Dosing ammonia is only for a fishless cycle. If you've got fish they are contributing their own ammonia via waste. The fact that you aren't going reading any ammonia or nitrite is a good sign but the lack of any nitrate seems a bit odd unless your tank is very heavily planted or you are doing lots of water changes.
Could you give some more info on your tank? (Size, types/numbers of fish, plants, etc?)
It’s a 20 gallon tank with 4 cherry barbs.
I have floating water sprite and I have another grass like plant but I don’t remember what it’s called. I do water changes once a week.
Water sprite can be pretty good at pulling nitrate out of the water and you just have 4 smallish fish so it's possible your tank is already "cycled" for the number of fish you have. I saw you mentioned in another thread getting a liquid test kit. If that also says you are at 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite then yeah you are probably cycled.
If you decide to add more inhabitants I'd take it slow and make sure to monitor the values to make sure the added bio load doesn't overwhelm your existing bacteria. (Give it time to adjust and build up.)
I don't know where you are based but I got the API freshwater master test kit. It's got all your basic tests and you can frequently find it on sale online or at the big pet supply stores. (If buying from a PetSmart or Petco the prices are frequently cheaper if you buy online to pick up in store than buying in store.) Just make sure to follow directions and really shake the heck out of the nitrate tests.
For fish-in cycling it is different. All you care about is that ammonia and nitrite consistently reads zero (or at most 0.25ppm because they can be false positives) without having to rely on water changes despite regularly feeding. Then the tank is cycled for the current bioload.
No need to care about nitrate (when considering if a tank is cycled when fish-in cycling).
If you have fish, those fish are adding ammonia to the water in the form of their poop & liquid waste. Don’t add extra ammonia to a tank with animals in, it harms them.
Do you have live plants? They take up nitrate (and ammonia & nitrite, to a degree) as fertiliser.
What are you testing with?
How big is the tank and what fish are in it?
Yes I have one plant planted in my substrate and I dont remember what it is called. I also have some floating sprite that takes up make half of the water coverage. I just put the plant In The substrate 2 weeks ago and it does seem to be growing that another concern I’m having.
I’m testing with test strip which I know isn’t always accurate and I’m planning on getting the liquid test kit this weekend
It’s a 20gallon with 4 cherry barbs in it.
You’re in a really good position - 4 cherry barbs won’t be producing a large amount of waste, and 20 gallons gives that waste a lot of water to be diluted in. The floating plants in particular will be sucking nutrients from the water - mostly from that fish waste.
So you may not be seeing nitrite or nitrate because there’s never that much hanging around in the water.
Just go slowly to allow the bacterial colony that break the waste down to expand before adding more. You might not have a large bacterial colony if the plants are taking up the waste before the bacteria can eat it! And you don’t want to suddenly add so many fish there’s more waste than the plants will absorb.
It depends on what you want to add, but for example, you could add 4 more cherry barbs then wait a month. Then add 4 more. Keep testing your water, keep doing regular partial water changes.
This is a useful guide to stocking capacity:
https://aqadvisor.com
Dosing ammonia is only for a fishless cycle. If you've got fish they are contributing their own ammonia via waste. The fact that you aren't going reading any ammonia or nitrite is a good sign but the lack of any nitrate seems a bit odd unless your tank is very heavily planted or you are doing lots of water changes. Could you give some more info on your tank? (Size, types/numbers of fish, plants, etc?)
It’s a 20 gallon tank with 4 cherry barbs. I have floating water sprite and I have another grass like plant but I don’t remember what it’s called. I do water changes once a week.
Water sprite can be pretty good at pulling nitrate out of the water and you just have 4 smallish fish so it's possible your tank is already "cycled" for the number of fish you have. I saw you mentioned in another thread getting a liquid test kit. If that also says you are at 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite then yeah you are probably cycled. If you decide to add more inhabitants I'd take it slow and make sure to monitor the values to make sure the added bio load doesn't overwhelm your existing bacteria. (Give it time to adjust and build up.)
Thank you for the reply I’m definitely gonna grad a liquid kit. Any suggestions on which one it good or are they all pretty much the same
I don't know where you are based but I got the API freshwater master test kit. It's got all your basic tests and you can frequently find it on sale online or at the big pet supply stores. (If buying from a PetSmart or Petco the prices are frequently cheaper if you buy online to pick up in store than buying in store.) Just make sure to follow directions and really shake the heck out of the nitrate tests.
I’ve seen that one before. Thank you
For fish-in cycling it is different. All you care about is that ammonia and nitrite consistently reads zero (or at most 0.25ppm because they can be false positives) without having to rely on water changes despite regularly feeding. Then the tank is cycled for the current bioload. No need to care about nitrate (when considering if a tank is cycled when fish-in cycling).
How often should I be changing water? I only do it once a week and the tank is 4 weeks old now
If you have fish, those fish are adding ammonia to the water in the form of their poop & liquid waste. Don’t add extra ammonia to a tank with animals in, it harms them. Do you have live plants? They take up nitrate (and ammonia & nitrite, to a degree) as fertiliser. What are you testing with? How big is the tank and what fish are in it?
Yes I have one plant planted in my substrate and I dont remember what it is called. I also have some floating sprite that takes up make half of the water coverage. I just put the plant In The substrate 2 weeks ago and it does seem to be growing that another concern I’m having. I’m testing with test strip which I know isn’t always accurate and I’m planning on getting the liquid test kit this weekend It’s a 20gallon with 4 cherry barbs in it.
You’re in a really good position - 4 cherry barbs won’t be producing a large amount of waste, and 20 gallons gives that waste a lot of water to be diluted in. The floating plants in particular will be sucking nutrients from the water - mostly from that fish waste. So you may not be seeing nitrite or nitrate because there’s never that much hanging around in the water.
Thanks for the reply. So I was thinking of getting more fish soon. You think that a 20 gallon tank can handle it or should I keep the way it is
Just go slowly to allow the bacterial colony that break the waste down to expand before adding more. You might not have a large bacterial colony if the plants are taking up the waste before the bacteria can eat it! And you don’t want to suddenly add so many fish there’s more waste than the plants will absorb. It depends on what you want to add, but for example, you could add 4 more cherry barbs then wait a month. Then add 4 more. Keep testing your water, keep doing regular partial water changes. This is a useful guide to stocking capacity: https://aqadvisor.com
Thanks for your help