I Need Ammonia

[katiee]

everything is so confusing cycling a fish tank i hardly know what i am doing.

i have added a dose of bacteria, but i need ammonia. how can i get ammonia? somebody suggested adding some food, and i dont think it is ready for fish to even help cycling just yet. I have added some of my other tank water and the tap water was treated.
I really dont know what to do and it is frustrating.

i need a water testing kit but havent been able to get out and buy one.

it is a 60L and i have been cycling it for a day lol.

ahh please could i have some help and suggest what i am aiming for when i get my test kit

 

[Marve99]

Hi Katiee

Just read the fish less cycle guide in the beginners resouirce centre. some really good advice and faiy easy to follow

Good luck

 

[timbruun]

you'll need a test kit for doing a cycle. most people recommend the api master test kit. and the ammonia depending where you are you you should be able to find it at a hardware store or similar. just make sure it is pure ammonia. you can use fish food. or even hanging shrimp in a net in the water. only thing is that it is harder to control how much you put it that way. with the liquid ammonia you can adjust accordingly. you'll want to add enough ammonia to get it up to around 5ppm with the test kit. and keep it up there as you monitor your ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. nitrites is a sign of a cycle starting and nitrates is getting closer to the end. when the ammonia is being taken care of overnight and the nitrites are gone and all you have is nitrates you are done cycling. there are plenty of resources to read about cycling in the new to the hobby forum. so just read up and don't be afraid to ask questions. don't add fish until you are done cycling. most people make that mistake.

 

[katiee]

so you want the ammonia to go up before it goes down??
i shall read

 

[Princesscoral]

hello

what i did is put frozen live food and alge pellets in,it works realy well

princesscoral
age 9

 

[Marve99]

so you want the ammonia to go up before it goes down??
i shall read

Pretty much

You add ammonia
bacteria eat ammonia and create nitirites
another bacteria eats nitrites and creates nitrates

Both ammonia and nitrites are harmful to fish even in small quantities whereas most fish can copewith nitrates up to 100 ppm (parts per million)

It can take several weeks (in some cases a few months) to establish these bacteria colonies, but this is covered in greater detail in the guides I mentioned.

Read lots, ask frequently and understand as much as possible - It will be fun - promise

 

[Princesscoral]

hello

what i did is put frozen live food and alge pellets in,it works realy well

princesscoral
age 9

 

[katiee]

where could i get ammonia? what sort of shops?
could i do a fish-in cycle with the fish i already have??

i have read and it seems hard. thankyou for the help, i will try my best lol

You add ammonia
bacteria eat ammonia and create nitirites
another bacteria eats nitrites and creates nitrates

haha, that is the basic information i need Marve 99

 

[arobinson1984]

Have a read of the links in my signature all regarding cycling, some very good info there

Andy

 

[coldcazzie]

Katie, if you're in the UK you can get ammonia in B&Q, or homebase, or Boots. There are other places Im sure but those are the ones I know of.

 

[sjolliff]

hi its 1.75 for a bottle of 9.5% ammonia in boots its the white bottle with blue writing found in the cleaning section
cheers

 

[Bokonon]

I bought mine from a little cornershop DIY place, its labeled as Jeyes Kleen Off Ammonia, does the trick.

 

[katiee]

cheers people
arrgh how annoying is this, went to pets at home to get a water testing kit... there was a gap where they shudda been.

my water has gone sort of cloudy

 

[waterdrop]

cheers people
arrgh how annoying is this, went to pets at home to get a water testing kit... there was a gap where they shudda been.

my water has gone sort of cloudy

Cloudy water is harmless and will go away. (Its due to a "bloom" of millions of "heterotrophic" bacteria who have just disovered that the open body of water they are in no longer has chlorine/chloramines to inhibit them and that there is some organic matter (sometimes from the tank sealer!) that they can feast on, so they are multiplying, but they will die. They are -not- the same as the two species of "autotrophic" bacteria that you're going to be growing in your filter over the coming weeks.)

Yeah, frustrating not to find the test kit, its essential, just like the household ammonia. Take a deep breath though and relax. The entire tropical fish keeping hobby, well the core of it, is all about slowing down, stepping out of the hustle and bustle of daily life and in general experiencing something that is at times the very opposite of noise and cell phones and interruptions and all that stuff we're used to. Looking into the beautiful tank you will create will give you this relaxing experience. But you can actually start to get this "zen" experience now because all the little arcane details about setting up tanks and how they operate and learning it all is quite fascinating and you can really enjoy it. You've stumbled on one of the most unusual types of places. The members here are great and there are many, many of the them that are extremely experienced. The month or two of setting up, cycling and learning is like no other in the years to come, its special! So sit back, be sure to tell your story as it unfolds (we all enjoy these stories!) and enjoy asking your questions and meeting all the different types of personalities here on TFF and in the beginner section in particular. You actually sound to be doing great so far!

Welcome to TFF! ~~waterdrop~~

 

[coldcazzie]

Aww WD you sound like you might cry! lol