reef165 Posted April 26, 2007 Share Posted April 26, 2007 what Ammonia is it i need to add to my tank for cycling and whare can i get some? whats the name on the bottle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowman Posted April 26, 2007 Share Posted April 26, 2007 I would go buy a damsel or chromis or even a snail or two and put in the tank. I would'nt put bottled ammonia in my tank. You can even add a piece of raw shrimp to get the cycle started. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wegotjs Posted April 26, 2007 Share Posted April 26, 2007 I agree you won't see any faster result's with the ammonia. Let nature take it's course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCR Posted April 26, 2007 Share Posted April 26, 2007 Interesting. I have never heard of anyone adding ammonia(scratch) Not something I would do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted April 26, 2007 Share Posted April 26, 2007 If you want to do the ammonia thing, make sure it has NO SOAP or detergent. Just plain ol' ammonia in a bottle (also known as Ammonium hydroxide). DO NOT use things like windex! If you don't want to use life, use death. Throw a little seafood in there. Or better yet! Just use the die-off from the live rock to start your cycle. (unless you get well-cured LR from a LFS that stays underwater the whole trip home). If you order it online, there will be a lot of stinkey, dead things that will decompose to make your cycle progress. The only cure for the cycle is TIME. Let it run it's course. (hard words to follow, I almost did. LOL) dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefgeek84 Posted April 26, 2007 Share Posted April 26, 2007 take a piece of table shrimp and throw it in the tank... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted April 26, 2007 Share Posted April 26, 2007 I'd like to hear a bit more about your setup, first. Size? Live rock (cured or stanky? Live sand? How long has it been cycling? etc.. I'm not a fan of using livestock on the initial cycle -- the tough little fish often don't have the personality to fit in with more passive tankmates and trying to catch the quick little buggers can be frustrating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tidalsculpin Posted April 26, 2007 Share Posted April 26, 2007 I suspect it is a coldwater setup. I did not do use ammonia in my system as was discussed in the tidepool thread. I use food and patience. Took close to 8 weeks before nitrate arrived in my 130 coldwater. If you want some bacteria acclimated to coldwater, go find a store with a lobster tank and beg them to do a water change. Be careful though. The water probably has terrible quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef165 Posted April 26, 2007 Author Share Posted April 26, 2007 I suspect it is a coldwater setup. I did not do use ammonia in my system as was discussed in the tidepool thread. I use food and patience. Took close to 8 weeks before nitrate arrived in my 130 coldwater. If you want some bacteria acclimated to coldwater' date=' go find a store with a lobster tank and beg them to do a water change. Be careful though. The water probably has terrible quality.[/quote'] yes, thats what its for, a coldwater. Ive just gotta plumb my closed loop snapper and start adding water. When the cycles done i want to be able to go to the coast and collect quite a bit each trip, i dont want to go for just a couple things so i wanted to have a good bacteria base and thought that if i were to use the ammonia i could basicaly create a bigger bioload not to speed things up but to create more bacteria. Does this sound right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted April 27, 2007 Share Posted April 27, 2007 More ammonia would create more bacteria. But you could get the same results with adding pieces of raw seafood that will decompose in the tank. The more starter that you add, the more bacteria that you will get. Maybe start with some live steamer clams from the seafood section of the grocery store. If they live through the cycle, you could still eat them. Get a couple of dozen. That many would be plenty to get the bacteria going. It is not just the bacteria that you should be looking for. You also want other things crawling/swimming in the tank. There are many marine protozoa that are good for the overall health of the tank. Consider making a smaller first trip. Make sure that you collect some sand, rocks, and muscles and get some ocean water to add to the tank. Consider scraping some of the growth off of an encrusted rock/pier post/dock-side. You should end up with all sorts of neat little critters (amphipods are my favorite). Once that stuff gets established, then your second trip can be a little bigger. Good luck with the tank Someday I would like to try an Oregon Aquarium. I think it would be fun! dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef165 Posted April 27, 2007 Author Share Posted April 27, 2007 i like the steamer clam idea, it would give something to lookat also. I do plan on going and getting a couple buckets of wet sand and posably some small rocks very soon! im taking pics now and once ive got the tank full of water and ive started the cycle ill start a thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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