Ammonium Chloride

Fritz Ammonium Chloride (NH₄Cl) can be used as a source of ammonia to initiate the growth of nitrifying bacteria without the presence of animal life.

In most aquariums, the biological cycle is started by fish being introduced into the aquarium. The fish excrete ammonia which acts as a food source for true nitrifying bacteria.  True nitrifying bacteria convert ammonia into nitrite and then nitrite into nitrate. When using Ammonium Chloride to start a biological cycle, the ammonium chloride is used in place of the fish as an ammonia source and fish should not be present while using ammonium chloride. 

The goal is to raise the aquarium ammonia concentration to 3- 4 ppm before adding a source of nitrifying bacteria such as Fritz Zyme or Fritz Zyme TurboStart.  Be careful not to overdose the aquarium with too much ammonium chloride. If unsure of aquarium size or total water volume, start with a dose that is below what you believe is necessary and add small amounts of ammonium chloride to reach the desired ammonia conentration. Allow Ammonium Chloride to dissolve thoroughly before using an accurate test kit to determine the ammonia level of your aquarium's water.

One level teaspoon of ammonium chloride is approximately 4.5 grams. 4.5 grams per 100 gallons of aquarium water will create an ammonia concentration of approximately 4 ppm.

As your aquarium begins to cycle it is important that you monitor both ammonia and nitrite levels.  Once the ammonia concentration nears zero, do not reapply ammonium chloride or add fish until nitrite levels are also at or near zero concentration.  Once ammonia and nitrite concentrations are at zero, you should either add a second dosage of ammonium chloride or add fish so not to interupt the food source of your biological filter for more then 72 hours (3 days).

The cycle is complete when ammonia and nitrite levels drop to 0ppm and nitrate levels have increased by a measurable amount. For more information about nitrifying bacteria see our "resources" portion of FritzZyme.com.

Safety Data: Keep out of reach of Children!

Raising ammonia levels above 5.0ppm may actually slow the cycle time.

Documents

Follow all precautions and recommendations on the MSDS sheet:

• Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) (.pdf, 113kB)

Stock Details

Item Number	Item Name	Container	Price/ea.	Buy Now
369-852	Dry Ammonium Chloride	500 grams	$11.99	Add to Cart

See Also:

• TURBO START #700 Freshwater
• TURBO START #900 Saltwater
• Fritz-Zyme #7 Freshwater
• Fritz-Zyme #9 Saltwater