Cycling my 75 gal tank

[GeneralGoldeneye]

What would be the best way to cycle my 75 gal tank? I cant find any ammonia at my lfs but I did a test of my water after adding it yesterday and it has a reading of .25 will my tank cycle with this ammonia in my tank. My Nitrites are at 0 right now

[mrs fishpatrick]

I think you should be able to source pure ammonia from diffirent shops,
wich one I can't tell you because I am not on the same continent as you.
But I am sure someone else will be able to tell you the name.

would it maybe be an idea to seed your new filter with some media from any of the filters in your other tank

[GeneralGoldeneye]

any ideals?

[fins_n_fur]

If you are doing a fishless cycle:

Best sources of ammonia are local discount department stores. Wal-mart, K-mart, dollar stores, hardware stores. If you have an Ace Hardware store near you they typically carry ammonia with no surfactants added which is the best to use.

You'll be wanting to add enough ammonia DAILY to keep your ammonia at about 4-5 ppm until you have your nitrite spike. Then you only need to add enough to keep at 2-3 ppm until you have your nitrate spike. Crank the heat up to about 86 degrees F and get an airstone going if you can. Good luck!

[GeneralGoldeneye]

If you are doing a fishless cycle:

Best sources of ammonia are local discount department stores. Wal-mart, K-mart, dollar stores, hardware stores. If you have an Ace Hardware store near you they typically carry ammonia with no surfactants added which is the best to use.

You'll be wanting to add enough ammonia DAILY to keep your ammonia at about 4-5 ppm until you have your nitrite spike. Then you only need to add enough to keep at 2-3 ppm until you have your nitrate spike. Crank the heat up to about 86 degrees F and get an airstone going if you can. Good luck!

Duh I guess wal-mart does have pure ammonia I use to stock the stuped things they are in the chemical area

[GeneralGoldeneye]

will Great value clear ammomia work?

[doug z]

As long as there are NO added chemicals, scents, etc. you will be fine.

A good way to be sure is to shake it up good with the cap on..

If it's all fizzy when you take the cap off and have a look, it's no good..

Fizzy, mind.. A few bubbles here and there is fine..

[GeneralGoldeneye]

will it take a lot to get the ammonia up in a 75 gal

[GeneralGoldeneye]

If you are doing a fishless cycle:

Best sources of ammonia are local discount department stores. Wal-mart, K-mart, dollar stores, hardware stores. If you have an Ace Hardware store near you they typically carry ammonia with no surfactants added which is the best to use.

You'll be wanting to add enough ammonia DAILY to keep your
ammonia at about 4-5 ppm until you have your nitrite spike. Then you only need to add enough to keep at 2-3 ppm until you have your nitrate spike. Crank the heat up to about 86 degrees F and get an airstone going if you can. Good luck!

I got ammonia from walmart and I didn't know how much to put in so I pored some in and waited a couple of hours and tested it my ammonia is at 8.0 and my temp is 85. Does it hurt anything with it being so high right now?

[doug z]

I think if you go more than the 4-5ppm you kill the bacteria you are trying to grow..

But seeing as how you are just starting out, you can just wait for it to go down to 4-5ppm, and go from there..

Did you do the fizz test?

[GeneralGoldeneye]

I got great value clear ammonia from walmart. yea when I do shake it the top air space fills up with bubbles what difference does this make?

[GeneralGoldeneye]

Over the next few days I will take water out of my cycled tank and put it in my new tank. It should go a lot faster that way

[doug z]

yea when I do shake it the top air space fills up with bubbles what difference does this make?

It's possible that there may be added chemicals..

Bubbles are ok, but if it's fizzing (the bubbles just keep coming), I would find another brand, like Goldex..

That's the kind I found that's ok.

[GeneralGoldeneye]

it doesnt keep fizzing it stops when i stop shaking

[doug z]

Ok, is it soap bubbles, or is it like you put a bunch of alka-seltzer in there?

What does it say on the bottle, anything?