# Anyone here cycled with Ace hardware ammonia?



## psyber (Jan 7, 2009)

I know this is somewhat of a double post but I figured this really belonged in it's own thread instead of at the end of a previous one.

After completely screwing up my first attempt at a fishless cycle by using walmart ammonia with surfactant I thought I would double check with people before I try again with different ammonia.

Earlier today I picked up some janitorial strength ammonia from Ace hardware. The only ingredients are ammonia hydroxide and when I shake it nothing foams up. I have read on various forms that people have used this to cycle, however no one has reported success using this brand. My question is, has anyone here ever used it, personally known someone who used it successfully, or read about it used successfully online?

Psyber


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## kfig7 (Nov 24, 2008)

Yes, I have used it successfully. It is 100% Ammonia Hydroxide and it passes the shake test. As long as you do a proper fishless cycle, it will be fine.


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## Zack2112 (Jul 11, 2008)

yeah, i used it for mine, i too got the janitorial strength ammonia from ace. I think i figured it to be a 15% concentrate. It worked out nice. I put it in a dripper bottle and 1 drop per gallon got me to 4ppm. worked out great and was really easy to determine how much to add to get you were you want it to be.


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## psyber (Jan 7, 2009)

Just thought I would post an update. It has been 7 days since I got my ammonia to about 6ppm and so far I have 0 nitrite and 0 nitrate. Getting a bit concerned that nothing has happened over 7 days. I guess stresszyme does not really help.

I added about 5 plants over the past couple of days so hopefully I will something happen after another 7 days. Any thoughts?


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## sleepy09 (Jan 15, 2009)

Hey psyber, I am in the same process that you are. I am using the same product that you are. I have been adding ammonia to the tank (4ppm) everyday. At first my ammonia would stay at 4ppm for a couple of days or slowly go down. For the last couple of days now I have tested for ammonia and it would be 0. I then test nitrites and I get 0. I then test for nitrates and I get 0. I was thing that my tanks is either cycled or something is wrong. It is my understanding that when ammonia and nitrites are at 0 my nitrates should be up somewhat. I am getting a zero reading on everything after 24 hours. I am hoping that our tanks are cycled and its time for some :fish: :fish:


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> Just thought I would post an update. It has been 7 days since I got my ammonia to about 6ppm and so far I have 0 nitrite and 0 nitrate. Getting a bit concerned that nothing has happened over 7 days. I guess stresszyme does not really help.
> 
> I added about 5 plants over the past couple of days so hopefully I will something happen after another 7 days. Any thoughts?


If can take up to 10 days for ammonia to drop. Also, 6ppm is probably more than you need. What are 
you planning to stock with initially?


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## MonteSS (Dec 8, 2008)

Without using used media to seed, it will take up to a couple weeks to show any nitrites and then nitrates.

If your amo droped to 0 then you need to constantly add more amo to keep it around 4ppm

....Bill


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## psyber (Jan 7, 2009)

prov356 said:


> If can take up to 10 days for ammonia to drop. Also, 6ppm is probably more than you need. What are
> you planning to stock with initially?


Yeah, I was shooting for 5 ppm but I got a bit carried away. After reading a few more posts on here I am thinking about pulling some water out to lower the ammonia concentration to around 3 or 4. However, I am concerned that even small WC, less than 10%, will disrupt the cycling process.

My goal is to stock about 5 tiger barbs a day or two after I finish cycling and place a cichlid order at the LFS. If the barbs seem to be doing fine when the 4 juveniles arrive I will add them to the tank as well. So not a large bio load. I expect a bit of bacterial die back but I figgure that is better than not having enough.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> However, I am concerned that even small WC, less than 10%, will disrupt the cycling process.


Small water changes won't. I'd do 20% every day to get it down to 2ppm. That's all you need for the fish 
load you're going to add, and that includes some margin for error. 1ppm would probably be ok. Using 
too much won't hurt, but it'll just result in a lot of nitrate to deal with at the end. May extend things by a 
day or two as well. And you're in the range of possibly overdosing if you slip and add too much.


