Fishless Cycle 911!!!!1

[Bender]

ok please someone help!!!! I have my brand new 55 gallon set up next to me as i type this. filled,filter going, heater on, temp at 80. But have not found plain ammonia at store......i bought "Clear Ammonia" but someone said it should not bubble at all....this one does a bit....ingredients say.Ammonium, Hydroxide and Surfactant.


Will this work? What do i do if not? I have some flake food here would that start the cycle by its self?


Please help!!!!!!!

 

[Ruadh]

NO NO NO!!!!!!

That stuff will not work.....surfactant.

The flake food will work. Use about a teaspoon to start.

Have you read up on the fishless cycle?

Do you like shrimp?

Get some raw shrimp from the store and have a good supper.

Save a dozen or so raw ones and toss a couple of them in the tank. freeze the rest for later.
Moniter the tank and remove the old shrimp and replace every couple of days.

This just takes a while longer to get fully cycled. Don't be impatient, it could take as much as a month or more to finish. If you're going to have a planted tank use this time to get the plants started.

Keep us posted.

Rick

 

[neilanh]

No, the surfactant is what's bubbling, and you do not want it in your tank.

The only place I've had success finding it is at Ace Hardware, have one near you?

 

[Bender]

Ok im going to add a teaspoon of flake food to get this ball rollin.....Ill try and find an ace during the week. but until i can get the pure stuff the food will have to start it.....

 

[GhostKnife]

Surfactant is what I understand is in soap. You can also take a zipf-lock baggie and poke holes in it with a kabob stick or something small like that then put the RAW shrimp in there(not cooked) this will keep it all in one place and prevent it from getting all over your tank. Also its easy to remove when the cycle is done.

 

[Sharkbutter]

Wow, oddly specific..clarification

I am setting up a new 10 gal and actually had the exact same problem. I went to three different stores and all they have is something called "clear" ammonia. It is next to the ones that have additives so i thought this may be the pure stuff. It does bubble, but doesn't suds like it has a cleaner in it, just larger bubbles that look like something shaken settling down. Thanks, just wanting to make sure before I do something silly!

 

[Brad.Sedore]

i use "old fashion ammonia" sold at home hardware (canada). just incase you are in canada and cant find an ace hardware

 

[Sharkbutter]

Its this one. Buy The Case: HyTop Clear Ammonia but it does not have the non streaking agent in it, or doesn't have the cool label on it anyway.The website is very unhelpful in providing content info and it doesn't actually have the ingredients on the bottle...which I thought, by law, has to be listed. Go figure.

 

[gzeiger]

Piggly Wiggly grocery chain has a house brand of "clear ammonia" that is actually pure. It lists ingredients too (soft water, ammonia). It's about $1/qt.

 

[missileman]

I am setting up a new 10 gal and actually had the exact same problem. I went to three different stores and all they have is something called "clear" ammonia. It is next to the ones that have additives so i thought this may be the pure stuff. It does bubble, but doesn't suds like it has a cleaner in it, just larger bubbles that look like something shaken settling down. Thanks, just wanting to make sure before I do something silly!

It should do the same when shaken as plain water will. ie... no bubbles at all.Big bubble are no good.

 

[Sharkbutter]

OK, Ace Hardware, here I come! Thanks!

 

[jim692]

Its this one. Buy The Case: HyTop Clear Ammonia but it does not have the non streaking agent in it, or doesn't have the cool label on it anyway.The website is very unhelpful in providing content info and it doesn't actually have the ingredients on the bottle...which I thought, by law, has to be listed. Go figure.

No, the label rule does not apply.
Being a chemical however, means it has a MSDS (material safety data sheet).
That must be made avalible by the manufacturer. You can usually get these on-line at the manufacturers web site.
Some companies do prefer to fax them to you.
They will tell you what is in the product among other things.