# ammo lock



## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

read in a message that ammolock slows down the cycling process. Why is that so? All it does is convert toxic ammonia to non toxic form. The bacteria don't care what form the ammonia is in do they??
mouse


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## flamingo (Nov 5, 2005)

From what I know ammo lock and all the other ones out there only make it less toxic. It's still there and still needs to be converted in nitrates, nitrites, you get the picture.

I don't think it slows it down, and bacteria probably don't care lol.


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

I couldn't tell you for sure but I wouldn't see why it would slow down the process. It does question why isn't it used more often in cycling though.


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## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

on the guppylog and wetwebmedia sites there are articles that indicate that the ammo lock or amquel bind the ammonia so that not only is it non toxic, it is bound so tightly that the bacteria are unable to use it as food. This does make some kind of sense.However the manufacturers of both would seem to deny that it slows the cycling process.
Guppylog also has the opinion that using a lot of plants in a cycling tank is not advisable as the plants use up all the ammonia thus not leaving enough for the bacteria to eat. Our friends on the 'planted tank 'forum would likely have a few things to say about that! I do agree that a heavily planted tank should be used wisely. if the plants suck up ammonia it makes sense that the bacteria is slower to take hold and that one should add fish cautiously and allow the bacteria to build up.
In this day and age , with the cities throwing such heavy doses of chloramine into the water, it is difficult to know what product to use to condition the water. Many articles on the internet are behind the times and unfortunately there is no little man out there that monitors how far out of date info is.(this could be a full time job for many people--to make sure all info is up to date or it will be removed!)
I myself, use ammo lock at every water change and have been doing so for over 2 years
I also used it to cycle my 2nd tank, which did cycle in a bit over 3 weeks. I previously had used some Big Als water conditioner, and while I had no real problems thatI know of, I constantly had to remember to use a double dose to break down the chloramines and then was advised on the bottle to use a 2nd product to now neutralize the ammonia. At this point I ran out of patience and switched to something that covered all the bases in one dose.
Anyway, i guess i found the answer to my own question. Hope fully this info will help someone else. Make sure the info you get off the internet is current!!
thanks 
Minnie mouse


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

Well for lack of a better statement, that is a load of crap. Bacteria ALWAYS get the Nh4 before plants. The plants will use what the bacteria cannot immediately convert. While it may take longer for bacteria to develop in large numbers, you will still see no ammonia or nitrite spike. A densley planted tank can have fish right away.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

also the ammo-lock may let the bacteria convert it, but it also screws up water tests to see if you are truely done with your cycle or not or if your ammonia is becoming toxic or not... that is why I don't like it.


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## MyraVan (Jan 19, 2005)

mousey said:


> Guppylog also has the opinion that using a lot of plants in a cycling tank is not advisable as the plants use up all the ammonia thus not leaving enough for the bacteria to eat.


Even if the plants DID eat up all the ammonia, not leaving enough for the bacteria to eat, what's the harm in that? Having the plants eat the ammonia rather than bacteria is better, because then the nitrogen compoounds are completely removed from the system, whereas if it's eaten by bacteria it turns into harmful nitrite, and then nitrate which you have to remove with water changes.

Lots of healthy growing plants in a cycling tank is strictly beneficial! Of course if you're new to planted tanks it's unwise to rely on plants to help you through the cycle, as you won't have the experience to ensure that your plants are going to grow well. If they just die, they will make things even worse.


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## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

I appreciate the comments.
It does go to show that it is very difficult for a newbie to work thru all the info out there- and as I say there is alot of outdated stuff out there too.
I like lots of plants in my tanks and can cycle one start to finish with in 13 days not using any bottled stuff to help. Just a nice old filter pad and plants.


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## GuppysInMyBrain (Dec 7, 2005)

i've heard that ammo lock releases the ammonia after a certain ammount of time. making the ammonia level higher.

Don't know if it's true.....just saying that's what i've heard.


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## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

I don't have any problem with ammonia spikes from ammo lock. The bacteria can still grow like they need to so the fact that the ammonia may be released is not an issue.


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