Even though I've had fish for years, I've never tested my water before today.

After finding this site, I realized how important it is. So I bought a kit today and have tested the water. These are the results I got.

Ammonia - either 0 or .25
I thing it was 0, but my son swears it's .25

Nitrite - 0

Nitrate - either 20 or 40
Same thing here, I thought it was 40, but my son says 20

How in the world do you distinguish between the colors? Some of them are so close, it's hard to tell.

Just in case the ammonia is .25, should I do a partial water change tonight? I just did a cleaning yesterday, replacing about 30% of the water, but I also added two new fish yesterday, and I don't want to lose any that I have.

if the color is in between I wouldn't worry about it so much. but if you see that its definitely at the 1.0 mark then do a water change.

But over all your tank is in great condition Hun

Thanks so much Koko! I went back and looked at it again, and I think it was definitely at .25ppm. I went ahead and did about a 25% water change just to be on the safe side.

Since I've just added new fish in, should I check the levels every day to be sure ammonia, etc. aren't building up from having more fish?

Yes that would be a very good idea, since adding a new fish to the tank can cause water perms to change.....:thumbup

Is it normal to see ammonia in a cycled tank? I had ammonia in my main tank recently and my tank was cycled. Apparently the cause of the ammonia rising was due to PH crash. My tank PH was at 6.3 when it crashes and ammonia was about 0.5%. I tried to stabilize the tank for over a week but couldn't lower the ammonia level. Adding sodium bicarbonate (1 tsp a day for 3 days) increases the PH to about 7.3 and the tank finally stabilize with zero ammonia.

Check your PH and KH if you have a test kit. Adding sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) increases the KH and this is good for the nitrifying bacteria to work effectively. Check your PH/KH before adding BS. Best condition for gf is PH7.5.

Also consider whether you are overstocking your tank. Rule of thumb, 10gal per gf.

Cheers..............

Thanks for the suggestions ranchu man! I do have a ph test in the kit I bought yesterday, but I don't think there's one for KH. What exactly is KH? I didn't check the ph last night, I was more worried about the ammonia, etc. I'll be sure to check the ph when I get home tonight.

As for the overcrowding, I'm right at that limit for my tank...I've got 5 goldfish in a 55g tank.

You can read this thread I have with a few excellent members that thought me all about water chemistry. Follow this thread and you will get some good advise.
Ammonia