nitrite test

Nitrite/Nitrate test (same chemistry, essentially):

In the lab we allow 2-5 minutes to develop. Samples must be run within 15minutes of adding the reagents. So yes, after 15 minutes, you would see a decrease in colour.

When I'm testing, I have a waste container handy. I rinse with tank water 2x between tests. Fill the tubes about 1/3 full, cap and shake vigorously. Empty and repeat. If you're doing a titration, like KH/GH, that requires several drops, rinse more, 3-4x. At the end I give a good long rinse with hot tap water and leave the tubes uncapped in the box to dry until the next testing. It should go without saying, but after the rinse, the tank water goes to WASTE not back to the tank. Use the transfer pipette to fill the tube.

Most of this is probably more intense than necessary for hobby testing, but what can I say. The only tests that I know would interfere with each other, off the top of my head, are KH and pH, and then only if KH was run first.
 
Hang in there gersheff. You're close to the end. The nitrite spike seems to take forever, but it drops off quickly once it begins to decline. If you want to change 50% of the water again, you can. I bet that drops your nitrites into a range that won't max out your test.

Good luck,
Jim
 
Not stated in the earlier posts, so I have to ask - what is the KH and pH of the tank?

Extremely long nitrite phases frequently occur in relatively low-alkalinity (KH) water when the pH has dropped below optimum for nitrification bacteria.
 
I do not have KH and pH test kits. However I do have the numbers from my water company.

pH = 8.8 (I know this number is probably lower in my tank)
Total Alkalinity, as CaCO3 = 28.8 mg/L
Total Hardness, as CaCO3 = 33.5 mg/L
Calcium Hardness, as CaCO3 = 23 mg/L
Magnesium Hardness, as CaCO3 = 10.5 mg/L
 
RTR means that when you have low KH (carbonate hardness) in your tank, you have very little buffering against changes in pH. What happens in tanks with low KH, especially during fishless cycling, is that the acids produced as part of the oxidization of the ammonia/nitrites causes pH to drop.

In water with higher levels of KH (i.e., greater buffering capacity), the acidification doesn't affect pH; the buffer absorbs it (it buffers it). If you don't have much buffer to start with, it absorbs what it can, but once it's deplete the acids build up in the water and start to lower pH. As pH drops, the beneficial bacteria you're trying to grow slow (at about pH of 6) and eventually stop completely (at about pH of 5). So a lack of KH can inhibit the cycle by allowing pH to drop, slowing the ammonia/nitrite eaters.

If you're pH has dropped, or if KH is very low (as you describe), it can help jump start your fishless cycle by adding some baking soda. This replenishes your buffer (just like the partial water changes can) and can help move things along. In a ten gallon tank, a tablespoon of baking soda would be plenty.

Make sense?

Jim
 
I like to mix it up in a cup of warm water first. If you just dump it in, you sometimes get clumps on the bottom that take a while to dissolve. But, otherwise, yeah, just add it to the water.

Jim
 
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