Oops... I Used The Wrong Ammonia... What Now?

[Zorro A. Knievel Esq.]

I went out and bought Great Value (Wal-Mart Brand) Ammonia to start fishless cycling my tank. I thought it was pure Ammonia and there were no ingredients listed on the back just big bold letters that said "CONTAINS NO PHOSPHORUS"... but when I read the "Eye and Skin Irratation" section it listed Ammonia Hydroxide and when I shake the bottle it forms suds.

I already put 12 drops in with an eye dropper... It's a 75 gallon tank. I tested the Ammonia level right away and it still reads 0 ppm.

How concerned should I be about the surficants I just added and how big of a water change should I perform? Will the activated carbon in my filters help me in anyway? Does anyone have any suggestions of where to get pure ammonia chloride? I can't seem to find Dr. Tim's anywhere locally.

This is what I get for being impatient. I feel like a genius.

 

[danhutchins]

I went out and bought Great Value (Wal-Mart Brand) Ammonia to start fishless cycling my tank. I thought it was pure Ammonia and there were no ingredients listed on the back just big bold letters that said "CONTAINS NO PHOSPHORUS"... but when I read the "Eye and Skin Irratation" section it listed Ammonia Hydroxide and when I shake the bottle it forms suds.

I already put 12 drops in with an eye dropper... It's a 75 gallon tank. I tested the Ammonia level right away and it still reads 0 ppm.

How concerned should I be about the surficants I just added and how big of a water change should I perform? Will the activated carbon in my filters help me in anyway? Does anyone have any suggestions of where to get pure ammonia chloride? I can't seem to find Dr. Tim's anywhere locally.

This is what I get for being impatient. I feel like a genius.

You have to start over. I would remove everything rinse and boil.

 

[TexasDomer]

I don't think you need to boil anything, but I would empty the tank, rinse the media in tap water (since there's no bacteria on there anyway), fill the tank, and try again with an ammonia without a surfactant (no suds). If you're in the US, Ace Hardware might have some pure ammonia.

 

[Zorro A. Knievel Esq.]

I've been reading on other sights and people actually use the stuff with surfactants to cycle their tanks then just do a really big (95%) water change before adding fish (I don't want to do this, I'd rather get the right stuff and not risk it). Other people say just a big water change will be alright, no boiling necessary.

 

[TexasDomer]

I think the surfactant interferes with the bacterial growth though, not just that it's harmful to fish.