Pure Ammonia Where do you buy it ?

I've been to Home Depot, Lowes, Ace Hardware, and Walmart and cannot find pure Ammonia. All the ammonia products I've found had surfacents, color, and scent additives in them. Anyone know where I may find some?

 

I found some at a local Petland. If you have near by you sould check there.
Tom

 

I've seen it in my local grocery store in the cleaning isle. Though it's usually in such large bottles I don't know that I'd ever bother. You only need to use like 5 drops a day until you can add fish. At that rate you'd barely make a dent in the amount that you bought, and I'm not sure if it has a shelf life (i.e. loses it's strength over time) so you might not even be able to keep it for the next time you need it. You are better off just using fish flakes. A few flakes 2 times a day and you will get the same result, and then once you add fish, you just keep using the flakes . That's just my 2 cents though. Good Luck!

 

Thank you for the replies. I couldn't stand looking at my empty tank any longer so I went searching for it. I found it at an Ace Hardware store. It is the Ace brand and labled as Janitorial Strength Formula with 10% ammonium hydroxide. The ammonia at all the other stores contained at a minimum a surfactant. Guess I'll never need to buy another bottle of it again, it came in a one quart size.

 

That's exactly the ammonia I got heh.
When we couldn't find any at the local Walmarts we went to Ace Hardware and got some there. It's a HUGE bottle considering you only use a few drops, but hey.. if you suffer from MTS (and actually have the money to support it).. that extra ammonia will come in handy for the new tanks! hehe

 

I am trying to find 100% pure ammonia. I can't seem to find it. The closest I can find is called clear ammonia. Its ingredients where ammonium hydroxide and something that started with a "S" that I can't say or spell. Needless to say it did not seem "pure" to me. I need help buying some of this stuff so I can start this cycle. Got any ideas?

 

Look in a hardware store, in the industrial cleaners section.

 

HI guppy, here's a thread that will help you find PURE ammonia - the clear one isn't the one that you need:

 

Thanks for posting that link to the previous thread. I take it you can search threads? I am sure the more time I spend on here I can figure out how to do it. I did read that he found it at ACE Hardware and I found one pretty close so I will head over there tomorrow and get some.

Thanks to you guys again, another query answered!

 

Hi, you don't want to get any Ammonia stronger than 25% Ammonia to 75% water as 25% is bad enough to use. I have used 50% and required a full face BA with full length chemical gloves.

 

I know this is gonna be gross... ewe...

and by no means is this my idea... or ever would want to try it...

but I read either in a magazine, or on another forum that someone used his own urine in his aquarium to start the cycle!

:-X

YUK

 

Not my idea of saving 1.29$ for not buying a bottle of ammonia.

 

I think using a piece of shrimp, or a algae tab might work well too? No?
I have always cycled with fish...takes longer and is more work.

 

I have always cycled by moving an already running filter off of an established tank , onto the new tank. We keep extra filters go here for just that purpose.

 

Now that I have multiple tanks, its nice to be able to use seed gravel, or a used filter bag for a new tank. I have all the same filters now, so I can interchange a bag, or bio-wheel...

not that I should add anymore tanks, other than the one I asked for for christmas that is, oh and maybe one more for Valentines day, and my birthday is in April... and...

 

I know the feeling.
Once the fishhouse is full, we wil start working on getting the business up and going.

So, 300 tanks and then the retail store.

 

I'll say!!!

Not my idea of saving 1.29$ for not buying a bottle of ammonia.

 

Hey guys and gals,

I found ACE ammonia. It is a janitorial strength formula. Says it contains 10% ammonium hydroxide and that is the only other ingredient so I am guessing that is the right stuff. Some one let me know so I can get this tank to start cycling!

 

That would be it -- go for it!

 

I know this is gonna be gross... ewe...

and by no means is this my idea... or ever would want to try it...

but I read either in a magazine, or on another forum that someone used his own urine in his aquarium to start the cycle!

:-X

YUK

actually its true, old sailors used stale urine to clean their clothes and what not, urine is basically urea, water and ammonia, just save it, boil off the water, and you have ammonia lol you just wouldn't want to use that pot for cooking anymore

 

Thanks for the thread reminder you guys. I had exactly the same question. I can't seem to be able to find pure ammonia.

 

Armadillo,

You may also want to read this thread

Fishless cycle using ammonia rather than fish food? (that is the title)

It was very helpful!

Good luck.

While I am cycling my tank with pure ammonia, should I keep putting oxygen in the tank via my airstone? Or should I calm the water?

 

hmm.. good question. I don't think it would make a difference either way.. although our 30 gallon cycled the fastest and did have air being pumped into it, we also got it's water the warmest of any cycling tank so i'm not sure how big of an effect the air had.. it wouldn't hurt though and at the least, the air stone might get some good bacteria on it.

 

Thanks, guppy. I just did. Very useful indeed. Thanks for posting this.

Armadillo,

You may also want to read this thread

Fishless cycle using ammonia rather than fish food? (that is the title)

It was very helpful!

Good luck.

My totally uneducated guess and gut reaction is to keep the air stone in. But not sure. Are they aerobic or anaerobic bacteria - please don't shoot me down?

