Finding ammonia in Canada?

[NaturallyKait]

Fellow Canucks, has anyone had luck finding pure ammonia in Canada? No one locally sells Dr. Tim’s, Amazon has it online but says it could be the end of the month before it gets here and I don’t want to wait that long if I can help it. I’ve looked at Home Depot, Canadian Tire, Walmart and a few smaller places and can’t find pure ammonia, only lemon scented stuff. I’m wondering if anyone else had any luck or if it’s just next to impossible to find here. 

[Ratvan]

I know it's a fw forum but

https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/threads/canadians-looking-for-pure-ammonia.317075/

 

[NaturallyKait]

11 minutes ago, Ratvan said:

I know it's a fw forum but

https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/threads/canadians-looking-for-pure-ammonia.317075/

 

I did see that. There was some debate about whether it was truly pure or not, but then I also saw on another forum that they don’t carry that brand anymore and I couldn’t find it online. I am still going to go check, just Home Hardware has odd hours here (they close early in the evenings and don’t open at all on Sunday’s when I usually get a chance to shop) so I haven’t been able to get there yet. 

[Rymah]

It's illegal to sell pure ammonia here.  You won't find it in any major chains your best bet would be Amazon or taking a trip to the boarder but even then you would have to smuggle it back in. 

[NaturallyKait]

7 minutes ago, Rymah said:

It's illegal to sell pure ammonia here.  You won't find it in any major chains your best bet would be Amazon or taking a trip to the boarder but even then you would have to smuggle it back in. 

Wow really? That would explain a lot. I had no idea it was illegal. I’m hours away from the border so even if I wanted to smuggle that wouldn’t be an option. Don’t know that I want to order from amazon either because it’s coming from the US so could end up stopped at the border anyway. Bummer. Guess I’ll have to use an alternate source of ammonia to cycle with. 

[Ratvan]

15 minutes ago, Rymah said:

It's illegal to sell pure ammonia here.  You won't find it in any major chains your best bet would be Amazon or taking a trip to the boarder but even then you would have to smuggle it back in. 

That is insane, although thinking a bit more on it makes sense. 

6 minutes ago, NaturallyKait said:

Wow really? That would explain a lot. I had no idea it was illegal. I’m hours away from the border so even if I wanted to smuggle that wouldn’t be an option. Don’t know that I want to order from amazon either because it’s coming from the US so could end up stopped at the border anyway. Bummer. Guess I’ll have to use an alternate source of ammonia to cycle with. 

Hmmm maybe also try an Auto shop, tyre repair shop etc.

Sorry trying to think of industrial uses

[NaturallyKait]

4 minutes ago, Ratvan said:

That is insane, although thinking a bit more on it makes sense. 

Hmmm maybe also try an Auto shop, tyre repair shop etc.

Sorry trying to think of industrial uses

If it’s illegal they won’t have it. Guess it’s time to go old school and either ghost feed or use a bit of shrimp. I was just hoping to be more precise than that, but it is what it is I guess. 

[Friendly]

what do you need pure ammonia for? if you're trying to seed your tank, just drop in some fish food or a piece of shrimp to rot/decay and start the cycle.  :) 

 

then there are bacteria booster supplements you can buy as well, to accelerate the cycle.

[Clown79]

Ya, if it's a restricted or banned product no one will have it here or the ones that can obtain it(certain industries) cannot sell it. 

 

Ordering from Amazon means it's coming from outside Canada, package has to be labeled with product- if it's a restricted product, it most likely won't pass customs.

1 hour ago, NaturallyKait said:

Fellow Canucks, has anyone had luck finding pure ammonia in Canada? No one locally sells Dr. Tim’s, Amazon has it online but says it could be the end of the month before it gets here and I don’t want to wait that long if I can help it. I’ve looked at Home Depot, Canadian Tire, Walmart and a few smaller places and can’t find pure ammonia, only lemon scented stuff. I’m wondering if anyone else had any luck or if it’s just next to impossible to find here. 

Check out the ORK group on fb. They might have some info on Dr Tim's or other methods.

