HELP! ammonia w/ surfactant!

Question
I bought clear ammonia to cycle my new 10 gallon fish tank using the fishless method.  Thought I had soapless clear ammonia.  Now I see that surfactant IS Soap!  There is about 30 to 40 drops in the tank over 3 days.  (I've been having trouble getting the initial ammonia load high enough.  What do I do about the surfactant in my tank?  Do I need to clean everything out and start over?  I'm VERY frustrated.  Thank you for your help!

Answer
Hello,

Yes, you do need to clean out everything and start over. Soap is very deadly for fish. I recommend not doing a fishless cycle method if possible. The best way to cycle is to add a small number of small fish, allow them to live in the tank, and supplment it with Cycle (an aid in the nitrogen cycle). It is much safer. You do not have to worry about soap or poisoning your water with too much ammonia.

When you clean out your tank, use only hot water. Scrub everything with a clean sponge or rag. Do not use anymore soap to clean it.

I hope this helps.

Regards,
Stephanie