Ammonia

[Robris]

Hi all, I just bought a bottle of Ammonia from Woolworths (a major supermarket chain in australia) and I just wanted to ask some of you if you believe it is just water and ammonia and if it will do. Here is a picture of the bottle I bought below. It only cost me $1.28 AUD for 1 litre, pretty dam cheap lol. It is called "cloudy ammonia".

On the back of the bottle it just says how much you should use if your using it for cleaning, laundry, etc. There is definitly no ingredients on the back. On the front as you can see in the picture it writes "Contains 20g/L Ammonia (as NH3)".

My question is do you think this is the right stuff to use to cycle my tank? Is there any additives? I dont see why not but I thought I would ask you guys anyway, thanks Rob.

 

[postmanpaul]

hi mate
are you completely mad put that stuff in and you will kill your mother in law its not what you want to cycle a tank just let it go naturally wait at least 2 weeks the amonia will build up but once the bacteria in your pump comes alive it will take over that picture of amonia is something i would clean my toilet with.

 

[Lynda B]

Wow, that was blunt....

I've seen where people recommend that you purchase 100% ammonia, too, but don't know what the bottle looks like. Not sure why yours is called "cloudy" ammonia. Can't be a good thing.

 

[doresy]

Ignor that post from postmanpaul.

You are obviously starting a fishless cycle and ammonia is what you need. This stuff however may be pure ammonia but why use 'cloudy' stuff? It will fog up your tank. Can you not locate clear stuff. Here in the UK we get it in the major DIY stores in the Household Dept.

Anyhow, have you given it a good shake....if it foams up then deffinately the wrong stuff

 

[rdd1952]

Don't use the cloudy ammonia. Unfortunately, I'm not sure where in Australia you can get "pure" ammonia. In essence, "pure" ammonia I believe is actually a gas and not a liquid. What you re looking for is ammonia that the ingredients are only water and ammonia. Chleating agents are ok if it lists them as they are just binding agents that keep the water and ammonia "mixed'. The best test is to shake the bottle, if it foams, it has detergents and won't work. A few air bubbles that immediately burst are ok.

 

[OohFeeshy]

What size tank are you cycling? Thereoretically it should be fine to cycle with if you do a 100% water change afterwards and use carbon for a while.

 

[Robris]

Alright thanks I have no idea what it looks like and forgot that it should be completly clear, this is all there was in the household cleaning section anyway.



*ps, can someone help postman paul pull the carrot that is stuck up his backside?*

 

[Amunet]

Looks like the top has a foam on it? If so, don't use it.
Pure ammonia will only get a few air bubbles when shaken that goes away quickly. Any sort of foam means it's not pure.

 

[Robris]

if fish shops dont sell it, my supermarket dont sell it, i just checked a hardware store today and they didnt have it, how am I meant to do a fishless cycle lol

 

[Amunet]

I've read on another site, that you can use raw shrimp or raw fish (the kind we eat). Take a chunk of it and put it into the tank and let it decompose.
I've never tryed this and never heard of anyone trying it though so not sure just how reliable this method is.
Easier way.. you can use flake fish food.
Just put a few flakes into the tank every day I think and as the food rots it released ammonia into the water. To help keep the mess down, you could like float a net or something in the tank and put the flakes into it. That way the food will still be in the water, but in the end you won't have a huge mess to clean up b/c it'll all be in the net