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Got a question for you all.

Im attempting a fishless cycle on a 90-gallon tank. I bought some Big Als brand cycle and a no name product simply called pure ammonia at my local grocery store. The ammonia did not have an ingredients list so at the store I pulled off lid and checked a few things. It didnt bubble or fizz when shook, it was clear and although ammonia has a distinct smell I didnt detect any other scent such as lemon or pine.

At this time my tank had been set up and running for a few days. I added cycle as instructed on the bottle for new tank set up and waited for a few hours for the filter to mix things up a bit. I then added 2 ml (42-44 drops) of the ammonia and waited another few hours. After this was done I tested for ammonia and got a reading of 0 mg/l (or 0 ppm as to my understanding they are about the same thing). The next day I added another 2 ml and tested immediately in the same area the ammonia was added. This gave me another reading of 0. After that I put a drop of ammonia in the test tube and then filled it to the 5 ml line with fresh water. This gave me a reading off the tests 0 7.3 mg/l scale. I havent added any more to the tank since.

Are bacteria eating the ammonia that fast already? Or did I buy crap ammonia? Should I do a large or total water change now or continue my attempt to cycle the tank and then do the water change once successful? Does Bio Spira really work and make tanks fish safe over night? Because if so, this is an option I would like to explore.

Thanks for any and all thoughts on this,
Plan.

Hey Plan-B, I added 4 teaspoons of pure ammonia to my 55 US gallon tank for a fishless cycle which I think is about 20 ml. I tested for ammonia and got a result of 2.0ppm. I would get a gallon of water and test how many teaspoons it takes to get some kind of reading.

After that I put a drop of ammonia in the test tube and then filled it to the 5 ml line with fresh water. This gave me a reading off the tests 0 ? 7.3 mg/l scale.

A drop of some fluid in 5ml water is roughly one part in one hundred - that is, 10,000 ppm! You would always expect to max out the scale that way.

Similarly, one teaspoon of ammonia in a gallon of water is...(calculates)...one part in 768, or 1300 ppm. Even at low concentrations of ammonia you're going to go right off the chart with the first teaspoon.

I would drop in a tablespoon at a time (15 ml) into the tank and see where that takes you.

I didnt take into account that household ammonia is diluted to about 5-15% NH3. It took me 10 teaspoons in a 90-gallon tank to get the reading I was looking for. Thanks for all the help everyone.