I posted something about this a little earlier, but I was a little sketchy with whether or not there was actually something wrong with my tap water - now I am almost completely sure that there is.
I've been adding ammonia, testing the water, and not cleaning my tank or doing water changes for a while now (maybe about a month or so, with a few setbacks along the way). Today, I tested the water and I had 0 ammonia, about 2 nitrite, and around 40 nitrate. I thought this was a little wierd, because I thought that I should have 0 nitrite if I have that much nitrate. I repeated the test to make sure I did everything correctly, and got the same reading. My tank has lost some water due to evaporation, so I decided to top it off with 5 gal of dechlorinated water. I tested my water again about an hour and a half after adding this water, and I still have 0 ammonia and about 2 or 3 nitrite. The nitrate, on the other hand, dropped all the way down to about 5 or so. What is going on? I don't think it's just a case of the nitrates being dilluted with the added water, because 1) the nitrites didn't dillute at all, and 2) 5 gallons wouldn't be enough to drop the nitrates that far in a 55 gallon tank. The water had only dropped about 2 inches, so it isn't like I added 5 gallons of new water to 10 gallons of 'old' water.
Has anyone had experience with this kind of thing? When I was in San Diego, I used bottled water for my water changes, but this was pretty cheap (about $1 for 5 gallons). I don't think I can get water that cheap in Chicago. Also, any ideas on why my nitrate was so high while still having nitrites? The nitrites have been hovering around 2 for about a week now, and the nitrates have been about since I began cycling.
One thing that I just thought of - I originally used Cycle to start the cycling proccess about a month ago, but have now read around that this is a bad product that can prolong the cycling process. I did about an 80% water change a week ago when I thought that my tank was cycled, so I would think that this removed most of the Cycle product that may or may not still be in the water.
Thanks for reading all of this.
I've been adding ammonia, testing the water, and not cleaning my tank or doing water changes for a while now (maybe about a month or so, with a few setbacks along the way). Today, I tested the water and I had 0 ammonia, about 2 nitrite, and around 40 nitrate. I thought this was a little wierd, because I thought that I should have 0 nitrite if I have that much nitrate. I repeated the test to make sure I did everything correctly, and got the same reading. My tank has lost some water due to evaporation, so I decided to top it off with 5 gal of dechlorinated water. I tested my water again about an hour and a half after adding this water, and I still have 0 ammonia and about 2 or 3 nitrite. The nitrate, on the other hand, dropped all the way down to about 5 or so. What is going on? I don't think it's just a case of the nitrates being dilluted with the added water, because 1) the nitrites didn't dillute at all, and 2) 5 gallons wouldn't be enough to drop the nitrates that far in a 55 gallon tank. The water had only dropped about 2 inches, so it isn't like I added 5 gallons of new water to 10 gallons of 'old' water.
Has anyone had experience with this kind of thing? When I was in San Diego, I used bottled water for my water changes, but this was pretty cheap (about $1 for 5 gallons). I don't think I can get water that cheap in Chicago. Also, any ideas on why my nitrate was so high while still having nitrites? The nitrites have been hovering around 2 for about a week now, and the nitrates have been about since I began cycling.
One thing that I just thought of - I originally used Cycle to start the cycling proccess about a month ago, but have now read around that this is a bad product that can prolong the cycling process. I did about an 80% water change a week ago when I thought that my tank was cycled, so I would think that this removed most of the Cycle product that may or may not still be in the water.
Thanks for reading all of this.
