Ammonia suggestions for cycling without fish

[gavinl]

G'day

I think this may have been covered before, but I've had a difficult time finding the post. Basically, I am getting ready for my second (and first decent-sized) system and don't want to see any goldfish die this time or perhaps contaminate the water, during the cycling process. I would prefer to add fish when the cycling is completed. Consequently, I was wondering what would be a good, clean source of ammonia to use in the cycling process. Fishfood seems to make a mess and the ammonia tablets at aquarium shops can be exxy.

All suggestions/advice appreciated

gav

[GaryD]

Hi Gavin,

You can pick up the discussion on fishless cycling.....here.

There are several ways you can achieve fishless cycling. Echidna came up with urea as a suggestion. I hadn't thought of that before but, if you could get unadulterated urea, it might be the go.


Gary

[gavinl]

Thanks Gary.

I checked out the thread and will try to get some Urea that echidna mentioned or if it is difficult to locate, might also go the dead fish route. As my tank will only be 800-900L, it might not need a huge amount of ammonia.

gav

[Jonathan Dyer]

Urea is identical in its composition to that of the fish wastes and needs to be converted exactly as does the fish waste by the microbes found in the soil/gravel bed will work perfectly a hand full or two should suffice (large hand full that is per 900L). Alternatively, why not add a hand full of Urea and a hand full of Calcium Nitrate. Calcium Nitrate is readily plant available source of nitrogen and with the added bonus of calcium; Calcium Nitrate also increases dissolved oxygen in the water and is commonly used in aquaculture dams for that reason. Both together will kick start any system off safely.

Trust me I have had a long running system and have never lost one fish yet.

[gavinl]

Thanks Jonathon.

Sounds good to me. I'll look into getting the ingredients.

gav

[Jonathan Dyer]

So gavin have you got around to use urea in your system yet? if so how did it go?

[gavinl]

Hi Jonathan

Still getting all the components together mate. I've bought the Urea and will put in a big hand full when ready to cucle.

Thanks mate

gav

[GaryD]

Hi,

Here's some information I dug up while trawling through some duckweed research.....

Ureacontains approximately 45 percent nitrogen and is the most commonly available and lowest cost nitrogenous fertilizer. Urea is the most efficient form of nitrogen supply to terrestrial crops, but its volatility in water and its elevating effect on pH makes it problematic for hydroponic applications. When applied to water with a pH above 7.0, nitrogen losses through ammonia volatility can often exceed 50 percent.

The effect of urea on a fishless system that has yet to cycle is less of a concern, but some of the discussions have referred to using urea to kick things along a bit when the fish are not producing sufficient nutrients. This information makes it clear that such a practice is not without its risks.

Gary