joshthefisherman

is my tank safe when ammonia nitrite nitrate is 0

Butterfly

When the tank is finished cycling it will have ammonia 0, Nitrites 0, and Nitrates 10 - 20.
It is called a cycle because it actually goes in a cycle Ammonia turns into Nitrites and Nitrites turns into Nitrates. Ammonia being the most toxic and Nitrates the least.
Carol

joshthefisherman

it seems my ammonia never goes up but my nitrite and nitrate does

Butterfly

So what are the readings now? If it's cycled it will have some Nitrate reaadings just about all the time. If you have Nitrite and Nitrate readings somewhere there was ammonia because thats what converts to Nitrites
Carol

joshthefisherman

i hate my test strips so im planning on bringing water to my lfs

Butterfly

Most of us here use Aquarium Pharmaceuticals (API) freshwater master test kits. It uses liquid to test your water. It's relatively inexpensive $15-$20 and lasts a very long time. The liquid tests are much more reliable that strips.
carol

susitna-flower

Many times when you take water to your LFS to be tested, you don't really get a clear picture of your water parameters either. They just tell you your water is "fine", don't trust that, ask them what each of the three tests results were. If it were me I'd write it down, so you have something to compare to the next time.

Feel free to post back with the results. I'm with Butterfly, you should get your own kit though, so you have it handy to take accurate tests all the time.

joshthefisherman

yea it is api i got an api liquid test for ammonia i will get it for nitrites nitrates and ph

COBettaCouple

A good LFS will do liquid tests and they'll show you the water and the chart so you can see for yourself what the water is like.