# Where do you find pure ammonia?



## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

When setting up my last tank, I looked EVERYWHERE: HomeDepot, Lowe's, Orchard Supply, ACE, Safeway, Albertson's, CVS, Walgreens. All I could find was lemon-scented stuff.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

Take water from old filter, add to new tank if doing a Fishless cycling. Now the tank is cycled. 

If you need raw NH4, NH4Cl ammonium chloride can be used, or ammonium sulfate and make a solution from that, some use urea also.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

anything with urea in the fertilizer section. Rotting fish food will do too.


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

plantbrain said:


> Take water from old filter, add to new tank if doing a Fishless cycling. Now the tank is cycled.


That's what I did pretty much, moved over media and added fish food so the bacteria would have something to eat while I was waiting for the fish to arrive. It's just that everyone always talks about adding pure ammonia like it's the easiest thing in the world to find. I was wondering if I was just looking in the wrong places (or if CA has some strange, “no ammonia” law). 

Thanks for the answers, guys!


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

Or I have heard that you can toss in a fresh uncooked shrimp from the store.


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## wendyjo (Feb 20, 2009)

I looked at all those places too - the only place I was able to find it was the Dollar Store.


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## Mog (Apr 5, 2011)

Check your local grocery store. Most carry thier own brand, which is typically straight ammonia. I found mine at Lowes foods. Walgreens here also carries their own brand with is pure.


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

As I said in the first post, I DID check all those places. Nothing but lemon-scented ammonia ANYWHERE. Hence my confusion about the many posts which seem to indicate it is widely available. Don’t know how much gas I burned driving all over trying to find it before giving up.


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## amberskye (Apr 22, 2011)

amazon sell it Betta. Its where I got mine. If you find it in the stores make sure its nothing that foams when you shake bottle. Sounds obvious but Ive heard its happened before to peeps.

http://www.amazon.com/Ace-Ammonia-1...49VA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308341132&sr=8-1


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## amberskye (Apr 22, 2011)

Betta Maniac said:


> When setting up my last tank, I looked EVERYWHERE: HomeDepot, Lowe's, Orchard Supply, ACE, Safeway, Albertson's, CVS, Walgreens. All I could find was lemon-scented stuff.


 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Home-Household-Ammonia-500ml/dp/B000TAOZIY

PURE house hold ammonia - totally unable to purchase over the counter now a days.It is very effective though you must take precautions when using it, IE face mask, gloves etc.


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## wendyjo (Feb 20, 2009)

Well you didn't mention a Dollar Store in your first post which is why I suggested it.


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## kevmo911 (Sep 24, 2010)

Ace Hardware. Buck and a half for a quart, or something like that. Yes, it's the pure kind.

*edit* realized after I posted this that you had mentioned you went to Ace. Dunno what to tell you - Ace is the one place everybody seems to agree that has the pure stuff. Looking at the bottle right now. Ace Ammonia Janitorial Strength Formula. White and dark red label.


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

Maybe it' a CA thing. We sometimes have our own set of rules . . . and yeah, I tried the dollar store too, all the cleaning supplies were from Mexico (Fabuloso or Pinalen, and you could tell by the color you didn't want to put that in a fish tank!).


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

kevmo911 said:


> Ace Hardware. Buck and a half for a quart, or something like that. Yes, it's the pure kind.


I tried one ACE. I'll try the bigger one that caters to contractors. Thanks!


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

If it is for cycling, then use the dirty filth from a mature filter this adds precisely what is missing from a new filter.

I've never used fishless cycling and never have lost or stressed any fish in new tanks due to any cycling issues.

35 years, bred maybe 100 species. I'm not advocate of FC, never have been and never will be.


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## amberskye (Apr 22, 2011)

horses for courses, whatever works best for usas individuals i guess


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## trixella (Jan 24, 2011)

I found Ace brand at my local hardware store, Breed & Co. I also instantly cycled 2 of my tanks by running the filters on existing tanks for a few weeks, sticking them in the new tank, along with 7 days of Seachem's Stability and feeding flake food in every day, added a fish and shrimp on the 4th day, instantly cycled tanks.


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## amberskye (Apr 22, 2011)

trixella said:


> I found Ace brand at my local hardware store, Breed & Co. I also instantly cycled 2 of my tanks by running the filters on existing tanks for a few weeks, sticking them in the new tank, along with 7 days of Seachem's Stability and feeding flake food in every day, added a fish and shrimp on the 4th day, instantly cycled tanks.


