My tank is very odd nitrates have always been low never showed any signs of nitrite and the ammonia level never dropped below 2.0 ppm I have a seachem alert deal on the front of it free ammonia has never reached dangerous levels, i started out with a fishless cycle for three weeks, than tried seachem stability for 8 days than added fish and plants,,, still 2.0 ammonia 0 nitrite maybe 5 ppm nitrate 20% water change weekly my ammonia started out at 8.0 ppm so glad it at least dropped.. My Jack dempsey seems to be growing fast but my jags seem to be alot slower, I just recently purchased some raw deveined shrimp from the local meat dept as a treat for them...