# My ammonia is 0.25 ppm nitrites 0 ppm and nitrates are 20 ppm is my tank cycled?



## lilflippy (Oct 27, 2007)

it has been runnig for about 7 weeks is my tank cycled?


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

A cycled tank has 0 ammonia. Are you sure of your test kits?


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## lilflippy (Oct 27, 2007)

waterfaller1 said:


> A cycled tank has 0 ammonia. Are you sure of your test kits?


Know not really i have been using Mardel 5 in 1 Test strips for nitrate and nitrite and Mardel Ammonia test strips and ive been getting the same results since i got the kits ive tested every week for the last month i was thinking of purchasing the liquid test kits do ya have any ya reccomed?


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## GIO590 (Jun 25, 2007)

Any of the following could have caused it,
Overfeeding
Recently deceased fish
Improper filtration
Recent use of medicines


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## neilfishguy (Dec 16, 2007)

you are cycled. the test kit has an error. test strips are REALLY innacurate. There is no way a tank-cycled or not would read that for more than like one hour.


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## lilflippy (Oct 27, 2007)

neilfishguy said:


> you are cycled. the test kit has an error. test strips are REALLY innacurate. There is no way a tank-cycled or not would read that for more than like one hour.


I was thinking the test strips were inaccurate i even added some bio-spira yesterday and tested again today and got the same results.


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## GIO590 (Jun 25, 2007)

Yah thats true, the test strips suck, they are only good for seeing if some water parameter is way off.


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## lilflippy (Oct 27, 2007)

Would this kit be ok? Tetra Deluxe Laborett Test Kit


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

Seachem:thumbsup: Do not buy anything that is "all-in-one"..or with the name 'tetra'....


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## neilfishguy (Dec 16, 2007)

api all in one master test kit is exellent.


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## Homer_Simpson (May 10, 2007)

Ammonia only becomes a major issue(toxic) at higher temperature and PH levels. That is what you should go by. Not some test kit, whether accurate or not. 

*See this link:*http://dataguru.org/misc/aquarium/AmmoniaTox.html


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## neilfishguy (Dec 16, 2007)

give me a break! they claim that at 5ppm and 7.0 ph,78 temp it is not toxic. Are you kidding me????


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## Homer_Simpson (May 10, 2007)

neilfishguy said:


> give me a break! they claim that at 5ppm and 7.0 ph,78 temp it is not toxic. Are you kidding me????


Take another look 5ppm. 7 ph and 78 temp is defined as .023 which is defined as Toxic Ammonia (NH3) nearing danger zone.

Also keep in mind that these tables were not pulled out of thin air but based on extensive testing, but you can do whatever you like. I have cycled several tanks and whether you accept these tables or not, your ammonia test kits are grossly inaccurate so it matters not. While it is possible(if you have a undetected dead fish that has been lying in your tank for hours/days), you would likely not have a situation where high nitrates correspond with any ammonia. When you have high nitrates it is the final stage of cycling and is to be expected. Many people with heavily planted tanks either don't see an ammonia spike at all as you do in normal cycling or the ammonia spike lasts for a much shorter period of time. In planted tanks that I started(even where I tested with topsoil capped with gravel) the ammonia spike would last days instead of weeks as would be the case in unplanted tanks undergoing cycling or fishless cycling. The only exception would be where you use ADA Aquasoil I or II which is known to leech large amounts of ammonia from the substrate requiring more frequent water changes.


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## IceH2O (Sep 29, 2006)

Wow I never have to worry about ammonia.

Even 8 ppm would hardly register in my pH of 6 at 80 degrees.

I'd rather not chance it lol.


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## Homer_Simpson (May 10, 2007)

IceH2O said:


> Wow I never have to worry about ammonia.
> 
> Even 8 ppm would hardly register in my pH of 6 at 80 degrees.
> 
> I'd rather not chance it lol.


That is because from what I can see, you have very heavily planted tanks and if you had any Ammonium (NH4+) it would quickly be sucked up by the plants as plants prefer uptake of ammonium for growth.

Lol, there is really nothing to chance. I fail to understand why people have such difficulty understanding this.
*Ammonia comes in two forms Ammonium (NH4+) which isn't toxic and ammonia (NH3) which is toxic. This isn't rocket science dude.*


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## Left C (Nov 15, 2003)

You should use a Salicyate reagent based freshwater & saltwater test kit for ammonia. It contains two reagents that you use. Here's one:http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsU...lsammoniatestkitfreshwatersaltwatersalicylate

Some of the dechlors on the market like Prime and others will indicate a false positive for ammonia when testing using a Nessler reagent based freshwater ammonia test kit. The Nessler reagent based ammonia test kits only contain one reagent. Here's an Example: http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsU...umpharmaceuticalsminiammoniatestkitfreshwater

I always use the Salicyate reagent based ammonia test kits. I use the one that I linked.


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## procrastinate (Jan 3, 2008)

OK, similar question, not to hijack the thread or anything. 

My understanding of the cycle, though I understand it does work differently in planted tanks, leaves me not understanding how I could get these readings:

NH: >1.0 ppm
NitrITE: 0 ppm
NitrATE: 5 ppm

Temp 78, pH off-the-charts low, 6.0 or possibly lower. 

I'm using Aquasoil and the API kit. 

I added Bio-Spira about 5 hours before my lights turned on. 

How do I have nitrates but no nitrites? Obviously there's plenty of ammonia for everyone to chomp on.


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## fishscale (May 29, 2007)

2 different types of bacteria (supposedly) consume ammonia and nitrite. So, maybe you have enough of one, but not the other?


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