fishless cycling - i think i used the wrong ammonia

[mchief]

i've been adding ammonia from the standard household cleaner type of ammonia at 4-5 drops/10 gal for the past three weeks. i've been checking my h20 parameters and i've haven't got any nitrites/nitrates yet.

so today i did some more research and as fear gripped me, i went and shook my bottle of ammonia and sure enough, it foamed up a good 2-3 inches at the top of the bottle.

my ammonia is around 1ppm. i was thinking of doing a 50% water change, waiting a few days and then doing that again. would that remove enough surfactants from the water so it is safe? i couldn't have added more than, what, 4-5 tsps over 3 weeks?

 

[quarryshark]

You could also simplify it by using an uncooked cocktail shrimp instead.

 

[steve-s]

would that remove enough surfactants from the water so it is safe? i couldn't have added more than, what, 4-5 tsps over 3 weeks?

Polyfilter or carbon changed daily and aggressive skimming along with the water changes should help.

Chers
Steve

 

[XXFirefighter]

or toss in 3 Chromis or Damsils and do it that way !

 

[steve-s]

or toss in 3 Chromis or Damsils and do it that way !

Or not

Cheers
Steve

 

[mchief]

i wanted to try the ammonia method, i've done the fish method before and don't feel quite right about it - b/c i think it's hard on the fish. but i'm not opposed to death since i now have my first addition to the tank, one dead shrimp.

i was concerned about the surfactants in the ammonia but i think the water changes and filtering should make it fine.

 

[gamma]

I know it would slow you down, but since you've got no fish in there you could dump and rinse everything thoroughly and start over, to be on the safe side.