Tarkus2112
Aquarium Advice Activist
I decided to go the fishless route and use ammonia. I consider myself an animal lover so I saw no other way, and there is no way I'm letting shrimp rot in my living room. haha.
I was lucky enough to locate an Ace Hardware close to my house. They seem to be the ONLY place you can find clear ammonia without surfactants. Save yourself some headache and just go to ACE. and make sure to get an eye dropper. Rite Aide or any pharmacy should have them. I got one for water and one for ammonia so as to not cross contaminate.
My setup is as follows:
55 gallon tank
2 Hagen AquaClear 70's
250W Aqueon Pro Heater
AquaticLife Dual T-5 Freshwater
No air pump or air stones.
My tank is running at a constant 85.5 degrees, and the dual AC70's are insane bubble factories which is why I didn't set up an air pump or air stone. I also have the water level about 1/4" below the bottom trim. This helps a lot with surface agitation which creates oxygenation and the bacteria will thrive in this environment.
I started by adding 25 drops to my tank, waited an hour and tested for ammonia. My results were .5ppm
Then I added 40 more drops and got 2ppm (65 drops total = approx. 2ppm)
Finally I added 70 drops because I figured that would land me between 4-5ppm which is the ideal spot for fishless cycling. (135 total = approx. 4ppm)
I will test my tank tonight to see what my ammonia value is after 24 hours. Then add 140 more drops. and keep doing that everyday until NITRITES show up to the party. When they do show up I'll cut my ammonia dose to 70 drops (half) until ammonia and nitrites reach 0. That is when NITRATES come crash the party. It seems simple in text.
So by my crude calculations using Ace Hardware brand ammonia in a 55 gallon tank you would need approx. 130-175 drops to reach a total of 4-5ppm. It's hard to be exact because the API test kit isn't exact, but this should help you get close. The 5 drops per 10 gallons of water rule is way off but gives you a good baseline.
Just thought I'd add this:
The Aqueon heater is amazing! I have it set to 85 degrees and it maintains it within .5 of a degree.
The AC70's are exactly what everyone says. The best HOB power filter you can buy. I figured if 1 is good why not 2!
They were definitely a good investment. My water was clear in about 12 hours after I powered up the filters.
Any questions, comments or criticisms are welcome. I'm new to this and learning every day.
I was lucky enough to locate an Ace Hardware close to my house. They seem to be the ONLY place you can find clear ammonia without surfactants. Save yourself some headache and just go to ACE. and make sure to get an eye dropper. Rite Aide or any pharmacy should have them. I got one for water and one for ammonia so as to not cross contaminate.My setup is as follows:
55 gallon tank
2 Hagen AquaClear 70's
250W Aqueon Pro Heater
AquaticLife Dual T-5 Freshwater
No air pump or air stones.
My tank is running at a constant 85.5 degrees, and the dual AC70's are insane bubble factories which is why I didn't set up an air pump or air stone. I also have the water level about 1/4" below the bottom trim. This helps a lot with surface agitation which creates oxygenation and the bacteria will thrive in this environment.
I started by adding 25 drops to my tank, waited an hour and tested for ammonia. My results were .5ppm
Then I added 40 more drops and got 2ppm (65 drops total = approx. 2ppm)
Finally I added 70 drops because I figured that would land me between 4-5ppm which is the ideal spot for fishless cycling. (135 total = approx. 4ppm)
I will test my tank tonight to see what my ammonia value is after 24 hours. Then add 140 more drops. and keep doing that everyday until NITRITES show up to the party. When they do show up I'll cut my ammonia dose to 70 drops (half) until ammonia and nitrites reach 0. That is when NITRATES come crash the party. It seems simple in text.
So by my crude calculations using Ace Hardware brand ammonia in a 55 gallon tank you would need approx. 130-175 drops to reach a total of 4-5ppm. It's hard to be exact because the API test kit isn't exact, but this should help you get close. The 5 drops per 10 gallons of water rule is way off but gives you a good baseline.
Just thought I'd add this:
The Aqueon heater is amazing! I have it set to 85 degrees and it maintains it within .5 of a degree.
The AC70's are exactly what everyone says. The best HOB power filter you can buy. I figured if 1 is good why not 2!
They were definitely a good investment. My water was clear in about 12 hours after I powered up the filters.Any questions, comments or criticisms are welcome. I'm new to this and learning every day.
