My First Tank ..... And A Million Questions

[fulltilt]

OK, but I can't find the clear ammonia anywhere, and I found a really old thread (circa 1994) on another forum saying they used cloudy with no problems. I thought the sediment would be better (ie less soap in the ammonia), but also when I did the shake test when I bought it there wasn't even any soap bubbles then, just "normal" water bubbles that only last a few seconds, if that.

 

[rdd1952]

It may be ok if you don't get any bubbles when you shake it. I'd be curious as to what makes it cloudy and what the sediment in the bottom is. Does it have an ingredient label on it? The only items that should be on the label are water, ammonia, and maybe cheleating agents. If it does have some type of soap in it though, it will ruin your tank.

 

[fulltilt]

It doesn't have a proper ingredients list, it only says :

Contains 20g/L Ammonia (as NH3)

 

[spacebass]

Whilst researching around ammonia I read that urea is much loved by plants and bacteria, and is 10,000 times less toxic than ammonia.

Why is this not a good idea , it's free and easy to come by.

 

[rdd1952]

The ammonia is what you use to build the bacteria. Basically you put the ammonia in the tank (with no fish in it) so the bacteria you are talking about will form. Once you have built enough bacteria, youadd the fish who will then produce the waste and keep the bacteria fed. Plants are helpful in removing ammonia but even a heavily planted tank can't handle a full fish load and process all the ammonia they produce without the help of nitrifying bacteria.