Nitrate

[guppygal]

Hey guys

If I am reading everything correctly, if my tank has cycled properly, my Nitrates should be reading low at like .5 NOT Zero??

I just tested both my tanks and was surprised that they look like they were 0.
Maybe my bigger one was .5 but I think it was 0.

Nitrite is 0
Ammonia - 0
ph 7.2 or 7.4
temp 78

 

[bigscout]

Howe did you cycle, what water changes have you done, what is in the tank as far as plants and animals, and how did your reading look as the cycle progressed. Typically nitrates run much higher. most of us try to set maintenance to keep them below 20 ppm. 0.5 indicates that there was little or no ammonia to begin with or more commonly indicates that the test kit is FUBAR !!!

 

[JimZi]

Just an idea. Be sure you wait about 5 minutes before doing the reading. The API tests take a while before they settle to the final color. At first I was shaking and reading against the test card and it always looked like 0!

 

[guppygal]

I started to tank back in June and I did Fishy cycle. After 8 weeks I had ammonia under control and nitrItes at 0. I never had a nitrate test until today.

I have no plants.

The first 8 weeks I was doing small daily water changes or every other day. (Sometime twice a day if ammonia read high) Since 8 weeks I have been doing 25% wcs every 5 or 7 days.

I use Prime to condition the water.

Right now, I just have 3 male guppies in the 10 gal

My qt tank is much newer only 3 weeks and I used an extra filter from the 10 gal and put that in the 5 gallon.

My Nitrate read 5 not .5!!

 

[guppygal]

Just an idea. Be sure you wait about 5 minutes before doing the reading. The API tests take a while before they settle to the final color. At first I was shaking and reading against the test card and it always looked like 0!

Yeah, I waited a little bit ... maybe I will redo the test again.

But what is the goal here? Not zero right?? I should be reading something??

 

[bigscout]

IT should be reading something, and most likely it will be between 20-40 if your maintenance is good.

I'm going to take a stab and say you have an AP test kit. The instructions do not stress the need to shake well enough. Take the #2 bottle and shake the crap out of it for a good solid 3 minutes (Timed) it has been sitting on the shlef for a while most likely and is settled badly. After you ahve done that then follow the directions exactly including all of the shake time reccomended. If I remember corectly You add 10 drops from bottle number one and then shake bottle #2 for 30 seconds. I usually spend that thirty seconds rotating my Test tube so the stuff from bottle number one is well mixed. Then add 10 drops from bottle #2 and shake the crap out of the test tube for a full minute. then wait three minutes and read the color.

A lack of proper mixing will give you low results every time. It took me a little while to figure that out, but the shaking makes all the difference in consistancy. The other thing I've been known to do is add ten drops from bottle number one both times. This always gives me a 0 reading as well and makes me feel stupid as a bonus.