[carolinagirl]

Ok, so yesterday the ammonia level in my tank was 0.25 ppm and this morning I rechecked it before I did a water change and the level was down to 0. What is that about? I mean, I'm still learning and all but does that kind of stuff happen?

 

[Geomancer]

Yes, it can, it can also fall into the realm of inaccuracies with tests. "strips" are known to be inaccurate, and those stick on wheels are the worst.

However, bacteria does exist that converts ammonia to nitrite, which is even more toxic for fish. Another bacteria will convert nitrite into nitrate (with an A) which is the least toxic of the three. This 'cycle' is a necessity for long living healthy fish, however it is near impossible to obtain in small bowls. There is no magic number for tank size, but generally speaking anything less than 5 gallons isn't going to hold a stable cycle long term.

 

[carolinagirl]

Yes, it can, it can also fall into the realm of inaccuracies with tests. "strips" are known to be inaccurate, and those stick on wheels are the worst.

However, bacteria does exist that converts ammonia to nitrite, which is even more toxic for fish. Another bacteria will convert nitrite into nitrate (with an A) which is the least toxic of the three. This 'cycle' is a necessity for long living healthy fish, however it is near impossible to obtain in small bowls. There is no magic number for tank size, but generally speaking anything less than 5 gallons isn't going to hold a stable cycle long term.

Oh, ok. I didn't think of checking the nitrite levels. I will definitely check that out soon. And luckily I'm not using the strips
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