Ammonia Question

[johnnywortho]

as i know its hard to find ammonia where i live so i had a look on ebay and seen this add for "Ammonium Chloride 400g Tank Nitrogen Cycler sal ammonia" now in the description is says


Ammonium Chloride (sal ammoniac) 400g Non Hazardous

NH4Cl

Technical grade

Supplied in 400g euro spec sealed (resealable) container.

Safety data sheet Included

Used as a solder flux, anti caking agent, cosmetics and personal care products and bakery, and for cycling new fish tanks to establish the nitrogen cycle, to prepare it for fish.

now would this be suitable for cycling my new fish tank? as i have waited a couple of days for the sand to settle down and the water to clear. all i need now is the ammonia to get started with the cycle. thanks john

 

[LosC519]

For cycling you need pure ammonia but others may work.

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, I believe the household clear ammonia virtually all of us get from the grocery or hardware store to do our fishless cycling is ammonium hydroxide (about 5-10% in distilled water.) If you search for and read the many fishless cycling articles out on the web, you will find that ammonium chloride is actually thought to be a superior source of ammonia for fishless cycling (having less effect on pH or something like that.) Its just that usually just finding the bottles of clear household ammonia is easier and less hassle. I believe the ammonium chloride is often a powder/crystals (?) and I'm not sure how it would need to be mixed up to make the right solution (of course maybe its just as easy, maybe you just try small measured amounts of it and then test your ammonia ppm!)

~~waterdrop~~