Well I’ve done daily water changes since I started treatment. That could be why I’m getting 0. Wouldn’t it be hard to have a tank that’s been running for a year or so with out already have been cycled within that time?
Hello; Without getting into the weeds too far there have been several threads about tanks not being cycled after several months. The common estimate is often that can take 6 to 8 weeks when starting from scratch.
There is an argument which sounds right that large frequent WC will slow down the cycle process. The thinking being that the WC removes and dilutes the ammonia which is the food for the beneficial bacteria (bb). Tank keepers do the WC because they want to reduce the toxin (ammonia) so that it does not harm the live fish that are in a tank.
Lots of live plants might be a factor in keeping the nitrates down.
A large tank with only a small fish and very light feeding is one.
May be the more common thing when unusual test results happen is that there is some thing not right with the test kit chemicals or with the testing procedure. I do however think the issue in these cases may be a too high reading of nitrates. This test is the one where folks may not shake the vials enough.
It is also somewhat common for the power filters to gradually become what is called "nitrate factories". That is why I am interested in your setup and how you run it as keeping nitrates low is a goal rarely achieved by most of us. From my reading of posts it is a struggle for many to keep nitrates below 40ppm. Many are satasified if they can keep them down to 20 ppm.