Where to find pure ammonia for cycling?

[Ormarr]

I've been to a Home Depot, Canadian Tire, Wallmart and Loblaws in my area...nobody seems to have pure ammonia.  Anybody been able to find this locally?

[yellowtang]

hello there.........
are you looking for liquid amonia?.......
like to whiten clothes or something?..........."in your case to cycle"
check the real Canadian Super store or check Richfeeders
on Innes.......they might have,or check swimming pool places.
just an Idea.
good luck.

[babblefish1960]

You can pick it up at any pharmacy too.

[Glouglou]

Or, you can be patient...


I personally find that patience is a great asset in this hobby...

[groan]

Omarr has a tank that has seeded media in it and instead of placing fish in it right away he wants to watch the cycle first. the amonia is to keep the bacteria alive.

correct me if i am wrong, omarr.

[babblefish1960]

If there is nothing feeding the bacteria, it will not flourish and grow, rather, it will wither and die, the ammonia from even a fishes gills will do the trick, but if you do not have ammonia present in any form, you end up with a tank of water that still needs to be cycled.

[KLKelly]

I got mine at home hardware.  I went to at least five stores looking for it also.

[dan2x38]

I bought mine at the Canadian Tire on Marivale. If you buy it shake it up then open it if it foams up it has additives and is no good... if you cannot find any I can give you some in a small bottle (glass)... got make sure you do not use to much it will take forever to cycle... I live in the Centertown area if that helps...

[BigDaddy]

"Pure" ammonia is a hazardous material and is not available to the general public.  The ammonia available to the general population is only about a 3 percent solution.  Industrial grade ammonia, sometimes called aqua ammonia, is used in water treatment, pestisides and industrial cleaning applications.

I have some, but by law I am not allowed to decant what I have unless it is to valid registered business.

[Al]

I bought mine at Wally World Barrhaven about 1 year ago - and worked wonderfully. I think it was called Goldex?? Give them a call  - and it's dirt cheap.
Good luck. If you can't find any, I'd be glad to help you out.
Al

[Ormarr]

Would adding fish food to decompose in my tank be enough to maintain sufficient ammonia levels while cycling with established media?

[dan2x38]

I've read that it will start the cycle but I am not sure how long it would take... There are a few verifants to the recipe so here are couple of links:

http://www.aquatic-hobbyist.com/profiles/misc/fishlesscycling.html
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/faustus/nicoldaquaria/fishless.htm
http://www.tropicalfishcentre.co.uk/Fishlesscycle.htm
http://www.aquahobby.com/articles/e_fishless.php

I used fishless cycling only took 3 weeks in a 38 gallon. I had a couple easy growing plants in there too. The other advantage of fishless cycling; I got to look at my tank and change the aquascape a million times without disturbing my fish...

[KLKelly]

I don't think adding fish food would hurt.  It would give the existing bacteria at least something to feed on.  Not sure how much would be effective.  I have a friend that used cocktail shrimp to do fishless cycling.

[BigDaddy]

Home Hardware has a product called "Old Country" or something to that effect.  It is 3% ammonia and water only.  I've used it to cycle a 5 gallon in the past and had no issues.

[dan2x38]

I don't think adding fish food would hurt.  It would give the existing bacteria at least something to feed on.  Not sure how much would be effective.  I have a friend that used cocktail shrimp to do fishless cycling.

yeah I heard meat too but I wouldn't to weird... shrimp makes sense good idea

[plecoL83]

what kind of filter is this I heard of a guy who put some dead fish (frozen, store bought) in a five gallon for about a few days or weeks can't remember then he proceeded to add his sponge filter and remove the now smelly dead (thawed) fish, after waiting till the ammonia was 0 or 1 he removed the sponge filter gave it a rinse and put it in his tank, after proceeding to add almost all of his fish he monitored the tank for a few weeks and vola no cycle. It was alot of work though...
just trowing that out there...

[Ormarr]

I found some Old Country ammonia at the Home Hardware on Bank and Heron.  Thanks for the tip!

[Glouglou]

And a little bit of infos on fishless cycling:

http://malawicichlids.com/mw01017.htm

[Melody]

Your most beneficial bacteria is heterotrophic bacteria, which breaks down solid waste.  Using ammonia only doesn't invite this bacteria, but it is present on established filters.  Since it feeds on waste, waste is what it needs to thrive and populate your tank.  Therefore, the best thing to use to cycle a tank, is feces.  The fish can be in the tank for the cycle to supply that, or you can simply bring it in from a tank containing fish.  A few handfulls of mucky gravel from an established tank would suffice.  Failing that, I'd go with something more tangible than ammonia, such as a bit of seafood.

This theory is why people feel that long term stability is best obtained using fish and/or an established filter, rather than using ammonia only.  With ammonia-only cycles, you still have to add the fish very slowly to allow for the heterotrophic bacteria to establish.

It makes perfect sense to me that in order to establish the right kind of bacteria, you need to have all of the components present that you will have when the fish are in the tank.  Having said all that, not everyone agrees with it.   

[babblefish1960]

This theory is why people feel that long term stability is best obtained using fish and/or an established filter, rather than using ammonia only.  With ammonia-only cycles, you still have to add the fish very slowly to allow for the heterotrophic bacteria to establish.

It makes perfect sense to me that in order to establish the right kind of bacteria, you need to have all of the components present that you will have when the fish are in the tank.  Having said all that, not everyone agrees with it.   

I certainly do agree, and have had 100's of happy tanks for more than four decades this way, it merely requires patience.