Newbie with another question. Tank start up.

[tbfoto]

Ok guy's/gals.....I'm setting up a tank to house newly hatched baby koi. I have my new 20 gallon set up...filled with water...filter , heater, airstone all running for last 24 hours. I have an established koi pond in my backyard so I added a couple of fist size rocks from it to help start my "cycle". I soaked my filter cartridge in my pond overnight...lightly rinsed off and then added to filter. I have not been able to find pure ammonia yet so I want to know if I cannot find it anywhere in town....then how long would I have to wait to add any baby koi to the tank? There are about 25. 1/4 to 1 inch in size. My ammonia level right now is about 1.5. My plan is to raise them in this tank until they are big enough to go into the big pond. Several months to next spring??????

Tom

[YaYgoldFish]

what kind of filter is it? Unless its a REALLY good filter then it might work. But no more thzan a year because theyd get too big for the tank and they could get diseases and things like that.

[zackish]

Some dollar stores in some areas have been known to have pure ammonia. Other than that make sure when you get it when you shake it it doesn't bubble. This means there is surfuctants in it which can also be found in the ingredients on the back of the bottle.

[tbfoto]

Yea, the only type of ammonia I can find so far has surfuctants in it. I didnt shake it to see if it bubbles or not but I've read on here several times not to use it if it contains surfuctants. I tried 4 stors tonight. I'll check a few more tomorrow.