Where have all the NitrAtes gone...

NeonJulie

NeonJulie

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Nov 13, 2006
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When I tested my tank this morning, I had a surprisingly unhappy result. I may have had it yesterday, but I wasn't confident I conducted the NitrAtes test perfectly. This morning I confirmed it.... NO NITRATES.

Zip.

0ppm.

Now I've even lost the piddly 5ppm NitrAtes I have. What's going on?!

This morning I left the light on part of the time. Maybe some type of darkness loving algae is consuming them. /sigh

Help??
 
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Plants and/or algae ate it?
 
I don't have any real plants, and my tank has been in almost near constant darkness since the cycle began. (Per the directions.)
 
Don't have any ammonia (unless I test after a dosing), 20ppm NitrItes. Very sure, tested repeatedly. There's just nothing in there but NitrItes.
 
I'd like to see some reasoning why my cycle is going backwards... how does a nitrifying cycle work when there's plenty food available (NitrItes), but nothing showing that it's being eaten?!

There must be something I need to do... I've been waiting for 31 days, and it's not moving forward, in fact I had started with 10 NitrAtes, it went down to 5, and now it's gone. I don't see how it's possible that the cycle can move forward like this.
 
hmm... well it's not like the light has been off since the beginning... lights are on at least an hour a day. This is my source...

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?p=744398&highlight=#744398
"Keep the tank lights off and direct/indirect sunlight to a minimum. This time in the tank is RIPE for algae outbreaks. High ammonia levels, steady CO2 levels (from high aeration), and possible light can cause your tank to look like pea soup. The bacteria do NOT require a light source, and in fact, direct sunlight can cause the bacteria to multiply slower. Bottom line, keep it dark!"
 
NeonJulie said:
I've been waiting for 31 days, and it's not moving forward
Click to expand...
i waited more than 6 weeks for my nitrites to come down. they're stubborn! i did a 20% water change (as suggested by people here), added nutrafin cycle the day after that and continued for 3 days, then did another 20% water change. that day when i tested i was down to 0ppm nitrites. you might want to try something along those lines. a lot of people will say that the nutrafin cycle doesn't work. i don't know if my success was due to that, the water changes or both, but that's what i did and it worked. i'm not going to argue with results! :D
 
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