I've been cycling my tank, and finally managed to get some seeded filter media, and threw it in my tank. Almost immediatly my ammonia dropped to 0. The problem is it's been about 4-5 days and I haven't had a nitrate reading yet. My test kit could be off it's like 2 years old, but I've also tested with the dip strips. I have a moderatly planted tank with some pothos growing out of the top, but I still expected a nitrate reading by now. Does .25 ppm's of ammonia equal .25 ppm's of nitrate? It usually took about a days for my tank to get a .25 reading of ammonia when it was completly uncycled. I'm just a little curious as to what's going on with my tank as I have a bacteria bloom(attributing that to the cycling process of having the media thrown in) but no ammonia/nitrite/nitrates.
Ammonia-->Nitrate conversion
- Thread starter carsona246
- Start date
You need to get you a liquid test kit those test strips are worthless.
Posted on mobile.monsterfishkeepers.com
Posted on mobile.monsterfishkeepers.com
Totally agree, I have all liquid, I just have a dip strip in order to test multiple parameters quickly to see if anything seems out of wack. My liquid nitrate test is over 2 years old, the dip strips are fairly new, they both read 0 nitrates. My nitrate liquid test isn't supposed to change from yellow to orange until 5 ppm's. Am i just being paranoid by thinking something seems wierd by having 0 on all tests?
So what are your nitrate reading with the liquid test kit. Also the API liquid test kit has a five year life.
Posted on mobile.monsterfishkeepers.com
Posted on mobile.monsterfishkeepers.com
ah, I wasn't sure, it's a 0 on liquid tests. I feel like I should be getting a reading of something in my tank. I have 2 ammonia test kits, and they both have a 0 reading. Theres no nitrites to speak of.
you need to shake bottle #2 of the nitrate test kit like you've never shaken something before.. slam it on the table a few times, then shake some more, for like 3 mins.. then do the test
the stuff in bottle 2 likes to solidify and go out of suspension, so you end up testing with dilluted reagent ... then you get false low or false negatives reading for nitrate
more info (source) ; http://www.badmanstropicalfish.com/forum/index.php?topic=15743.0
Works for me!
the stuff in bottle 2 likes to solidify and go out of suspension, so you end up testing with dilluted reagent ... then you get false low or false negatives reading for nitrate
more info (source) ; http://www.badmanstropicalfish.com/forum/index.php?topic=15743.0
Works for me!