# [Fishless Cycling] Ammonia... where to get it?



## Arcteryx (Nov 23, 2011)

I haven't looked... but is pure ammonia easy to find? Can I find a jug at, say, Save-On, or at a pharmacy somewhere?


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

you can get it there I believe or just pee in the tank lol there are other products you can use use like Seachem stability, Cycle and a couple others that I can't remember the name of at the moment

here's a few other ways it can be done:
4 Ways To Cycle A Freshwater Aquarium | Aquariums Life

You can also do a search here for fishless cycle to bring up the other threads that have been posted with plenty of useful info


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## Arcteryx (Nov 23, 2011)

This is like the 2nd time today somebody has told me to pee in the tank. OK seriously who has cycled their tank by peeing in it, I wanna know, own up!


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

lmao, wasn't me......I know I read it somewhere is the only reason I said it lol


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## fuzzysocks (Dec 8, 2010)

You can also use flake food to cycle. You'll only want to throw in a tiny pinch at a time, and throw in flakes every once in a while (not sure of the exact timing, but I think it's every few days) to continue to feed the bacteria that grow. I've heard of tanks (mostly marine, though) being cycled by throwing in a frozen cocktail prawn, though it's going to smell quite unpleasant. 

Ditztrib1's first suggestion also works pretty well if you're trying to cycle on the cheap...just don't go overboard.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Probably at drugstores or janitorial supplies. This is probably the stuff: 0 London Drugs Household Ammonia - 1.8L ;Homeware ;Cleaning Supplies ;London Drugs

Just want to check there's nothing else in it but ammonia.


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## mcrocker (May 29, 2010)

I did fish-less cycling with ammonia to start up a 180 gallon a while ago. It worked perfectly, MUCH faster than the 4+ weeks quoted on some guides I read. A bit of media I used to seed it may have helped, but I think mine took less than 2 weeks from when I first added ammonia. My fish were mostly cichlids, so fairly hardy, but I had no deaths or signs of health issues whatsoever.

I bought regular no-name brand ammonia. Make sure there is no coloring or scent added, and shake it to see if there are surfactants or additives. If any bubbles or foam that form from shaking disappear quickly, there are probably no surfactants.

They don't specifically list ingredients on the one I bought, but it definitely worked for me. There are really no guarantees what goes into those products though...


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

mcrocker said:


> A bit of media I used to seed it may have helped, but I think mine took less than 2 weeks from when I first added ammonia.


If you have seeded media, you don't really need a fishless cycle, because the cycle is already complete. Just add fish and they'll be your source of ammonia. Keep the feeding low and do some water changes and you're good to go.


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## mcrocker (May 29, 2010)

2wheelsx2 said:


> If you have seeded media, you don't really need a fishless cycle, because the cycle is already complete. Just add fish and they'll be your source of ammonia. Keep the feeding low and do some water changes and you're good to go.


My logic was that while I might have a small dose of bacteria in the piece of media I seeded with, it would not be a large enough colony to handle the bio load of all the fish I was adding, and I would still have an ammonia or nitrite spike if I added all fish at once or too many at once. I can't remember exactly what level of ammonia I was dosing to, (4 PPM stands out in my mind, not sure if that is right) but in the beginning I was not getting back down to 0 ammonia with a 24 hour period. After 10 days it was eliminating the ammonia in well under a day, probably within hours.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Sure, it never hurts to increase the colony. And in your case, if you didn't have very much media, it certainly helped.


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## Arcteryx (Nov 23, 2011)

4 ppm was the magic number I read in some of the guides kicking around on the 'net... the next logical step would be to find out how much ammonia that is relative per gallon... guessworking with a test kit doesn't seem particularly appealing...

EDIT: so it looks like 3-4 drops per gallon... OK. Off I go to buy some. With my luck they probably come only in keg-sized jugs...


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## IceBlue (Mar 17, 2011)

I got the basic safeway brand ammomia. About 1L. Seeded 6 tanks, some took longer than others. You have to watch you don't get the Ammonia levels too high or it stalls the cycling process. Under 4ppm probably fine but 5 cost me some time, cycle stalled for a week. Secham has a stick on colour reader that shows ammonia levels. Good for cycling. I do initila check to see how accurate it is, if all is well just read the sticker to monitor ammonia. 

My .02


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## hp10BII (Apr 23, 2010)

Just bought a jug from London Drugs a couple of months ago. Used it to cycle 2 tanks so both took a full load of fish right away without having to worry about any mini-cycles. One tank is full of juvenile tropheus and I didn't want to take any chances of introducing any parasites and pathogens from mature filter media. The nice thing about using ammonia for fishless cycling is that you can control how much ppm ammonia you're dosing.


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## Arcteryx (Nov 23, 2011)

Ah that's awesome to hear that the LD ammonia is the one to get. I was just there, saw it and wasn't sure as there wasn't a list of ingredients on it. Will head back there tomorrow to lug a jug home...


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## April (Apr 21, 2010)

You can also use the blue miracle grow plant fertilizer and your tank cycles in 18 days instead of 6 weeks.
I can hunt down the article if interested.

---
I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=49.275101,-122.835567


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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

That sounds like interesting reading April. I'm going to need to cycle my 400 for discus. 



April said:


> You can also use the blue miracle grow plant fertilizer and your tank cycles in 18 days instead of 6 weeks.
> I can hunt down the article if interested.
> 
> ---
> I am here: Google Maps


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## Arcteryx (Nov 23, 2011)

18 days beats 6 weeks anytime! Share the article


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

tony1928 said:


> That sounds like interesting reading April. I'm going to need to cycle my 400 for discus.


No you won't Tony. You have media from your other tanks.


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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

Back to the original question, you can also use the Safeway one. I've used it for several tanks. Cheap, too.


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## Arcteryx (Nov 23, 2011)

crazy72 said:


> Back to the original question, you can also use the Safeway one. I've used it for several tanks. Cheap, too.


Thanks - Safeway's closer to me than LD so I'll pop over there tonight and grab a jug...


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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

Usually the cheapest possible bottle of ammonia seems to be the one that we need. Anything more than 3 or 4 bucks for a litre and you're probably in trouble! Lol. Dollar store probably has it too!


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## Arcteryx (Nov 23, 2011)

tony1928 said:


> Usually the cheapest possible bottle of ammonia seems to be the one that we need. Anything more than 3 or 4 bucks for a litre and you're probably in trouble! Lol. Dollar store probably has it too!


I'm so used to hobbies sucking up income that I'm immediately suspicious of anything "cheap" :lol:


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