 

I don't cycle with dry rock, so never have needed ammonia. You could use the raw shrimp method.

[NaturallyKait]

7 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

Ya, if it's a restricted or banned product no one will have it here or the ones that can obtain it(certain industries) cannot sell it. 

 

Ordering from Amazon means it's coming from outside Canada, package has to be labeled with product- if it's a restricted product, it most likely won't pass customs.

Check out the ORK group on fb. They might have some info on Dr Tim's or other methods.

 

I don't cycle with dry rock, so never have needed ammonia. You could use the raw shrimp method.

Yeah I have shrimp in the freezer already so I’ll probably just do that. I wish I hadn’t needed to use dry rock, but my only options were caribsea life rock (which is mostly what I have) and a single piece of plain old white dry rock. No one here carries live. I hoped the expired live sand I used would provide ammonia, but were almost 1.5 weeks in and no ammonia spike is happening. 

10 minutes ago, Friendly said:

what do you need pure ammonia for? if you're trying to seed your tank, just drop in some fish food or a piece of shrimp to rot/decay and start the cycle.  🙂

 

then there are bacteria booster supplements you can buy as well, to accelerate the cycle.

Yeah it was to seed the tank, I was hoping to avoid shrimp or food but I guess I can’t! I do have some seachem stability but that didn’t help with getting an ammonia source. 

[Clown79]

5 hours ago, NaturallyKait said:

Yeah I have shrimp in the freezer already so I’ll probably just do that. I wish I hadn’t needed to use dry rock, but my only options were caribsea life rock (which is mostly what I have) and a single piece of plain old white dry rock. No one here carries live. I hoped the expired live sand I used would provide ammonia, but were almost 1.5 weeks in and no ammonia spike is happening. 

Yeah it was to seed the tank, I was hoping to avoid shrimp or food but I guess I can’t! I do have some seachem stability but that didn’t help with getting an ammonia source. 

When you use the shrimp, put it in a media bag to keep the tank clean of the decaying shrimp.

 

When ammonia spikes, remove it.

 

Caribsea liferock is great. Love it.

[NaturallyKait]

13 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

When you use the shrimp, put it in a media bag to keep the tank clean of the decaying shrimp.

 

When ammonia spikes, remove it.

 

Caribsea liferock is great. Love it.

Good idea. I’ll do that. I do like the shapes I got in the liferock, so I hope it works well for me. We have such limited selection here on PEI with only one LFS that deals in saltwater. 

[Friendly]

and you can get Dr. Tim's off Amazon.ca...and interestingly enough, you can buy Ammonium Chloride in powdered form, so you could go that route as well.

[NaturallyKait]

1 minute ago, Friendly said:

and you can get Dr. Tim's off Amazon.ca...and interestingly enough, you can buy Ammonium Chloride in powdered form, so you could go that route as well.

The stuff on Amazon though is coming from the US so could get stopped at the border, plus it says it may not get here until the end of the month which would probably ruin our goal of being able to get my son (the tank owner technically) his first fish on his birthday the first week of June. I know that may not work out anyway, but I’d rather get this moving earlier to have our best chance. I’m just going to go with the shrimp. 

[Friendly]

well, good thing is Amazon refunds you...so there's no risk.  🙂 

 

and you could check CDN Tire or other shops for the Ammonium Chloride powder...no harm no foul, right?

[Clown79]

27 minutes ago, NaturallyKait said:

Good idea. I’ll do that. I do like the shapes I got in the liferock, so I hope it works well for me. We have such limited selection here on PEI with only one LFS that deals in saltwater. 

Oh ya and shipping to PEI would be costly, I imagine.

 

2 good places for dry goods.

 

Reefsupplies.ca- shipping and service is amazing.

 

Aquarium depot.ca - slower to ship but has a lot available, including livestock.

 

I'm sure you can order livestock from the following who do ship.

 

Canada corals

Fragbox

Aquarium depot

 

There are stores in Quebec too.

 

The hobby is limited in Cda. Even here in Ontario we only have a few that ship, a few in random cities.

 

Amazon.ca is unreliable with stock of dry goods. And it's about 4- 10 times the price. 

