Never heard of that one. If it doesn't have an surfactants in it then it is probably safe. Just shake it up and see if you get bubbles.
You can test the ammonia a few minutes after you add it. It won't take long for the filter to distribute and mix the ammonia and water. Your test kit should have both a freshwater and saltwater ammonia card (at least my Aquarium Pharmaceuticals kits do). If it didn't have one, ask someone at your local fish store. They probably have an extra one laying around since you get a new one in every kit you buy.Okay, so we're on Day 1 of trying to do this whole cycling milarkey. Just dosed my 8.2 UK gallon tank with five drops of ammonia (reckon that'll be enough?) How long should I wait before I test the water?
Question 2: In my master test kits, all the test cards say Freshwater, except the ammonia card, which says Saltwater. Is that normal?
Three: I've only had water in my tank for a couple of days and the PH is pretty high, around 7.4 - 7.6. I'm guessing I need it a bit lower than this. Will it go down of its own accord or do I have to do something?
Should I turn off all the lights/heater/filter stuff before I put my hands in the tank? My mum is panicking about me getting electrocuted.
You can cycle with fish food. It is just harder to regulate how much ammonia you are creating. As the flakes decay and break down, they create ammonia but I don't think anyone really knows how many flakes are needed to raise the ammonia to say 4 ppm. It will work though but may take a little longer. Also, ammonia is much cheaper than fish food. A quart bottle of ammonia is only about 50 cent and you can cycle a LOT of tanks with that much.
Have you tested your tap water to see what the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels are in it? If you just started a week ago, it is very odd that you would already be experiencing high nitrate levels and be that far along in your cycle. It could be that you have nitrite and nitrate present in your tap water. If your tap water checks out though and your tank can process 5 ppm of ammonia back to 0 ammonia and nitrite in about 12 hours, then I'd say you are cycled.