Ammonia or No Ammonia

[Priest]

So today I got into a discussion with my cousin about me not using ammonia remover in my filters. I explained to him that having ammonia remover is bad because it starves the bacteria that has been establish in my two tanks but he says that every tank needs the ammonia remover and that is the reason that I am cleaning my tank once a week while he cleans his once a month. I want to know who is right in this because if he is correct then I will head out and buy ammonia remover for the four filters that I have (2 filters per tank). Thank you.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that I clean my tanks once a week regardless if it looks clean or not because I know how much can build up in a week that I need to take out.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

You are correct in every way. Weekly water changes are needed whether nitrates are high or not. Ammonia remover does indeed starve the bacteria. A healthy cycled tank will not have ammonia.

 

[Andrew McFadden]

I agree