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0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 0 nitrate after 2 weeks?

9842 Views 12 Replies 8 Participants Last post by  pbradley0, 
P
I've had my 40 gal tank with 5 black neon tetras and 2 pepper corys for 2 weeks now. The fish are doing great, very active and eating. I did loose one tetra 2 days after putting them in the tank. I presume this was because the fish was sick to begin with.

My question relates to the fact that I have yet to detect any ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate. I have a canister filter and plenty of external aeration. I also treated the water with chlorine remover. Is there a good explanation for why I haven't seen any ammonia yet?
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J
Yes:

Your feeding rate is low enough such that you are not observing any detectable concentrations.

TR
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P
So that's a good thing I presume? Will I still see an ammonia spike? Will adding more fish or feeding more help?

Thanks
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L
I just recently started a tank and from what I understand, if you don't stress the bio load, it's possible you won't see an ammonia/nitrite spike. I've not seen either on mine yet, but have seen nitrates.
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H
Would there be a chance that the carbon in the canister filter could just suck out all the ammonia etc. out of the tank right away?
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P
From what I've read activated carbon does not bind ammonia.
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Amphitrite
Hi pbradley0. Have you done any water changes in the past couple of weeks, and how often/much have you been feeding?

What sort of test kit are you using, is it liquid or strips?
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D
i found this with one of mine 0 amonia and 0 nitrate i got it but understocking with fish in a well planted tank its all tured to s**t now as ive lost half the plants i dont do the tests my lfs does them free
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fish_4_all
You still may see some sort of ammonia in the near future but youmay not. The test type will also help because strips are so unreliable.

If you do add fish, only 1-3 inches of fish and wait to see what the tank does, if you get an ammonia spike then you need to watch your water changes and keep it under control.
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M
any zeolite in the filter bag?
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P
I have been feeding every day just enough for them to eat in 5 minutes.

I have not changed the water at all since adding fish.

I am using the liquid tests for ammonia and strips for nitrite and nitrate.

The filter is a Rena FilStar XP2 with the Bio-Chem Zorb pack that has activated carbon in it. I don't think it has any zeolite in it becasue Rena sells a seperate pad that does have it in it.

I think I may try adding a few more fish and see what happens
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M
no i wouldnt add fish, check the expiration date of the test kit and see if it has expired. Also what brand is it?
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P
The ammonia is API and the strips are Jungle. Both were purchased from Drs. Foster and Smith less than 3 weeks ago. They don't have expiration dates on them.

Thanks for your help
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