Nitrate Keeps Dropping To Zero?

[trianglekitty]

I'm trying to do a fish-in cycle on a 20 gallon tank. I test daily and do a water change daily (API Master Kit)

Ammonia and Nitrites are typically .25 They haven't gone higher than that. I do from a 25% to 50% change, which takes it back down to zero. Three times my nitrates have come up to 5.0, but they've always come back to zero. At this point the tank has been set up and running for a good three months, although the fish have only been in for a month.

I'm starting to get frustrated with this process because it never seems like anything is changing. I treat my water before I add it, and I always remove the biowheel and let it float in the tank water so it doesn't dry out while I'm changing water.

I've read the guide for fish in cycling, and it doesn't say anything about the nitrates level dropping. Am I doing something wrong, or is this normal with the frequent water changes? It makes me think there's something wrong with my bacteria growth.

 

[BigbruiserAl]

Thats a good thing? nitrates are only removed by water chnages, if your doing 50% a day i would say it pretty normal. Someone with more experince may corrct me?

Did you cycle the tank in the 1st instance if so how?

 

[ddgbumblebee]

I don't think anything is wrong. It sounds like your tank is doing exactly what it's suppose to do. Once you have performed a water change it only makes sense for the nitrates to drop, however, when you say that they read 0 they actually are still there, it's just that they are so dilute in your, now, cleaner water that they are undetected by your test kit.
May I ask how many fish are in your tank currently?

 

[saltynay]

Its normal if you have good tap water. I take it you use dechlor with your water changes btw (otherwise the chlorine in tap water is just wiping out your colony) and are you testing immediately after changing the water? In which case your not allowing the water to mix so your just testing your tap water leave it 30 mins - hour then test, then test again before the water change the next day.

 

[Rynofasho]

When I was fish in cycling, my nitrates were pretty much always 0 as well. Don't worry about it.

Secondly, you can't really do a fish in cycle wrong. It just happens. It took me almost 7 weeks to get there, so just keep up what you're doing and you'll see yellow and blue tubes soon

 

[anon02]

Your fish will be producing a miniscule amount of ammonia which in turn will produce a tiny amount of nitrate which you are diluting with water changes, I wouldn`t worry about nitrate, in fact I wouldn`t even test for it yet

As others have said when you can go 2-3 days without having to change the water because of toxins you`re just about there. When you are cycled aim to keep nitrate at no more than 15 - 20ppm above your tap water