FishJones

Hey, do places like Wal Mart carry the no-additive ammonia usually or do you have to special order it from a online pet site? I'm going to do the fishless cycle on a new tank and was wondering. Thanks.

lyndatu

No-additive ammonia can be found in drug stores. Even the most basic drug stores have it - All the ammonia I found in professional stores have additives in them, but a small store in the market has pure ammonia at a very low price. To check if it's pure ammonia, shake the bottle, and if the bubbles disappear instantly(no more than 2 seconds), it's pure. It's good that you are supporting the fishless method of cycling your tank.

Check all drug stores and see if they have ammonia! (have a dropper ready too)

Lucy

I found mine in a local grocery store.

Congrats on cycling fish less.

pepetj

what you need is ammonia solution. Pure ammonia is hard to find and expensive, manufactured by Merck and others, it is usually sold only with permission due to its corrosive properties, mostly to labs.

"Pure" ammonia solution = (usually under 10%) ammonia + (rest %) distilled water. Look in the household cleaner section. Grab a bottle and shake it. If bubbles form as in shaking drinking water that's the one you need; otherwise, if a coat or oily-like bubbles are formed, discard that bottle and try another.

Pepe
Santo Domingo

FishJones

Thanks Lyndatu, Lucy, and Pepe for the help!! Definitely will call my local drugstores. Hope I can get there and not a lab like Pepe had to get.

FishJones

I tell you it is next to impossible to find this locally (near Orlando). I have checked at least 20 independent drug stores, grocery chains, pet stores and zero luck. LOL, Lucy, you need to be a third party distributor for this stuff. Thats why more people don't do fishless, you just can't find this stuff anywhere. The pet stores try to sell you something to speed the cycle instead and the drug stores look at you like you have three heads when you ask for it, lol

lyndatu

If you can't find pure ammonia you can always use the raw fish/shrimp method instead. Simply drop a small chunk of raw fish/shrimp meat in the tank and it will release ammonia. It might give some dirt to the tank but it's the second best way to go.

Good luck!

shih-tzu mom

FishJones; I had the same problem as i am from Canada and i found it in the grocery section of Dominion and right beside the bleach, as that is used for stripping floors ect; try there maybe you will find some and ask the store manager to help you out lol.Hope this help's you bella

pinkfloydpuffer

I've heard that it's sometimes in hardware stores.

I had the same problem when I cycled my first tank. I couldn't find the ammonia anywhere, just stuff with surfactants in it.

fishylp

I have recently finished my search for ammonia. The drug stores definitey had ammonia, but when I shook it there were lots of bubbles. Not a good thing. I finally went over to Ace Hardware and they had it. Janitorial strength. Cost me $2.50 and I don't think I'll ever run out.

Happy Searching.

Lucy

LOL, There ya go, my next line of business.

I live very rural and the closest town is no frills and I can find the basic stuff.

Dozey

You won't find pure ammonia. Even industrial ammonia is only 20-30%. House hold ammonia is generally 3 to 7%. The rest will be water and surfactants. Surfactants merely bind the ammonia and water and that is the purest ammonia you are going to find on the market.

You are looking for a product that contains 3 ingredients. Ammonia, water and surfactants. The ammonias that you want to stay away from contain other ingredients such as scents and other detergents.

pinkfloydpuffer

I'm sorry, but I must respectfully disagree... surfactants are very bad news in a tank, as they prevent oxygen bubbles from forming or something like that... but anyways, they will not be a good thing for you to have with your fish.

Dozey

Well hopefully SOF will be along shortly to set me straight. But this is what I understand of durgactants...

Surfactants are wetting agents that lower the surface tension of a liquid, allowing easier spreading, and lower the interfacial tension between two liquids.

The term 'surfactant' is a blend of "surface acting agent". Surfactants are usually organic compounds that are amphiphilic, meaning they contain both hydrophobic groups (their "tails") and hydrophilic groups (their "heads"). Therefore, they are soluble in both organic solvents and water.

pinkfloydpuffer

Some can, however, interfere with the life-cycles of some aquatic organisms, so care should be taken to prevent run-off of these products into streams, and excess product should not be washed down.

That's one of the reasons I'd never let anything with surfactants into my tank.

Here's another:
Surfactants or insoluble compounds adsorbed onto an interface will inhibit the gas mass transfer through the liquid-gas surface.

And another link:
The effect of surface-active organic matter generated by seven common species of marine phytoplankton on gas exchange rates under turbulent conditions at the air-water interface was determined. Reduction in oxygen evasion rates ranging from 5 to 50% were observed relative to clean seawater controls.

FishJones

Thanks everyone for your help. I googled where to buy it and thankfully an old fishlore.com forum topic came up and the guy bought it from Ace Hardware and then I got it from there. Thank you again for everyone's help!!!

Lucy

I agree PFP, I had also been advised to avoid ammonia with surfactants.

I'm glad you found what you needed, Fishjones, good luck.