Source of household ammonia for fishless cycling !

[melissa1977]

Hi
Just a quick question for the specialists in fishlesss cycling !!
: )

I ve finally found a souce of ammonia that seems ok.
I just wanted to know if biodegradeble sufractants could be harmfull ?!?!

When I shake the bottle their is absolutly no foam forming.

The brand is Clear ammonia (AMOX) product of Quebec, Canada.

What do you think, should that source of ammonia be ok ?

 

[krap101]

i use clear ammonia. im in northern IL . err its made by walmart i think though. im sure it'll be okay because clear ammonia itself means theres only ammonia in there. but everythings mislabeled these days

 

[Toirtis]

you want ammonia with NO surfectants....the clear stuff should be good. We have the Wal-Mart stuff here, or you can just go to a chemical/lab supply and buy the pure stuff.

 

[loganj]

I have used the clear ammonia from several different stores with good results. Keep in mind that it's very easy to overdo it with this stuff though. Have you considered the "dead shrimp" method? It works quite well...no stink...and you don't have to worry about overdosing the tank.

 

[TankGirl]

No stink? I heard it was stinky but I have not tried it. Pure ammonia does not exactly smell like roses, either! The shrimp method is truly "set it and forget it" and that has tons of appeal to me, I'll have to try that next time.

The ammonia you describe should work - sounds detergent free. I agree it is easy to overdose and that can slow your cycle, so if you do go this way use your kit and get an exact dose figured out.

 

[Toirtis]

The shrimp method is truly "set it and forget it" and that has tons of appeal to me,

Your last name is Popiel, isn't it?

Actually, the shrimp thing works quite well, and the smell is nothing what you would expect.

 

[melissa1977]

Update !!
I started cycling my tank 2 days ago !!
As of now everything is working fine with the clear ammonia... All the test are good and everything seems to be happening the way it should be!
Thank you for the infos

 

[TankGirl]

Okay, when I do my next fishless (assuming this will be before Bio-Spira is available again, LOL) I'll use a shrimp and report back with the sniff test.

I think my name must be Popeil, because we used to call our generic McGregor 15ft sailboat the "Ronco Sail-A-Matic!"