I mentioned in a previous post that I was having test kit/nitrite issues. It really is driving me nuts and I was hoping someone might have some ideas. (Someone on another forum was inquiring about "false positive" test results from Salifert and was getting the same readings as I was.) Here are the water params. as of this morning:
NH3: 0
NO2: 0.05
NO3: 5 - 10 ppm
pH: 8.2
Ca: 400
dKH: 9.3
Alk Meg/L: 3.31
Temp: 81
sg: 1.025
Since I've cycled, ammonia has never crept up, but the nitrite has recently been reading a very pale pink - holding the tube to the white portion of the color chart looking through the side. I've kept copious notes during my setup and I'm guessing that I can track this slight elevation back to an addition of live rock. (On 6/18, I added another 40 lbs of rock after curing it.) Also, last month - don't shoot me - I bought a Powder Blue Tang. From the first moment and all through quarantine, he ate like a pig. He developed a case of ich after entry into the main tank.
In fact the first bump didn't appear until just recently - 6/21. I'm treating with Garlic and Kich Ich - no one else has it, just the tang and he's still eating like a pig. Also he and the fireshrimp have a very good relationship. 
He swims in and out of his caves, he's a leisurely swimmer - occasional bursts of speed - he seems very happy, if a bit bumpy.
Anyway. The tang and the new rock happened at about the same time. Does anyone have any ideas about this? I've been doing water changes (from 10% - 20%) and then testing again with virtually no change. (I also tested fresh salt water I keep for water changes. No pink at all so this tells me it's not the test.)
It couldn't be an overload of fish, could it?? Could I be interrupting the bacterial process by doing the water changes? Should I do one big change? Should I sit back and monitor it and let the tank stabilize on its own? Any help or advice would be appreciated.
Thanks!
And for fun, here are a couple of pics
NH3: 0
NO2: 0.05
NO3: 5 - 10 ppm
pH: 8.2
Ca: 400
dKH: 9.3
Alk Meg/L: 3.31
Temp: 81
sg: 1.025
Since I've cycled, ammonia has never crept up, but the nitrite has recently been reading a very pale pink - holding the tube to the white portion of the color chart looking through the side. I've kept copious notes during my setup and I'm guessing that I can track this slight elevation back to an addition of live rock. (On 6/18, I added another 40 lbs of rock after curing it.) Also, last month - don't shoot me - I bought a Powder Blue Tang. From the first moment and all through quarantine, he ate like a pig. He developed a case of ich after entry into the main tank.
In fact the first bump didn't appear until just recently - 6/21. I'm treating with Garlic and Kich Ich - no one else has it, just the tang and he's still eating like a pig. Also he and the fireshrimp have a very good relationship. He swims in and out of his caves, he's a leisurely swimmer - occasional bursts of speed - he seems very happy, if a bit bumpy. Anyway. The tang and the new rock happened at about the same time. Does anyone have any ideas about this? I've been doing water changes (from 10% - 20%) and then testing again with virtually no change. (I also tested fresh salt water I keep for water changes. No pink at all so this tells me it's not the test.)
It couldn't be an overload of fish, could it?? Could I be interrupting the bacterial process by doing the water changes? Should I do one big change? Should I sit back and monitor it and let the tank stabilize on its own? Any help or advice would be appreciated.
Thanks!And for fun, here are a couple of pics
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