Is my Tank Cycled Yet?

[Goldfish4EVER]

My Fish tank shows aprox. 10ppm of Nitrates, and 0ppm of nitrites. However, there is still 0.50 ppm of ammonia. Why? I thought the bacteria would have taken care of the ammonia, but ammonia is still there, no matter what I do. Is it normal?

 

[10 Tanks]

My Fish tank shows aprox. 10ppm of Nitrates, and 0ppm of nitrites. However, there is still 0.50 ppm of ammonia. Why? I thought the bacteria would have taken care of the ammonia, but ammonia is still there, no matter what I do. Is it normal?

Hello Goldfish. I'm curious as to what brand of water treatment you're using.

10 Tanks

 

[Naughts]

Does your water supply have chloramine?

 

[Goldfish4EVER]

I use a water conditioner to remove any chlorine or chloramine.

 

[Naughts]

I'm looking for the source of ammonia. If the supply has chloramine the conditioner separates the ammonia and chlorine leaving a low level reading.

 

[Goldfish4EVER]

I use fish food for the source of ammonia. not sure if that's the best idea.

 

[Byron]

How long have you been "cycling" this tank?

And is chloramine added to your tap water?

And, have you tested the tap water on its own for nitrate?