While I am cycling my tank with pure ammonia, should I keep putting oxygen in the tank via my airstone? Or should I calm the water?

 

I would keep the airstone going.
The majority of nitrafying bacteria in the aqaurium are anaerobic.
Devices such as biowheels or venturI tubes in certain filters allow aerobic nitrafying bacteria to be used in aquariums.

 

So there are aerobic and anaerobic nitrifers?

 

Thanks for the thread reminder you guys. I had exactly the same question. I can't seem to be able to find pure ammonia.

I have attached a link to the M.S.D.S. ( Material Safety Data Sheet ) For Ammonia NH3. If you intend to use Ammonia to cycle your tank, you should get a 1 gallon bucket and take some water from your tank, take the bucket outside, add the Ammonia ( I would start with 10ml of 10% Ammonia, for a 55 gallon tank ) mix, then add to the tank. Let it mix in the tank for 30min then test, You want a Ammonia reading of 0.8 to 1 ppm. If your first reading is 0.4ppm, do another mix in the bucket. By doing this you know you require 20ml of 10% Ammonia to give you a 0.8 to 1ppm reading in your tank.
Armadillo, the reason that you can not find 100% Ammonia is, that with out the correct protection, it would kill you. Here is the link

 

Hmm.. so the last tank that we cycled was aided by the bubble wand and sponge filter than we were running in it during the cycling?

I would keep the airstone going.
The majority of nitrafying bacteria in the aqaurium are anaerobic.
Devices such as biowheels or venturI tubes in certain filters allow aerobic nitrafying bacteria to be used in aquariums.

 

Might sound like stupid question..

Where do people usually buy pure ammonia from? Drug store? Hardware store?

I am located in Vancouver if it helps?

Thanks!

 

HI Ahcash...
Its not a stupid question.. its one that is asked alot! It seems that the pure ammonia is very hard to find in local stores. I have not been able to find it myself and have just used fish food to 'feed' the tank.
~ kate

 

went to 3 local drug stores and none carries. Looks like I might have to use the old fashion way.. feed the tank.

 

After searching locally, I found what I *think* is pure ammonium hydroxide. This probably will be no help in Canada, but it's at Ace Hardware in the U.S. One thing I found, probably here on FishLore, is that you should shake the bottle, and if it does not produce suds, it's probably pure ammonia. You certainly don't want soap or lemon-smelling additives in your aquarium!

 

Yes I bought pure ammonia at Ace also. Its just ammonia and water in the ingredients.

 

I bought mine at walmart. In the cleaning section.

 

Too Much About Nothing

Typically the surfactant level in cleaning products like ammonia is about 0.1% to 0.5%. Since we are only going to use five drops/gallon to start the nitrogen cycle (fishless) the amount of surfactant introduced is vanishingly small - don't worry about it! If you wish, you can calculate for your self since twenty average size drops equal one milliliter (1/1000 of a liter).

Docfreed
Ph. D, Chemistry
and new to this very exciting and informative forum

 

I live in Winnipeg, Canada and Safeway has their own brand of ammonia selling for $2.85. I picked some up today actually. It's with the cleaning supplies (like Mr. Clean, Lysol) and not with the Javex/bleach. I was in Wal-Mart and they didn't have it.

 

Typically the surfactant level in cleaning products like ammonia is about 0.1% to 0.5%. Since we are only going to use five drops/gallon to start the nitrogen cycle (fishless) the amount of surfactant introduced is vanishingly small - don't worry about it! If you wish, you can calculate for your self since twenty average size drops equal one milliliter (1/1000 of a liter).

Docfreed
Ph. D, Chemistry
and new to this very exciting and informative forum

that amount is very very small. however, I guess I wouldn't feel comfortable doing that with my tanks. if needed, ammonium hydroxide (basically ammonia and water) can be purchased online.

 

Typically the surfactant level in cleaning products like ammonia is about 0.1% to 0.5%. Since we are only going to use five drops/gallon to start the nitrogen cycle (fishless) the amount of surfactant introduced is vanishingly small - don't worry about it! If you wish, you can calculate for your self since twenty average size drops equal one milliliter (1/1000 of a liter).

Docfreed
Ph. D, Chemistry
and new to this very exciting and informative forum

WELCOME TO FISHLORE! Docfreed.

Isn't that what the lawyers for the EXON VALDEZ said!

I would stick with 100% pure, or fish food.....

 

HI guys. I got some bad news. I'm not going to upgrade due to the fact that I live in a really small apartment and I don't have the room to put in my 10 gallon. My mom disapprovs of me having the 20 gallon. She said to wait until you get your own place or whenever she could find a larger place.

So now my question is, where I could find pure ammonia. I want to set up one of the 2.5 gallon tanks and used them for either putting my apple snail in there once it's done cycling or to put a betta in( Yeah I'm also interested on keeping bettas. One betta cannot stop stare at me at the pet store today.). My local family dollar and Walgreens sells ammonia, but it have the perfume nd things and I don't know if the dollar store near me sells pure ammonia. Any other place I can go to find pure ammonia like a home depot or something?

Thanks. I'm getting paid in 2 weeks. I just got paid Friday and it's not a really big check.

 

A few members here say that found it at Ace Hardware.