This has been kind of bugging me the last two weeks. I'm using an API FW Master Kit and every time I test my Nitrate I get a 0ppm reading. I know the Nitrate test can be tricky but I know I am doing it correctly and I follow the instructions to the letter. I do the same test from the same kit on my 40 gallon breeder which houses three adult african clawed frogs and I always get a 5ppm to 10ppm reading which I know should be fairly accurate.
My stock in the 20 gallon high that has a 8 cardintal tetras, 5 black mollies (not a good combination, I know..), various small snails (ramshorn, pond) but I am not overrun with them and maybe 2 or 3 ghost shrimp. There's also a lone guppy and two very small zebra danio in this tank, they are left over fish from a tank I had to sell a while back unfortunately. This tank is probably slightly overstocked. The filtration is two Whisper 40i and a Whisper 10i, I do 25% PWC weekly.
When I saw my Nitrate was 0ppm on the test I quickly tested Ammonia and Nitrite, they also read as 0. The tank is planted with vallisneria, water wisteria, anubias, java fern and some floating plant which I believe is duckweed but it's not out of control because my filters agitate the surface of the water too much for it to spread like crazy.
My pH is stable at 7 and I keep my tank at 80F if that additional information is of any help. When it comes to feedings, I usually feed these fish every other day with a decent sized pinch of flake food. I've had no mysterious deaths in this tank, the only deaths I've had in the last few months are from one or two mollies jumping out (I believe a large molly was bullying them, as mollies do..) and a ghost shrimp died, but those things seem to die randomly so I don't really worry about that.
These readings just don't seem realistic. My 40B gets 25% partial water changes twice a week and is filtered by a Eheim 2217 and is more heavily planted than this 20G tank and it still has measurable nitrate readings so really this tank should too..
Any ideas?
My stock in the 20 gallon high that has a 8 cardintal tetras, 5 black mollies (not a good combination, I know..), various small snails (ramshorn, pond) but I am not overrun with them and maybe 2 or 3 ghost shrimp. There's also a lone guppy and two very small zebra danio in this tank, they are left over fish from a tank I had to sell a while back unfortunately. This tank is probably slightly overstocked. The filtration is two Whisper 40i and a Whisper 10i, I do 25% PWC weekly.
When I saw my Nitrate was 0ppm on the test I quickly tested Ammonia and Nitrite, they also read as 0. The tank is planted with vallisneria, water wisteria, anubias, java fern and some floating plant which I believe is duckweed but it's not out of control because my filters agitate the surface of the water too much for it to spread like crazy.
My pH is stable at 7 and I keep my tank at 80F if that additional information is of any help. When it comes to feedings, I usually feed these fish every other day with a decent sized pinch of flake food. I've had no mysterious deaths in this tank, the only deaths I've had in the last few months are from one or two mollies jumping out (I believe a large molly was bullying them, as mollies do..) and a ghost shrimp died, but those things seem to die randomly so I don't really worry about that.
These readings just don't seem realistic. My 40B gets 25% partial water changes twice a week and is filtered by a Eheim 2217 and is more heavily planted than this 20G tank and it still has measurable nitrate readings so really this tank should too..
Any ideas?
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