 Its fantastic if you are lucky enough to have filter gunge from a mature tank, and definately the best way to go, exactly as you described. But ammonia is a good substitute isnt it if you dont have access to filter muck? I dont cycle with fish - just a personal preference- so again, horses fo courses


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## amberskye (Apr 22, 2011)

plantbrain said:


> Take water from old filter, add to new tank if doing a Fishless cycling. Now the tank is cycled.
> 
> If you need raw NH4, NH4Cl ammonium chloride can be used, or ammonium sulfate and make a solution from that, *some use urea also*.
> 
> ...


i have actually heard and seen photos (scarred me for life) of people using their own homemade urea to cycle a tank lol. Forgive me if im wrong but human pee cannot be the same as fish pee can it surely? I mean, fish dont get trolleyed on beer and JD on a weekend for a start! :biggrin:


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## amberskye (Apr 22, 2011)

plantbrain said:


> If it is for cycling, then use the dirty filth from a mature filter this adds precisely what is missing from a new filter.
> 
> I've never used fishless cycling and never have lost or stressed any fish in new tanks due to any cycling issues.
> 
> 35 years, bred maybe 100 species. I'm not advocate of FC, never have been and never will be.


 out of interest, why dont you like fishless cycling?
what would you use if say it was your first tank or you didnt have access to filter crud? :icon_smil


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## trixella (Jan 24, 2011)

amberskye said:


> Its fantastic if you are lucky enough to have filter gunge from a mature tank, and definately the best way to go, exactly as you described. But ammonia is a good substitute isnt it if you dont have access to filter muck? I dont cycle with fish - just a personal preference- so again, horses fo courses


The op has other tanks so having filter gunge is a possibility, but yeah, if you don't then doing it with pure ammonia would be a way to go. I'm definitely not one to intentionally put a living creature through hell if I can help it.


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## Bowser (Feb 19, 2011)

I went to walmart and found my bottle, it's about about a quart. It was walmart brand "Great value" on the ingredients it only said Ammonium Hydroxide and Surfactant. It worked for my fishless cycle. It was 77 cents i believe.


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

I have found ammonia in several places:
Dollar Tree
Haz mat recycle location run by Central Contra Costa sanitary district. (Gotta be a Contra Costa County resident).

Adding some of the right bacteria by sharing filter media is a good start, then feeding plenty of fish food (more than you will be feeding once the fish arrive) will do just fine for a fishless cycle. The origin of all the nitrogen in the tank is the protein in the fish food. No matter that the fish digest it or not. Bacteria, fungi and other organisms break down the fish food into many things, including ammonia. 

Setting up the tank with plenty of thriving plants is another good way to add plenty of bio-filter to the tank.


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## trixella (Jan 24, 2011)

Bowser said:


> I went to walmart and found my bottle, it's about about a quart. It was walmart brand "Great value" on the ingredients it only said Ammonium Hydroxide and Surfactant. It worked for my fishless cycle. It was 77 cents i believe.


Surfactants are bad, you definitely want to find nothing but pure ammonia.

http://malawicichlids.com/mw01017.htm



> The most difficult part of the fishless cycling procedure, according to many postings on the message boards, involves finding a good source of ammonia. _*Ammonia used should be free of surfactants, perfumes, and colorants. *_Unfortunately, not everyone has access to ACS grade ammonium hydroxide. Always read the ingredients on the bottle. The best sources for Pure or Clear Ammonia are discount grocery stores or hardware stores. Often, the no-name brand is the stuff you're looking for. Some other people have reported success with the following brand names of ammonia: Top Crest or Whirl Clear Ammonia. To paraphrase RTR: If it doesn't list the ingredients, or say Clear Ammonia (or Pure Ammonia or 100% Ammonia, or Pure Ammonium Hydroxide), then leave it on the shelf and look elsewhere. Shake the bottle if you're not sure about it; ammonia with surfactants will foam, while good ammonia will not.


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## amberskye (Apr 22, 2011)

*cough cough* I believe I may have said this earlier

*Shake the bottle if you're not sure about it; ammonia with surfactants will foam, while good ammonia will not*. 

hehehehehe....first thing ive got right since I started this thing....small things make me happy


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## gimmethatfish (Jun 13, 2010)

When I cycled my 75g last year I looked everywhere for ammonia without surfactants and could not find it anywhere I finally just through a frozen uncooked shrimp in and did it that way. The tank cycled quite fast that way but it might start to smell a little after a while and it's always weird explaining why you have shrimp cocktail in your fish tank.


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## ridethespiral (Aug 5, 2010)

London Drugs has their own brand of pure ammonia.

