time finding ammonia to do my fishless cycle, but today I was able to find a bottle at the grocery store, but i'm just curious if it is safe to use. In the "Fishless Cycling" thread they list what ingredients the ammonia you purchase should have, but unforuntely there are no ingredients anywhere on this bottle, so i'm not sure. Anyway it's just a no name brand ammonia that's an "All-Purpose Cleaner". When I got home I tested it with my ammonia kit and the water turned orange basically, so it's at least pretty strongly concentrated.
I havn't added any to my tank yet though, as I figured it would be better to check in here first to see if it was ok to use.

Tha Ammonia i used was in a clear brown bottle with no ingredients, all i did was to shake it, if it foams, it wont work. A few air bubbles that disappear immediately are ok.
This is what rdd says in the fishless cycling thread.

I just shook it and it foamed up, so i'm guessing it's useless?

Unfortuntely I just found out that what I said about not adding any yet was only half true. I went out to shake the bottle to see if it would foam up, and when I did my mom told me that she had added the ammonia for me already...I tested the ammonia in the water and it's reading at the highest level now. Should I just let it go and work itself out on it's own, or should I do a full water change?

I would definitely not add any more, sorry i cant be of anymore help. Still learning myself.

Hopefully Miss Wiggle, waterdrop, or others with more experience will help out.

I'd do a big water change...like as much as possible and clean everything REALLY well...foaming I believe means cleaning agents have been added and will contaminate everything....just start over with fresh water....if it foamed up its bad. However I am a newbie too ...I think Im right tho.

Frig, I was hoping you wouldn't say that...Ya it foamed up pretty bad, in fact the bottle is still quite foamed up from when I shook it.

Sorry WillyRBeek but, ihave to agree with Lioness. Although i am no expert i think you should completely empty the water and thoroughly clean everything.

Would the gravel need to be cleaned as well? It's only a 25 gallon tank, so while it'll be a pain in the ass to do this, it won't be TOO bad as long as I don't need to clean the gravel as well...

I think the advice you have received sounds correct. In North America, where there is frequently no ingredient list for a cleaning agent like ammonia (unfortunately), your only recourse is to look and see if it is clear, you don't smell fragrances (which might be added) and then the shake test. When you fairly gently, you should only see bubbles like you would see if it were water, those that go away almost immediately. If you see a foam that persists, you are seeing the effect of a surfactant (SURFace ACTing AgeNT - sort of bridges the gap between water and organics and is commonly used in soap!) and there is a strong possibility this is not good for your aquarium.

Not sure a little added by your mother would be bad enough to warrant gravel cleaning (other members, any idea?), but it certainly couldn't hurt to go ahead and go through the small hassle of scooping it out to a bucket and rinsing in tap water.

Sorry about your troubles finding the right stuff. In my case it was right in the grocery store and dirt cheap, never even went on a search. Wouldn't it be great if we could figure out who bottles this stuff for grocery stores and whether there is some online distributor or something?

~~waterdrop~~

Well i've already went through and did a complete water change, took out all the ornaments, pump, heater and air stones and soaked them in hot, hot water, and filled the tank back up and got it all back up and running before I seen your message. Meaning i'm not about to go scooping out all the gravel now, lol. I've been on a serious search for about a week now for some place to buy ammonia(Why don't pet stores carry this?) but until today i've been unsuccessful, it seems quite hard to find around here. I'm going to have a look at a few more places after work tomorrow, and if I have no luck at any of those places, i'm just gonna unplug the heater and cycle the tank with goldfish, then when that's finished, plug the heater back in and throw the goldfish in the pond out back.

if your in the US walmart carries the right stuff...I had a heck of a time finding the right one too. I will say this tho..do NOT rely on the shake test ONLY. I picked up a bottle with no ingredient list and shook it...nothing. Got it home and DID find an ingredient list..it had surfactants in it even tho it DIDNT foam. Worth spending the time and effort to find the right stuff hon.

I also want to add this....being a newbie I dont know if I am right or not but here's my concern. I know soaps can alot of times leave a residue on anything they touch...meaning your gravel as well. and sadly...I'd worry about the filter media too because there is no way of knowing what residue was left behind during filtering where you want the bacterias to grow. HOPEFULLY someone who knows more will come along and answer that. It will REALLY suck if something left behind by one little dose of the wrong ammonia slows your cycle down.....Im on day infinity with my cycle and trust me, it sucks to have one take so long when you DONT know why...you'd really kick yourself in the tush if it takes longer because of not cleaning everything up right.

This post has been edited by LionessN3cubs: Jun 2 2008, 10:52 PM

Not in all locations - the only ammonia the Wal Marts around mid-Michigan carry has a surfactant in it.

Try hardware stores, though. That's where I finally managed to find it among metal cleaners.