I'm currently mid-fishless cycle. My ammonia just read 0 tonight, my nitrItes are staying at 0, and my nitrAtes are slowly but surely climbing (they're at about 25). So, I'm at the point where I need to add drops of ammonia daily to keep the cycle going.

It's a 20 gallon tank, and I put in 20 drops of ammonia. Is that enough?

Thanks!

If your ammonia & nitrite are 0 and your nitrates are slowly rising, then you, my friend, are cycled. You should feel free to do a water change to bring the nitrates down and put in the fish.

If you can't put the fish in just yet, because, say, you don't have them, then you should add a bit of a ammonia to keep the cycle bacteria 'fed' until you get them.

Hm, how about that! Whoo Hoo!!! I guess the old filter media did the trick....

I think I'm going to leave the tank fishless for awhile yet, so I can build up more nitrAtes.

My question still remains, though: Is 20 drops of ammonia a day enough to feed the cycle of a 20 gallon tank?

There is absolutely no reason to build up the nitrates. Nitrates are something that you do not wish to have in your tank. They are only "good" when the presence of nitrates indicate that your nitrogen cycle is working - and nitrates are the final product as the ammonia is processed.

As far as "enough" ammonia - that is impossible to say. How many fish are you planning on putting in the tank? How big are they? How much do you feed them? For that matter - each bottle of ammonia contains a slightly different concentration of ammonia. Some are more diluted than others - some are more concentrated. What would work for my bottle may not for yours.

When you are ready to add fish into your newly cycled tank, I would suggest adding in just one fish. Feed it lightly. Test at least once a day. Change out the water you need to on a daily basis to keep the fish in healthy water. Wait for the cycle to catch up - a baby cycle will catch up quickly - but not instantly. When you see zero ammonia, zero nitrite for several days, you can safely add in another fish - testing and changing as needed.

Remember - a "baby cycle" can easily be bumped with salt, temp changes and medications. Think carefully before you use such things - and be prepared to do some work.

Congratulations on your newly cycled tank.

Ok, that bit of info helps.


Would one zebra danio be alright by itself for 3-5 days? This is going to be a tropical tank.


Thank you!!!

Yes, nitrAtes are bad too, they are just not nearly as bad as ammonia or nitrIte. So therefore nitrAte is 'good' because it means the bacteria are processing the very bad ammonia and nitrite into not-as-bad nitrAte. For goldfish you want to keep your nitrAte below 20 to 30 ppm, but the lower the better. Zero would be ideal