Where can i find pure ammonia, unscented???

[Dr. Scroggins..]

So i just entered my 4th week of a fishless cycle yesterday. my initial source of ammonia was the ADA Aquasoil i used for substrate. the ammonia readings have all been really high untill a few days ago, and now my ammonia is at .5-.25ppm. my nitrites have shot up recently as well. where can i find the pure, unscented ammonia with no surfactants??? i've been looking online at places like wal-mart, walgreens, and ace hardware but can only find ammonia with perfumes and ammonia containing surfactants.. i'm guessing i just need to go to Ace Hardware and look for my self, maye it's just such a cheap and everyday item they dont list it on their web page. any suggestions and / or advice is greatly appreciated. hope to find some before my ammonia levels drop to ZERO, in order to keep them fed.

maybe i just do the fish food thing, how much do you add per day to keep them fed and thriving?

also is there a guide anywhere out there on how many drops, or fractions of a teaspoon to add (to get back to 2-4ppm) per so many gallons of tank water??? instead of adding testing adding testing, was hoping to find a table or something.. something like "add 2 drops of ammonia per 10 galloons of tank water, to get3ppm"...


thanks AA!

 

[neilanh]

Ace hardware is the only place I've found it. They call it "Janitorial Strength" and it's listed as 10% ammonia Hydroxide.

Here's the link. Second item on the page called Ammonia Quart Ace
http://www.aceistheplace.net/store/shopdisplayproducts.asp?Search=Yes&sppp=10

 

[Dr. Scroggins..]

man, Neilan, thanks for the link, that is exactly what i was hoping for. i do have an ace here in town and stopped by on my way home from work to pick some up.

how much would you suggest adding every time, to get my ammonia back up to 3-4ppm. just trying to keep the bacteria fed while waiting for my nitrites to come back down. i have eye droppers.. but i also read in the getting started forum, the "cycling for dummies" article suggested Once the ammonia reaches zero, just add 1 teaspoon of ammonia each day. Not enough to cause a reading, but just enough to keep the “ammonia eating” bacteria alive and happy.

sound sufficient?

it's a 55 gal tank.

 

[Crepe]

I'll do the math for you:

4 ppm is four parts per million in mass-

55 gallons of water will weigh about 208kg or 208000grams
1 Litre of 10% Ammonia will contain in it 100 grams of NH3 ions.
1 teaspoon= ~5ml therefore one teaspoon will contain in it .5 grams if NH3 ions.
.5/208000= 2.4 ppm.

One and a half teaspoons will be your optimal dosing. Landing you at about 3.6 ppm.

This is for only a 10% concentration of NH3OH so yours may be different. I will calculate it for you if you want.

 

[Dr. Scroggins..]

I'll do the math for you:

4 ppm is four parts per million in mass-

55 gallons of water will weigh about 208kg or 208000grams
1 Litre of 10% Ammonia will contain in it 100 grams of NH3 ions.
1 teaspoon= ~5ml therefore one teaspoon will contain in it .5 grams if NH3 ions.
.5/208000= 2.4 ppm.

One and a half teaspoons will be your optimal dosing. Landing you at about 3.6 ppm.

This is for only a 10% concentration of NH3OH so yours may be different. I will calculate it for you if you want.

actually i do have 10% so, thanks for doing the math.

 

[neilanh]

In my 46g tank, when I cycled it at were at the point you are, I was dosing 3ml of ammonia per day using that same stuff you got. I used a medicine syringe from some baby medicine we had.

 

[mfdrookie516]

I used the lid from my ammonia once, then used an old infants tylenol dropper afterwards. One word of advice (this should be common sense, my man-ness made me do it) DONT PUT YOUR NOSE DOWN TO THE BOTTLE AND SMELL IT!

 

[mommytron]

I used the lid from my ammonia once, then used an old infants tylenol dropper afterwards. One word of advice (this should be common sense, my man-ness made me do it) DONT PUT YOUR NOSE DOWN TO THE BOTTLE AND SMELL IT!

LOL my husband sniffed ours, too. bad idea

 

[Crepe]

I used the lid from my ammonia once, then used an old infants tylenol dropper afterwards. One word of advice (this should be common sense, my man-ness made me do it) DONT PUT YOUR NOSE DOWN TO THE BOTTLE AND SMELL IT!

+100000

Seriously don't, it will mess you up. I had some acetone that was grape scented (I was using it to remove some super glue off of some model parts) and it smelled delicious so I took a wiff. It was the worse sensation ever.

Ammonia burns like someone poured bleach into your nose and then peed in it. It is definitely not cool.

 

[Dr. Scroggins..]

laughing, with beer in hand.

thanks everyone for chiming in here, i'm feeling pretty good about it.

 

[mgamer20o0]

Ammonia burns like someone poured bleach into your nose and then peed in it. It is definitely not cool.

just dont put those together to counter act the smell lol

 

[taylorodw]

Hey, is there somewhere other than Ace hardware that commonly sells pure ammonia? Closest Ace is too far for me, and Home Depot doesn't have it...

 

[jester23]

Hey most large grocery stores should have it as a cleaning aid. Just read ingredients before buying it and make sure it doesn't contain surfactant. I've read that it kills everything in your tank. Dont know for sure though. Either way they should have pure ammonia in those large stores.

 

[taylorodw]

Will be checking out Lucky's tomorrow... Thanks jester.

Crepe, I tried to follow your formula but my calc gave me an error at dividing .5/108862 (the approx grams of water in a 30gal tank)... Obviously this isn't exactly how you arrived at 2.4ppm (rounding? something else?). My figure starts at 4.5 before spiraling off into insanity, so would 1 teaspoon put me at 4.5ppm?

Nevermind, checked your math and I'm right. Thanks for posting that cool formula!

 

[BlackMagic]

pure Ammoniam u can buy them from dollar tree or family dollar ...

its pure and it doesnt bubble or form up when u shake it.