Ammonia for fishless cycling

[DiscusEden]

After looking on here for a while, I'm finally getting the tank Thursday (yipee!), and of course want to start cycling it ASAP. I've been trying to find someone who sells clear ammonia, with no success. I've tried supermarkets, hardware stores and chemists, with no luck.

Just wondering if anyone knows where I might be able to source this from - either in Adelaide, or by mail order.

TIA,
DiscusEden

[Rgoganj]

DiscusEden I'm having the same problem here as well.

I've been to 3 shopping centres, 2 Bunning's and 2 Mitre10 stores with no luck, only cloudy ammonia.

At one of the mitre10 stores the sales person said that clear ammonia is not available any more, but I take this with a grain of salt.

[fish_r]

myself i dont like the idea of using chemicals like ammonia to cycle, i came accross a way to cycle using brine shrimp as ur ammonia source and it has worked well for me in the past...

Fishless cycling.
As an alternative, the tank can be cycled without any animals in the aquarium. For this process, you will need test kits for ammonia, pH, nitrite and nitrate, and a source of ammonia. Possible sources for the ammonia are easily decomposed materials such as frozen brine shrimp.

Set up the aquarium using dechlorinated water and let it run for 24 to 48 hours. This will allow you to ascertain that all the equipment is working properly and will allow any excess dissolved gases to dissipate. Test the water for all of the above listed parameters and record the results; these will be your starting measurements. After the aquarium has been running for the recommended time period, add a small amount of your ammonia source. (For example, use a piece of frozen brine shrimp that could cover a dime). After 24 hours, test the water and record the results. Monitor the water results every day or two. When the ammonia level begins to drop and the nitrite levels to rise, add another small piece of ammonia source to keep feeding the bacteria. Keep monitoring the water quality, and when the nitrates begin to rise again dose the tank with the ammonia source. This should be the last dose required to finish the cycle.

At this point, you should see a small rise in the ammonia level, a small rise in the nitrite level and a continuation in the rise of the nitrate level. When the ammonia drops to zero, the nitrite drops to zero and the nitrate is readable the aquarium can be considered cycled. However before you add animals to the aquarium, do a 20% water change to lower the level of the nitrates. Different animals tolerate nitrates to different degrees. As a safety precaution, try to maintain the nitrate levels below 60 ppm through water changes. Usually 10 to 15% water changes each week are sufficient to keep the levels down.

Now the tank is ready for animals. However, the bacterial population will need to grow to match the number of animals added to the aquarium. The easiest way to accomplish this is by adding animals gradually. If you add several animals every two to three weeks, you should be able to safely increase the number of animals in the aquarium. The water should be tested on at least a weekly basis to monitor water quality and hopefully prevent potential ammonia and nitrite poisoning. Any use of an antibiotic in the aquarium will cause the biological filter to crash and require the tank to be re-cycled. As a final warning, pay close attention to the pH in long-term aquariums, as the pH tends to drop over time in old aquariums (the nitrification process is an acidic process). If the pH drops too low, the biological filter will crash. This can be prevented through regular partial water changes and by using a gravel siphon to clean the gravel.

the info is from here
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml

HTH
Rob.....

[Rgoganj]

Thanks for that :shock:

[fishgeek]

please dont take offence, human urine contain ammonia and when collected froma healthy specimen should be sterile

andrew
oh it's also very cheap :wink:

[DiscusEden]

Thanks fishgeek. I've considered visions of my father standing on a ladder over the aquarium during Christmas lunch already, but decided against it when I then had a mental picture of me putting my arm in the tank to arrange plants later. Not at all offended, more kind of repulsed. I'm just a big girl I guess.

I've tracked down a chemical company in Adelaide that says they sell it. My friend's going tomorrow for me.

Hi fish_r! I thought about getting a couple of prawns extra at Christmas & throwing them in, but the reason I'd rather use the pure chemical is to get more control over the levels and to know exactly what's going in disease wise. But I have to say, I'd prefer froz. brine shrimp to Dad's home brew. And I probably will be using them as a food source anyway, so it's a solid plan B.

Hi Rgoganj. Without wanting to get political on an inappropriate site, I have been told that clear ammonia can be an ingredient in explosives, so has been removed from sale in many sites. Very annoying. But have you noticed that people get a little jumpy when you ask for it? I even resorted to trying a hairdressers today! (But theirs comes pre-mixed with peroxide) Hopefully I have found somewhere.

I found them by asking a chemist who might supply it. I'd seriously doubt they'd post, but you'd think the WA chemists must have a supplier?

Oh, the serious hesitation with the urine idea was the amount of salt it might contain, but I'm not sure if this is a problem or not?

Thanks for all the replies, help and the interest guys. Much appreciated.

DiscusEden

[fiftycal]

Yes, ammonia can be used as an ingredient in explosives. Cloudy ammonia can be used in a VERY easy bomb mixture too.

I thought you could fishless cycle with cloudy ammonia as well? I dont know since ive always cycled with prawns lol

[DiscusEden]

Well, there goes that theory.

I thought I read on one of ladyred's posts that the ammonia has to be clear to successfully cycle. I think it's on one of the stickys. Could be wrong.

[Bill T]

I did find a cleaning company that sold bulk ammonia - heaps more in their minimum pack than I could use in a lifetime. If anyone does find a source of clear ammonium, I would like to get some. I like the idea of keeping as many potential sources of contamination out of a new tank.

[fishgeek]

urinary salt content shouldn't be an issue
and you could dilute it out with water changes if you really were that bothered once you had waited for the cycle and pror to adding fish

[Merrilyn]

Please don't use cloudy ammonia. The "cloudy" part is detergent. Not an ideal thing for your tank.

Now that we can no longer buy the clear ammonia, we have to resort to what fish keepers did years ago, a green prawn or two in the tank, or a small contribution from a healthy human.

Fishgeek is perfectly correct. It's an ideal source of ammonia, and it's cheap and plentiful :wink:

That said, when I run out of clear ammonia, I'll be sticking with the green prawns :lol:

[mistakes r crucial]

One of my sumps isn't real happy at the moment. Anyone want to come up here for a few beers? :lol:
MAC

[DiscusEden]

Well, I've just got it. A 2.5 litre bottle of NH4OH. I hope it's the right stuff. This bottle cost less than twice the 500ml bottle, so given that i wasn't sure how much I'd need, it seemed silly not to go the bigger one. So in Adelaide it's certianly available if you look hard enough.

So I now have one empty tank and one bottle of Ammonia. Can't wait to play!

Thanks again for your help guys! You've all been wonderful.

DiscusEden

[DiscusJoe]

I get my clear ammonia here. I order online and it comes in a couple of days in the post. It's a powder and its very strong stuff.

http://www.australianhomeguide.com.au/ac.html

DJ

[TW]

I thought you could fishless cycle with cloudy ammonia as well? No, you shouldn't use cloudy. As far as I know, the cloudy stuff foams when you shake it. Ammonia that foams when shaken contains surfacants (detergents, etc). You shouldn't use this to cycle your tank.

DJ, I'm using this stuff too. I'm at the nitrite spike stage of my cycle.
http://www.australianhomeguide.com.au/ac.html
I'm impressed.