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## psyber (Jan 7, 2009)

prov356 said:


> Small water changes won't. I'd do 20% every day to get it down to 2ppm. That's all you need for the fish
> load you're going to add, and that includes some margin for error.


I know I should not treat the new water with prime just yet but should I use a simple declorinator?


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> I know I should not treat the new water with prime just yet but should I use a simple declorinator?


I've read that, but don't know where it came from. Prime won't hinder initial cycling any more than it will 
hinder it in an aged tank. If you decide to go with a basic 'dechlor' only product, then make sure it 
handles chloramine if you have chloramine in your tap water.


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## psyber (Jan 7, 2009)

Just thought I would throw out another update. I have done a 10%, 15%, and 20% water change over the past three days. And so far it still looks like my ammonia might be above 4ppm. I have a really hard time distinguishing between 2ppm and 4 ppm. Regardless, I am starting to wonder that some of my cycling problems might have been due to too much ammona. I know I never hit 8 but I know I was above 4. Also, cranked the heater up to about 85 today so hopefully that will help speed things up.

It dawned on me today that it is not the so much the 4+ week delay before fish can be added that makes cycling hard, is all the time before you get any positive feedback (i.e. first signs of nitrite and nitrate). Each negative test brings more and more doubt that everything is progressing as it should. Now that I have removed almost half of the water in my tank, I wonder if it will be even longer before any noticeable signs of success. Oh well, better this than dead fish.


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## MonteSS (Dec 8, 2008)

I did similar to you and had no results for 2 weeks. I added some used media and saw results over night.

Hang in there.....Bill


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## Zack2112 (Jul 11, 2008)

I would definitely double check the amount of ammonia you are adding. I was having similar problems when i started doing fishless cycling and it turned out that i was adding WAY to much ammonia. when you have too much ammonia it can show up on your test kit like not much at all. I was reading around 1ppm when it was actually off the charts. If you are using the ACE hardware brand janitorial strength ammonia i suggest you do a secondary test with a 1 gallon jug of water with 1 drop of ammonia. Also, when i cycle I have never had the need to do water changes until the end to bring my nitrates down. You do not need to add the same amount of ammonia each day, just enough to bring it up to 4ppm. Since mine worked out to be a drop per gallon. When I was cycling my 60 if i was reading 2ppm in the morning I would simply add 30 drops to bring it back to 4ppm. It works like a charm for me. I was able to use media from an old 20g to seed the 60 and it only took two weeks to fully cycle the tank.

If you are not using some established media try to get some from a friend or something. It should really help get things in motion. Best of luck, hang in there!


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## psyber (Jan 7, 2009)

Time for another update.

It has been roughly 14 days since I started cycling. At the moment my Ammonia is around 1ppm, nitrite is a very intense 1ppm, and nitrate is probably close to 30ppm!

I assume not that things have started I should try and keep my ammonia around 1 ppm. Luckily, it is already there without me having to add anymore since I began.

Thanks for all the help everyone.


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## Zack2112 (Jul 11, 2008)

I think you may want to keep your ammonia closer to 3 or 4 ppm, you will build up the ability to handle a larger bioload than with only 1ppm.


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## psyber (Jan 7, 2009)

Time for another update.  My cycle finished a few days ago, and I just added my first fish last night. Although it is way to early to tell, it looks like the ACE Ammonia worked just fine.

In the interest of wrapping up this tread, and in case someone reads this in the future and wonders how it ended, unless I post otherwise I would call cycling with ACE a success. Thanks, again everyone!


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## wolf13 (Feb 13, 2009)

I have used Ace as well with no issue. in fact, it was the only pure I could find locally


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## limelight (Feb 4, 2009)

thats what i used for my 240 worked great[/quote]


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