Arghhh Ammonia!

[randyttp]

Okay.. So I got my new 10gal all setup and its been running for about 4-5 days... I have this tank to do a strictly 'neon tetra' tank...
But of course I wanna try and do my first ever "fishless cycle" however I cant find ammonia... Anywhere... The closest I can find says 'Pure Ammonia' yet the ingrediants say "Ammonium Hydroxide and Surfactant".. I'm thinking this wouldnt be good to use.
I dont know what to do, and am about to give up on the fishless cycle.. But I dont wanna just throw some fish in there and hope for the best...
Whats the safest possible way to get my tank started???...If I must use fish.

 

[diademhill]

Whats the safest possible way to get my tank started???...If I must use fish.

Dead prawn

 

[Torrean]

1. Get filter media from a healthy tank and seed your tank with beneficial bacteria. This will exponentially decrease your cycle time. gravel and ornaments also carry a good bit of ben. bact. but not nearly as much.

2. Go to the store and buy a cycling aid. There are several different cycling aids. Some of excellent repute and some considered not so hot.

2A BIOSPIRA is generally considered to be a great cycling aid. It is refrigerated and you can fully stock your tank immediatly. It claims to cycle a tank in 24 hours but this seems to vary from case to case

2B biozyme and other cycling aids which are not refrigerated and do not have a shelf life. These cycling aids are iffy. I've heard of them working great and also of them not working at all. Apparently the bacteria has a dormant stage or something...anyway I wouldn't personally recommend them but many people swear by them.

2C Ben. Bact.... some stores sell ceramic balls that have ben. bact. colonized on them allready. These should work beautifully as long as the tank they come from is healthy and they are shipped to your house in water. I make aquarium ornaments and I'm testing them to see if I can use them for this.

3 Ammolock. This stuff supposedly locks up the ammonia into a harmless form that the bacteria can still consume. This keeps your cycle going while keeping your fish safe from ammonia poisoning. However I am not aware of an nI-lock so I would not recommend this method of cycling a tank

4 waterchanges... you can always go the old fashioned route =)...buy some test kits (which you should do anyway) and test your water atleast bidaily. If the levels get up to .5-1 then do a 20% water change. This makes your cycle take much longer because you are constantly removing the ammonia that keeps the cycle going. But lots of people use this method.