Americas choice ammonia

[Juventus]

Is it okay that for my fishless cycle i got americas choice clear ammonia from stop n shop rather then ace hardware ammonia ??????????

 

[armymp327]

looked it up online and that ammonia has surfactants in it, so no. if you having a hard time finding ammonia, you can get dr tims ammonia online

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=24530

 

[Juventus]

What is that ? And is it a problem i used some drops of it alredi might conver to ace ammonia tomo

 

[armymp327]

surfactants work by lowering the surface tension in the water, its something you dont want in your aquarium, do a 100% water change, and get the right kind of ammonia that is only ammonia and water, look at the ingredients.

you can also shake the bottle, if any bubbles form at the top then its a no go (with the exception of air bubbles that will dissipate immediately)

 

[Juventus]

Idk if i can risk doing a whole water change i mean rlly thats what u recommend ... I would have to what clean my filter and my gravel and my actual tank as well i mean u serious about this , the ammonia every1 uses from the hardware store has the same think as this

 

[armymp327]

no, ace hardwares ammonia does not have surfactants in it. that is why people use it. why do i know this? because its what i use, and ive done many fishless cycles with it, i also know that surfactants are dangerous to any fish you put in when your cycle is complete. and yes that is what i recommended, any surfactants that you introduced by using the wrong ammonia into the tank is going to need to be removed.

and im not sure what you are risking? im guessing you just started this fish-less cycle since you said you've only used a few drops of this ammonia, so therfore any impact would be minimal to the cycle, since the cycle has not really started.

also i only said to do a 100% water change, no need to clean everything in the tank.

 

[armymp327]

and for future reference and anyone else that reads this post, this is why surfactants are not recommended. just a brief summary from an article

They can be very lethal. The LD50 varies by species and by the type of surfactant. One species of fish may be fine with a level while another will die at a very low dosage.

If they are not immediately lethal they can cause issues with reproduction, juvenile development, and tissue damage to the gills that slowly kills them.

They can also cause a whole list of long term behavioral and physiological effects. Many of these are debilitating to the fish. These are generally caused by very low concentrations of the chemicals.

In more established tanks will a full healthy biota of microbes the danger of surfactants is less. However in a new tank with very little microorganisms the effect could be catastrophic.

So to be on the safe side. Keep them out of your tank whenever possible.

Guang-Guo Ying, 2006. Fate, behavior and effects of surfactants and their degradation products in the environment . Environment International, 32(3), 417-431 .

H. VON WESTERNHAGEN, 1988. SUBLETHAL EFFECTS OF POLLUTANTS
ON FISH EGGS AND LARVAE. FISH PHYSIOLOGY,, XIA, 253-346.

Lewis, MA, 1991. Chronic and Sublethal Toxicities of Surfactants to Aquatic Animals: a Review and Risk Assessment . Water Research, Vol. 25(No. 1), 101-113.

Partearroyo, MA | Pilling, SJ | Jones, MN, 1991. The Lysis of Isolated Fish (Oncorhynchus mykiss) Gill Epithelial Cells by Surfactants . Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology , 100(3), 381-388.

Vittozzi, L | De Angelis, G, 1991. A Critical Review of Comparative Acute Toxicity Data on Freshwater Fish . Aquatic Toxicology AQTODG, 19(3), 167-207.

 

[marsh]

It's like soap, it will literally kill your fish. Never use soap to clean your tank, or anything going in it. Soap = dead fish

Ammonia usually includes soapy stuff and fragrance so it can be used to clean, but ace hardware is one of the rare brands that is no-frills pure ammonia w/ water base

 

[Juventus]

But you are sayin that its such a bad substance to be in the tank how can i remove the whole water without removig the gravel which may be holding that ammonianor even the filter or the heater or the tank walls

 

[armymp327]

Because if you only used a few drops then you have less then 0.001% of it in your tank, so a 100% water change will do. However if you continue to use it over the course of a month doing a full fishless cycle that concentration will rise to dangarous levels and be much harder to remove without breaking down the whole tank and ruining a months worth of work

 

[Juventus]

I only used that ammonia last nite i had a dropper and i maybe did 30 drop or so but thats it with that, so doo 100percent water change and im going to remove my gravel switch to sand in the process since i been meaning to do it for a while but other then that i dont need to rinse out my filter or should i do it anyways just to he safe

 

[marsh]

I would rinse it well in a bucket of water that has been treated with conditioner, but not directly under the tap. Your filter is basically new so not much to lose at this point.

Good call on switching to sand. Better have things as controlled as possible as every new fish or plant is another exposure threat to the tank. If you lose fish if is important to have clues to the cause and this would never be possible to rule out otherwis