Does anyone know where to buy PURE ammonia?? I've tried all the hardware stores, Dollar stores, Walmart, Ag stores, Paint stores in my town, and nobody has PURE ammonia. Most have dye, surfactants, lemon alkaloids, etc. in it. I would buy it online if someone will tell me where! Please Help!

MAYBE a chemical supply house, but expect some serious questioning. That is some dangerous stuff.

Besides, aren't we in the business of avoiding that stuff here?

What do you need pure ammonia for? Im a Haz Mat trained Fire Fighter and that **** is nasty like high security chemical plant nasty. You might be able to get dilluted ammonia (In industrial cleaners and such) but pure ammonia is not something to be messed with and find it hard to believe it has anything to do with an aquarium. If somehow you mange to obtain pure ammonia you shouldn't handle it unless you have a level A haz mat suit. Simply mixing with water creates ammonia hydroxide which is highly caustic and will give you serious burns if you come in contact with it. I wouldn't be searching for it too hard either... since it is a common ingredient in bombs dont be surprised if you have the FBI knocking at your door since the patriot act is in full swing... If I havent detered you yet from further attempts of obtaining ammonia then god help you, for you have neither the knowledge nor the equipment to handle what you are getting yourself into!

I think there is a little confusion. What you need to use to cycle a tank is what we call pure ammonia but it is like a 10% solution. I got mine at Ace Hardware. It says "Janitorial Strength Formula, 10% ammonium hydroxide" on the bottle. A little trick I learned is to shake the bottle. It should not foam or make a bunch of bubbles that stay around. It will bubble very quickly (like good moonshine " and then the bubbles will disappear. If you see a bunch of bubbles or foam that stick around for more then a second it probably has something in it that you don't want.


I went to there website and they have the stuff listed but the problem is online it looks like they only sell it in 15 packs. I got 1 32 ounce bottle and only used a fraction of it so 15 bottles would be enough for everybody on this site. Hopefully you have an Ace Hardware close by.
Ace® Ammonia - 15 Pack - Industrial Cleaners - Ace Hardware

I didn't want to say the "B" word. I had visions of Timothy McVeigh in my mind when I read that!

In leiu of ammonia...I would use a prawn shrimp. Wrap in a stocking and place in the tank.

Thanks everyone for their input. I am looking for the 10 % kind, NOT the "pure" stuff. Sorry for the confusion, I was frustrated about not finding it anywhere. I'll just have to work around it. Thanks again.

I saw pure ammonia and snickered a bit inside, didnt you take chemistry :-p

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One thing you could do is a planted tank. the plants will consume the ammonia during the cycle preventing the dangersous spikes. So by adding fish slowly you get a very safe cycle.

Then the aerobic bacteria can build up and slowly consumer the ammonia and the plants will finally consume the resulting nitrates for thier nitrogen.

my .02

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fw leiden since 1979, fo salt since 1979, mixed reef 55g 2002-2009. Strong emphasis on the tank taking care of itself. Balanced with plant life, no water changes, tap water, no filters in FW. Only dosing calcium, alk, mag in marine reef tanks. http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/my-...ods-26410.html
recent tanks (till 2009) 7 years- 10g FW leiden 7 yrs, 55g mixed reef 7, 2 yrs, 20g FW leiden, 10 g fw leiden , 29g mixed reef, current tank 55g leiden

I went and got ammonia at meijers. It was in the aisle with all the laundry soap and kitchen cleaning stuff, but it was on the bottom shelf and i walked past it 3 times. I had to ask someone to help me find it.

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Everything happens for a reason <3
10 G FW
As of now I am planning on planting it with Java Fern, Java Moss and Watersprite.
I also plan on getting 4 Scarlet Badis, 5 Cherry Barbs and 2 Zebra Otos (or regular otos)

Any feedback or opinions on my plans are welcomed and appreciated. Thank you