Ammo lock

[heyandrea_]

What does everything think about Ammo lock?

[Adrienne]

Never used it, what do you want it for?

[Bluetom]

Find the cause, not just a solution.

I have used it in desperation, I think it helped but money down the toilet if you don't find and solve the problem.

Water changes are always a cheap way to fix an ammonia problem especially during cycling

[Afrikan]

Ammo Lock binds the ammonia.. however as Bluetom said if you have a ammonia problem you will need to suss out why.

[stargazer]

I've used it several times, it turns the ammonia into ammonim but; when testing for ammonia it will still show up as ammonia. I also use a product by sera it has the bacteria in it seems to work out very well; as I have 3ppm amonia in my tap water to start with. changing water as said above is the best and cheapest way to do it, and find the cause good luck it takes time and patience of which I have very little

[Rockerpeller]

i've never tried it. i gave up with chemical substitutes after reading this forum and realizing that they aren't really essential. you save money just waiting it out and letting the "cycle" catch up with the ammonia build-up. just remember there are people on here that most likely have gone thru what you are going thru right now and have learnt from it. this forum is an awesome place to get advice and share wisdom. it has definitely shown me a thing or 2 about fishtanks i never knew before.

chemical substitutes are not essential unless they are under extreme circumstances. even then they are not needed as a water change can help out almost any problem whether that be as low as 20-30% up to 80%. it all depends on the problem you are going thru. maybe a little more info is needed as to why you are asking about ammo-lock to give you some experienced advice regarding using it. don't think this is a attack on you. i used to think the same thing until i realised it was all to help me with my hobby. but whether you take the advice is totally up to you.

[alanmin4304]

Ammonia and ammonium are for all intents the same thing as ammonia does not just disolve in water , it reacts to form ammonium hydroxide. The cycling process is destroyed if you remove the ammonia because the bacteria feeding on it will die from starvation and your tank then becomes "uncycled"

[heyandrea_]

Im just asking a general question. Was reading about it the other day and wondered what everyone's thoughts were! My understanding is that it converts ammonia into a non-toxic form, and then the bacteria still converts it to nitrite and then nitrate as per normal. It would be useful for emergencies, but it doesnt mention anywhere that you can overdose or anything, so I would be worried about that!

[alanmin4304]

I don't know, but would suspect that it is called ammolock because it locks the ammonia up.

[heyandrea_]

This is what it says in my API testing kit instructions:

"To detoxify ammonia, use API Ammo-Lock to instantly lock up ammonia. Ammo-lock does not remove ammonia, it simply converts toxic ammonia to a non-toxic form, Ammonia tests kits will still test positive for ammonia, even though treating with Ammo-lock has made it non-toxic. The biological filter will then consume the non-toxic ammonia, converting it to nitrite and then to nitrate."

[alanmin4304]

It sounds like it may have been written by a secondhand car salesman. If you get the balance right the bacteria will do the same thing and that is what cycling the tank is all about. Keep it simple---it does work.

[Bluetom]

Ammo-lock adds an additional setup to the nitrification cycle. The only step easily achieved by a chemical reaction.

It's a good product for what it does however is a little hard to prove. as tests will not indicate the change.