It was the only place I was able to find it up here in Canada :wink:


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## trixella (Jan 24, 2011)

Here's a link for the ACE pure ammonia....

http://www.google.com/search?q=ace+...gc.r_pw.&fp=d934deac8855874e&biw=1348&bih=628


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

amberskye said:


> out of interest, why dont you like fishless cycling?
> what would you use if say it was your first tank or you didnt have access to filter crud? :icon_smil


Errr....cause #1, we do not need it, #2, it's a waste of time, #3, folks already know about the nitrogen cycle and can read it, no need to test and watch it over again, #4 water changes can and should be done in the initial phases, #5 folks in general dislike testing, #6 LFS, friends, fellow hobbyist, folks that have more than 1 aquarium can simply offer/use dirty filters to add precisely what is missing(live actively growing bacteria) to a new tank, #7 folks still need to wait 4 weeks or so, so patience is still required......#8 we can simply dose NH3 to a bucket and run the filter in there rather than dump NH3 into a tank, wait 4 weeks, then add the filter to the aquarium, no testing, no nothing.

#9 use plants, then there's no NH4 anyway. Plant roots and leaves have plenty of bacteria on them as it is.

#10 Slowly stock the tank.

#11, I've never found a single case where it was needed. I've worked as kid in a LFS for 3 years, and been a hobbyist for 35 years.

I think that is enough for now.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

Diana said:


> Adding some of the right bacteria by sharing filter media is a good start, then feeding plenty of fish food (more than you will be feeding once the fish arrive) will do just fine for a fishless cycle. The origin of all the nitrogen in the tank is the protein in the fish food. No matter that the fish digest it or not. Bacteria, fungi and other organisms break down the fish food into many things, including ammonia.
> 
> Setting up the tank with plenty of thriving plants is another good way to add plenty of bio-filter to the tank.


This, is actually much better advice.


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## TankZen (Jan 31, 2011)

lol I love Tom's response. Thanks for the great info as always. I was just contemplating the ammonia method and then I read about stocking the tank heavily with plants and there is no need to add ammonia.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

I think the basics of the tank set up I've suggested is far more useful for the aspiring hobbyists vs the FC thangy.


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## amberskye (Apr 22, 2011)

i wanna do the FC thangy...  
Ok thats pretty much answered my questions/doubts. The reason I ask is I belong to this forum which is geared more around plants and I also belong to a fish only forum who would probably tie me naked to a stake and set fire to me if i were to dare mention cycling a tank with live fish in there. Both ways overlap. I agree with the right media its pi s s easy,but in all fairness I have seen fish suffer with amonia burns and nitrite poisoning so Im still a little errrr on the whole thing. So humour me (please)... imagine this:
I have a new tank, with new filter, equipment, substrate
I am the only one of many friends who keeps fish ie I have no access to dirty filters
I love plants
I love fish
I have ammonia in the cupboard and a freezer full of frozen shrimp/cupboards full of all manner of fish foods
Im happy to stock slowly
I wish to take some advice.

Where/what should I do/start? I did cycle once with the ever notorious Danios and no, they came to no harm, but OMFG it took for EVER!!! I dont believe that ANY bottled bacteria works, who knows how long its sat on the shelf??
The reason this is pertinent for myself right now is I am about to purchase a large (for me) aquarium. I have no extra mucky filter media. So Im in your hands so to speak...


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

Well, I fully agree with the fish forum and not using dither fish. 
Still, there's no good reason to do it.

You have plants, then there's zero rational reasons to use FC.

You have to do water changes anyways if you lack plants, so there is no escape there using FC and reasonable stocking levels work fine.

All you need in your case are plenty of healthy plants, then there's no issues.


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## kris66 (Jan 3, 2011)

Maybe not a CA thing as I'm in Southern California, and I found the janitorial strength ammonia at my local Ace Hardware.


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## Sharkfood (May 2, 2010)

Anything that can decompose will add ammonia to your tank. Fish food is high in protein, so would probably work well for FC.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

amberskye said:


> i wanna do the FC thangy...
> Ok thats pretty much answered my questions/doubts. The reason I ask is I belong to this forum which is geared more around plants and I also belong to a fish only forum who would probably tie me naked to a stake and set fire to me if i were to dare mention cycling a tank with live fish in there. Both ways overlap. I agree with the right media its pi s s easy,but in all fairness I have seen fish suffer with amonia burns and nitrite poisoning so Im still a little errrr on the whole thing. So humour me (please)... imagine this:
> I have a new tank, with new filter, equipment, substrate
> I am the only one of many friends who keeps fish ie I have no access to dirty filters
> ...


You also might want to join www.UKAPS.org
They are nice there.

Not mean like me:hihi:


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## amberskye (Apr 22, 2011)

thanks Tom  Ur nice too!


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

amberskye said:


> thanks Tom  Ur nice too!


Do not tell no one:icon_twis


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## amberskye (Apr 22, 2011)

plantbrain said:


> Do not tell no one:icon_twis


 i wont.....zipped!


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