Will ammonia ever reach 0?

[knowthemath]

My tank is 5 months old. It's gone through all the normal stages, but it's never read 0 when testing for ammonia. It's read .25 for months. Tank's parameters are perfect except for the ammonia. I even took a sample to a friend to use his test kit. Still .25. I've done water changes that bring it down immediately, but temporarily. It then goes back to .25 and stays.

Should I be concerned?

 

[snakeskinner]

yes you should be concerned. ammonia of any levels will eventually poison the fish. how many fish do you have and when did you add them? maybe you keep adding too many fish and keeping the ammonia higher than the bacteria can reproduce? Maybe you have something that has killed or continues to kill the bacteria? Kyle

 

[jamjarjames]

Ammonia levels on a test kit should read 0 but in reality there is always a small amount of ammonia in the water something like 0.02ppm which is undectable to test kits

 

[ScottoMacD]

Ammonia

What is your feeding regiment like?

Overfeeding of just about any kind of food can cause ammonia to be present.

Realistically fish should be fed a small amount once a day or even every second day.

The other option is as previously mentioned that the tank maybe overcrowded. Your filter is working because there is nitrates when you test. But just maybe that the filter cannot handle the load that it is trying to carry.

What size is the tank?
How many fish are there?
How big are they?
What filter is on the tank?
How often do you feed?
Are you adding any chemicals to the tank? (IE: cycle or any other junk like that)