House hold Cleaners Containing Ammonia and Water
- Thread starter TigerBarb56
- Start date
Look in grocery stores...I had to go to several before finding it at Albertson's (the bottle I have is actually Albertson's brand). I'm not sure where in the country you are, if you post that you might be able to find someone near you who has found it. Just be sure you're looking for Clear or Pure ammonia...not just a product containing ammonia.
In your signature, you show you have a 38G tank with fish. I hope you're not going to add ammonia to that tank. If that tank is healthy, just take some of the filter media (floss pad or sponge) and use it in your new tank filter. Then you will basically have a fully cycled filter which is the main thing. If your sig is inaccurate, then...
Check the ingredients. If it says anything like surfactants, that is a soap additive and you do not want to use that product. Shake it. If it suds up like soapy water, it's not good. I'm down here in the burbs of New Orleans and never could find plain non-sudsy, no surfactant ammonia. I hear that hospital supply places sell the super pure stuff.
If you want to gross out your friends, there is a site where this guy used his own urine to cycle his tank. I almost tried that myself but then I tried the fish food method which did not work for me. After two weeks of trying the fish food molding method, the extra filter pad that I stuck in my HOB was cycled enough for the 10G tank.
I find that is the simplest way is to get a filter pad or sponge from someone who has a healthy tank. The filter media (floss pads or sponge) has more good bacteria than any other part of the tank. If you start off with a cycled pad or sponge, you will probably not even have to cycle the tank as long as you don't overstock your tank on the first day. All of the water goes through the filter material several times an hour so that is where you want the good bacteria growing. I now keep an extra filter pad in a couple of my HOB's just for that purpose... to help out a fellow aquarist if the need arises.
Check the ingredients. If it says anything like surfactants, that is a soap additive and you do not want to use that product. Shake it. If it suds up like soapy water, it's not good. I'm down here in the burbs of New Orleans and never could find plain non-sudsy, no surfactant ammonia. I hear that hospital supply places sell the super pure stuff.
If you want to gross out your friends, there is a site where this guy used his own urine to cycle his tank. I almost tried that myself but then I tried the fish food method which did not work for me. After two weeks of trying the fish food molding method, the extra filter pad that I stuck in my HOB was cycled enough for the 10G tank.
I find that is the simplest way is to get a filter pad or sponge from someone who has a healthy tank. The filter media (floss pads or sponge) has more good bacteria than any other part of the tank. If you start off with a cycled pad or sponge, you will probably not even have to cycle the tank as long as you don't overstock your tank on the first day. All of the water goes through the filter material several times an hour so that is where you want the good bacteria growing. I now keep an extra filter pad in a couple of my HOB's just for that purpose... to help out a fellow aquarist if the need arises.
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Yep thats the stuff 
Glad you found it. Ya never know who has what grocery stores where!!
I believe we straightened out in another thread that you had updated your signature to reflect what is going to be? And that you're doing a fishless cycle on the 38 before you move fish into it.
I dont know if we pointed out that seeding your cycling tank by dunking filter media in it from your existing tank is a great way to speed up the fishless cycle. If you do searches for cycling threads you can compare them to how iggy describes it and see how it worked for other people... like this thread : http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/showthread.php?t=26438
Glad you found it. Ya never know who has what grocery stores where!! I believe we straightened out in another thread that you had updated your signature to reflect what is going to be? And that you're doing a fishless cycle on the 38 before you move fish into it.
I dont know if we pointed out that seeding your cycling tank by dunking filter media in it from your existing tank is a great way to speed up the fishless cycle. If you do searches for cycling threads you can compare them to how iggy describes it and see how it worked for other people... like this thread : http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/showthread.php?t=26438