# Pure ammonia



## randy (Jan 29, 2012)

Does anyone know where I can get pure ammonia in Markham? I tried home depot (HW7/Woodbine) and they didn't have it.

If you have some I don't mind buying some from you, just let me know who you are and where to find you ;-)

I'm cycling a few more shrimp tanks and want to get them ready sooner before heat waves arrive.


----------



## SignGuy (Mar 3, 2012)

I found some at Walmart - Goldex brand I believe it's called. $2 for a 1.5l jug and it works great. i think it's about 5% concentration so do your math accordingly. From what I've read, it's just water and ammonia, no detergents or anything like that. 

It in the cleaning aisle but you have to look for it. it's hidden away on the bottom shelf. Not a big seller I guess.


----------



## randy (Jan 29, 2012)

SignGuy said:


> I found some at Walmart - Goldex brand I believe it's called. $2 for a 1.5l jug and it works great. i think it's about 5% concentration so do your math accordingly. From what I've read, it's just water and ammonia, no detergents or anything like that.
> 
> It in the cleaning aisle but you have to look for it. it's hidden away on the bottom shelf. Not a big seller I guess.


Thanks, I'll try my luck on my way home.


----------



## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Wish I'd known you needed some, I have a big bottle I got at Home Hardware.. the brand is Old Country.. I'd have gladly given you some of mine. I will never, ever use it all.

There's a Home Hardware on Woodbine, just north of 7 btw.


----------



## randy (Jan 29, 2012)

Fishfur said:


> Wish I'd known you needed some, I have a big bottle I got at Home Hardware.. the brand is Old Country.. I'd have gladly given you some of mine. I will never, ever use it all.
> 
> There's a Home Hardware on Woodbine, just north of 7 btw.


Thanks Fishfur, I'll give that store a try and pick up some barley straw pellet at the same time (I know they carry them at HH just not sure about this location). It's 5 minutes from work so if they don't have it it's not much gas wasted.


----------



## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

It is a small store.. but most of them are, except the building centres. Didn't know you could get barley pellets there.
Does barley straw help keep nitrates down ? I think I read it's supposed to add humic substances to the water, which are supposed to be beneficial..does it do anything else ?


----------



## getochkn (Jul 10, 2011)

Fishfur said:


> It is a small store.. but most of them are, except the building centres. Didn't know you could get barley pellets there.
> Does barley straw help keep nitrates down ? I think I read it's supposed to add humic substances to the water, which are supposed to be beneficial..does it do anything else ?


Shrimp LOVE to eat them. Mine come crawling out from all area's the tank to eat them and I usually see more shrimp out eating with barley pellets than I do any other foods I feed.


----------



## getochkn (Jul 10, 2011)

I just throw ramshorns in to cycle and leave them in there afterward to eat uneaten food, eat dead shrimp, dying leaves on plants, etc. 5-6 snails, feed them an algae wafer few times a week, add shrimp later.


----------



## razoredge (Dec 31, 2011)

randy said:


> Thanks Fishfur, I'll give that store a try and pick up some barley straw pellet at the same time (I know they carry them at HH just not sure about this location). It's 5 minutes from work so if they don't have it it's not much gas wasted.


Hi Randy,
I was thinking on picking up some as well but didn't want too large a bag. Did you want to split the barley straw pellets?


----------



## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Well, that's new to me. No idea shrimp like barley straw.. I'd thought it was mostly for pond fish. I wonder if the ghost and whiskers I have would like it ? I should get some and see.

I have a bunch of snails.. four big mysterys, at least 8 nerites.. they do a pretty good job of cleaning up leftovers and such, but in my 5 g brood tank, I'm finding that nitrites and nitrates rise very fast, though it is heavily planted, with several frogbits and a water sprite and both kinds of duckweed. Has one mystery, two nerites, two whisker shrimp I haven' t been able to catch yet to put back in the big tank, and half a dozen shrimplets, more or less, who are so tiny their bioload can't be a problem as yet. I have been feeding half an algae tab every other day plus liquid brown algae, and I suspect it is the algae that is causing the high nitrites.. it may be something that is in with the algae itself, because the nitrites were zero before I started using it. But until I get something else to feed the shrimplets I have to keep using it.. it's all I have for the little guys. Igor has kindly offered some spirulina powder, it's very fine, 100 microns, so it might work and I'm getting banana worms to try out too. Hope the kids eat one of them, I'd like to stop the brown algae.


----------



## randy (Jan 29, 2012)

razoredge said:


> Hi Randy,
> I was thinking on picking up some as well but didn't want too large a bag. Did you want to split the barley straw pellets?


The HH on woodbine doesn't have the barley straw pellets but I did pick up a bottle of old country ammonia for less than 2.50$ tax in. If anyone wants some let me know. If I get the pellets we can definitely split the bag.


----------



## getochkn (Jul 10, 2011)

I got my pellets at Big Al's.


----------



## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Same here for ammonia.. anyone needs it, they can have some of mine !


----------

