Ammonia below 0?

[kotenok]

My Amonia level is bellow 0, I guess. 0 has to give yellow color...mine more clear with a hint on yellowish color. Does this mean that I didn't do the cycling?

 

[George9]

My Amonia level is bellow 0, I guess. 0 has to give yellow color...mine more clear with a hint on yellowish color. Does this mean that I didn't do the cycling?

Hmm. It's not possible to be below 0 ammonia. Is it the API test kit? Did you add 8 drops of ammonia solution bottle one and 8 drops of solution two?

Don't forget to wait 5 minutes after you shake the tube too.

 

[kotenok]

Hmm. It's not possible to be below 0 ammonia. Is it the API test kit? Did you add 8 drops of ammonia solution bottle one and 8 drops of solution two?

Don't forget to wait 5 minutes after you shake the tube too.

No, I just added 8 drops of bottle one... Should i add both of them at the same time?

 

[kotenok]

I just did as you said...now it's 0. Someone just recently told me that I did bad job on cycling, since I have 0 for amonia, nitrite and nitrate. My ph is 7.6... Is this normal or not...totally confused.... :-(

 

[jetajockey]

You should add the appropriate amount of each and then shake the tube.

 

[George9]

I just did as you said...now it's 0. Someone just recently told me that I did bad job on cycling, since I have 0 for amonia, nitrite and nitrate. My ph is 7.6... Is this normal or not...totally confused.... :-(

Good! It's odd to have a cycled tank without nitrates, but not impossible. Is the tank heavily planted? How old is the tank?

Oh, and nitrites are zero too, right?

 

[kotenok]

Good! It's odd to have a cycled tank without nitrates, but not impossible. Is the tank heavily planted? How old is the tank?

Oh, and nitrites are zero too, right?

Nitrite is 0 too. I have only one plant so far, still cannot find any place where i can buy plants relatively cheap.
But the main reason why I am confused is because I have an aquarium only for 3 days...never had it before...but the tank that i got was used by another person for 6 years. I saved original water and filter trying to save the bacteria in it. Since I didn't do everything from scratch i got a little bit lost

 

[jlk]

You did not mention this before. You may not have a sufficient source of ammonia from the fish you have to produce a detectable nitrate level. We still do not know exactly what type of fish you have or how many. If you kept the filter media wet during transport in tank water, you should have a fully fuctional nitrogen cycle already established.

 

[George9]

You did not mention this before. You may not have a sufficient source of ammonia from the fish you have to produce a detectable nitrate level. We still do not know exactly what type of fish you have or how many. If you kept the filter media wet during transport in tank water, you should have a fully fuctional nitrogen cycle already established.

I agree. What's the stock look like? Did the filter ever dry out before you started using it?

 

[kotenok]

I agree. What's the stock look like? Did the filter ever dry out before you started using it?

I kept the filter in the bucket with original water for a day, while setting up the aquarium. There are 6 fishes in that 55g fish tank so far and all of the are smalllaty, white and black skirt tetra and tiger barb.

 

[librarygirl]

If you have fish, you shouldn't have ammonia if the tank was cycled before hand and you used the same filter media from the tank. You should have some nitrate though.

How many tetras and barbs do you have? They both like larger groups, particularly the barbs as they can be aggressive in smaller numbers. 0 ammonia and nitrite are good. WHen was the last time water was changed? If it was recently then it's possible the nitrates haevn't had time to build up too much; with only 6 fish in a 55 gal it could take a while for nitrate to build (my 29 gal is about fully stocked and I only get 5 ppms of nitrates between water changes).

 

[kotenok]

If you have fish, you shouldn't have ammonia if the tank was cycled before hand and you used the same filter media from the tank. You should have some nitrate though.

How many tetras and barbs do you have? They both like larger groups, particularly the barbs as they can be aggressive in smaller numbers. 0 ammonia and nitrite are good. WHen was the last time water was changed? If it was recently then it's possible the nitrates haevn't had time to build up too much; with only 6 fish in a 55 gal it could take a while for nitrate to build (my 29 gal is about fully stocked and I only get 5 ppms of nitrates between water changes).

As i mentioned earlier I got this tank 3 days ago, so that was the time when the water was changed 50% of it... What is a norm for nitrate?

 

[librarygirl]

It depends on the stock and tank. A fully stocked tank with larger fish can cause higher nitrate. You want to keep it below <20 at all times (the only way nitrate is removed from the tank is through water changes). Also are you using the API test? The nitrate test can be tricky; you want to shake both bottles vigorously and bang them on a hard surface a few times and shake/bang bottle #2 for a full 30 seconds. Then after adding both drops to the tube shake it hard for 60 seconds then wait 5 minutes for the results. If it isn't done exactly it can cause false readings.

 

[kotenok]

It depends on the stock and tank. A fully stocked tank with larger fish can cause higher nitrate. You want to keep it below <20 at all times (the only way nitrate is removed from the tank is through water changes). Also are you using the API test? The nitrate test can be tricky; you want to shake both bottles vigorously and bang them on a hard surface a few times and shake/bang bottle #2 for a full 30 seconds. Then after adding both drops to the tube shake it hard for 60 seconds then wait 5 minutes for the results. If it isn't done exactly it can cause false readings.

Thank you. I will try to do that next time