Fredericksburg, Va Area Ammonia Source

[unknowntbeast]

For crying out loud! I've been driving to nearly every store in the town and I still haven't found a place that carries ammonia without any of the other toxins in it. On place had it but not list of ingredents, it had a leak and spilled on my hands. So If you are in Northern VA, perferable no further than Spotsy and you found some good cycling ammonia, please tell me were you got it from!

 

[OldMan47]

There is a True Value store in Ashland VA. I don't know where Fredericksburg or Ashland are but it is listed as 41 miles from you. I just Googled Ace True value locations and put in Fredericksburg, VA. I find the True Value stores all seem to carry the right ammonia in their cleaning productsa aisle. You might want to check them out before driving that far though. Their phone is listed in the same Google response as 800-642-7392.

 

[dthoffsett]

Looks like you have 3 Walmarts, I've used their Great Value brand ammonia before, just be sure to get the clear version.

 

[unknowntbeast]

Looks like you have 3 Walmarts, I've used their Great Value brand ammonia before, just be sure to get the clear version.

The type I saw at Wal-Mart had surfacants in it.

 

[OldMan47]

I agree unknowntbeast. I have never seen anything like pure ammonia at a Wal-mart. That is why I googled Ace / True Value.

 

[unknowntbeast]

I agree unknowntbeast. I have never seen anything like pure ammonia at a Wal-mart. That is why I googled Ace / True Value.

Well I just got back from another 4 stores who didn't carry it...I went to Earl's True Value earlier today and they had ammonia, but it didn't list the ingredants, so I didn't take the risk. It did however have a leak and got on my hands! It seems like Ace may be the only place, I will call them in the morning. In the mean time the tank temp is around 85 F right now, I set the heater to 89 F so it should be ready in the morning. And the tank is getting a lot more bubbly. I have an air pump and the filter running, so I got pleanty of aeration.

 

[rdd1952]

I've bought SeaBreeze brand at Walmart before. I've also bought it at Food Lion (grocery store) but don't knwo if they have those in VA or not.

 

[unknowntbeast]

Nope, just got back from Food Lion and they don't carry it, just the same old stuff with surfacants.

 

[unknowntbeast]

Thos is the stuff I found at Ace, It seems like the same type, but just different label design. It says it contains no phosphates, but nothing else about it except on the front it says it contains 10% ammonium hydroxide, so I assume the other 90% is water, right? If so I will start cycling today!

http/s294.photobucket.com/albums/mm101/u...ent=ammonia.jpg

 

[unknowntbeast]

Also should I keep decorations in the tank or take them out for cycling?

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, virtually all the "pure household ammonia" products we use successfully to fishless cycle are actually "aqueous ammonia" with mostly pure water and a lesser percentage of ammonia. The usual percentage is around 9 or 10 percent although its often less in the USA and one should never trust the percentage listed on the bottle because as soon as you open it, it begins to gas out and change. So always do your own little tests with your ammonia test kit to see what concentration you are "really" getting for a given dosing amount. The bottle percentage used with the ammonia calculator is a good "starting point" though. The adventure of "Finding" your ammonia is all part of the fun.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[unknowntbeast]

Great scot! I put in 10 drops to get to 1 ppm! At this rate it will be around 50 drops!

 

[waterdrop]

Great scot! I put in 10 drops to get to 1 ppm! At this rate it will be around 50 drops!

Right, I actually worked with individual drops at first too, but later graduated to "squirts" of my eyedropper, once I felt confident and realized that high accuracy was not needed in the process. Note that typical "teaspoons" hold a pretty set amount and can be your "larger" quantity device. Best of all, getting quantity-marked syringes from your pharmacy is the ultimate way to go or perhaps lab pipettes if you have access to those. It won't take long to get a feel for what quantity results in each one ppm or in the 5ppm you'll be using a lot initially.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[rdd1952]

Best rule of thumb is 1ml per 5 gallons to raise the level to 5 ppm. My API test tube are 5ml to the line so I just measure with those rather than counting drops.

 

[unknowntbeast]

Well it took quite a bit to get it up. I wish there were "inbetween" colors for API tests. All I can really say for sure is, that it is above 4 ppm and below 8 ppm. Water temp is at 90 F. Pleanty of bubbling. Should I add planting? What kind? How much? What about decor? Leave it out or put it in so bacteria can grow in it too?

Here is another question. Why can't the ammonia have other stuff in it? Will it cause the bacteria not to grow?