ErikZ

I have a 5 Gallon Freshwater tank. I started the cycling process by adding some materials from a friends cycled tank, putting household ammonia in (up till 5-7ppm) and letting it run with a heater and aerator. The Ammonia went down to 0.5-0.25 PPM in about a week. However, since then, it has not decreased at all (or enough to notice it through testing). What is wrong? Should I add more ammonia in to see if it goes down from a higher point? Should i add ammonia neutralizing chemicals? I have no idea. Any help would be much appreciated.

COBettaCouple

Check this page: http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm You might not be using the right kind of ammonia, but I'm not sure since we used fish flakes when doing fishless cycling.

Ntruder1400

Check the ammonia bottle for the list of ingredients. If it contains surfactant or fragrance, I would drain the tank, rinse it (and the gravel, decor, etc) THOROUGHLY and start over. I believe that surfactant is a type of soap. Soap (even trace amounts left over after rinsing) will kill fish.

≈ D ≈

Erik, did you get it cycled?

One place to find the 100% pure Ammonia (if you're still looking) is Ace Hardware if you have one nearby (sorry don't know where you're located )

Ntruder1400

"Ace is the place"? I looked at the supermarket, Home Depot and Lowe's, but couldn't find any pure ammonia. I'll keep Ace in mind for when MTS hits.

andy65

Yes, Ace is where we our pure ammonia.
My brother is using it cycle his 30 gallon tank.

If you find a bottle of ammonia and it does not have any ingredients list, give the bottle a VERY good shake. If it foams,DON'T buy it, it has surfactant in it and they will kill your fish.