Household Ammonia Cycle

Household Ammonia is good for bacteria................or at least some of them.

You will have come across different methods for cycling an aquarium but by far the quickest and easiest is by using household ammonia.  This might seem a bit strange because household ammonia is one of the most hazardous liquids imaginable in its raw state but used properly it will get your nitrogen cycle established in record time.

We will give general guidelines on this page, simply because local water conditions and the size of tank as well as the varying strengths of household ammonia stop this from being an exact science.

So, go and buy a small bottle of household ammonia,  unscented and keep it small.  If this works first time you will need something like six teaspoons to cycle a forty gallon tank.  Also buy some starter bacteria from your local aquarium stockists if available.

Set up your tank, plant it and fill it with water.  On day one add enough household ammonia to give you an aquarium ammonia reading of four parts per million.  Add a bit at a time, keeping count and allowing it to mix in thoroughly before testing.  Two teaspoons is likely to be more than enough for a forty gallon tank so be careful not to overdo it.

What this does is bypass one of the steps in a traditional cycling method. 

There is no waiting for things to decompose to add ammonia it is there from day one speeding up the process.

Now add some starter bacteria as per the manufacturers instructions.

Test the ammonia levels daily.  It will probably take about a week for the levels to return to zero.  As soon as they do add the same amount of ammonia and another dose of starter bacteria.

The return to zero should be quicker this time and you should start to see a nitrite spike developing.  Keep repeating the process until ammonia levels return to zero in 12 to 18 hours. 

Once your ammonia and nitrite levels are both back to zero your tank is fully cycled.  Reduce the resulting nitrate levels with a 40-50% water change and start adding fish.

One extra precaution is to let your filter run with activated carbon for a day before adding any fish just to remove any chemicals that were in the ammonia.

The tank should theoretically now be ready to accept a full load of fish, but it is still wise to introduce them a few at a time and test the water regularly.

Read about Aquarium pH next