 

Red sea blue bucket is $132 on amazon. $76 everywhere else!

 

There are other bacteria supplements besides Dr Tim's.

 

Microbacter7 is a good one and instant ocean biro spira  is another one.

 

 

The liverock is nice rock. I used it with liverock in my 25g. Its injected with bacteria as well that becomes live when it's in water.

[NaturallyKait]

5 minutes ago, Friendly said:

well, good thing is Amazon refunds you...so there's no risk.  🙂 

 

and you could check CDN Tire or other shops for the Ammonium Chloride powder...no harm no foul, right?

At this point the shrimp in my freezer is easier. I’ve spent more than a week trying to chase this down and I give up lol. 

5 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

Oh ya and shipping to PEI would be costly, I imagine.

 

2 good places for dry goods.

 

Reefsupplies.ca- shipping and service is amazing.

 

Aquarium depot.ca - slower to ship but has a lot available, including livestock.

 

I'm sure you can order livestock from the following who do ship.

 

Canada corals

Fragbox

Aquarium depot

 

There are stores in Quebec too.

 

The hobby is limited in Cda. Even here in Ontario we only have a few that ship, a few in random cities.

I already have a wish list going at reefsupplies for equipment but I didn’t know the other places. Thank you! Our LFS is great and I like the owner but some stuff is just overpriced. I can’t justify a $100 refractometer when amazon has cheaper. Livestock there looks really nice though thankfully. 

[Clown79]

9 minutes ago, Friendly said:

well, good thing is Amazon refunds you...so there's no risk.  🙂 

 

and you could check CDN Tire or other shops for the Ammonium Chloride powder...no harm no foul, 

https://www.amazon.ca/DrTims-Aquatics-830-Ammonium-chloride/dp/B006MP4QG6/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?crid=H7ZK02948C68&keywords=dr+tims+aquatics&qid=1556746235&s=gateway&sprefix=Dr+Tim&sr=8-2

 

Shipped for May 6th. That's not bad. But what's the import fees cost? 

 

Shrimp is definitely cheaper and does work. 

[NaturallyKait]

Just now, Clown79 said:

https://www.amazon.ca/DrTims-Aquatics-830-Ammonium-chloride/dp/B006MP4QG6/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?crid=H7ZK02948C68&keywords=dr+tims+aquatics&qid=1556746235&s=gateway&sprefix=Dr+Tim&sr=8-2

 

Shipped for May 6th. That's not bad. But what's the import fees cost? 

 

Shrimp is definitely cheaper and does work. 

May 13-21 for us here on the island. The joys of living in Atlantic Canada. 

 

 

[Clown79]

2 minutes ago, NaturallyKait said:

May 13-21 for us here on the island. The joys of living in Atlantic Canada. 

 

 

I know but PEI looks absolutely beautiful!

[NaturallyKait]

10 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

I know but PEI looks absolutely beautiful!

It really is, I moved here (from NS) 7 years ago and I do love it here. The beach is only minutes away, and it smells like saltwater in the air all the time. 

[Friendly]

in addition, there are other's who are more localized with web offerings like J&L Aquatics in BC or PetsandPonds in Ontario.

[NaturallyKait]

4 minutes ago, Friendly said:

in addition, there are other's who are more localized with web offerings like J&L Aquatics in BC or PetsandPonds in Ontario.

Thank you! I’ll look at them too. 

[VictoryBell]

On 5/1/2019 at 10:31 AM, Rymah said:

It's illegal to sell pure ammonia here.  You won't find it in any major chains your best bet would be Amazon or taking a trip to the boarder but even then you would have to smuggle it back in. 

That's interesting and explains a lot. I remember trying to find ammonia to cycle my tank and couldn't find it anywhere.  I guess this is why. (I ended up cycling with aquavitro, a bit of fish food and time.) 

[Melfy77]

Hey there fellow Canadian! We live in a beautiful country but wow can this hobby can be a PITA sometimes to get stuff lol. No dr tims, no copper treatment, online stores not shipping tanks bigger tanks 20g...seriously people!!! Hahaha. 

 

Btw how's your tank cycling ?