Thanks guys, some interesting comments there. I only do one 20% water change/gravel vacuum per week so i'm certainly not over egging my partials, some would say 20% weekly is not enough. My 0ppm nitrates tell me i'm doing fine. Maybe if i leave it every 10 days or so i might see some upward movement of my nitrates? Just out of curiosity, what level of nitrate would you have to get to before you saw signs of stress on your fish?
Thanks guys, some interesting comments there. I only do one 20% water change/gravel vacuum per week so i'm certainly not over egging my partials, some would say 20% weekly is not enough. My 0ppm nitrates tell me i'm doing fine. Maybe if i leave it every 10 days or so i might see some upward movement of my nitrates? Just out of curiosity, what level of nitrate would you have to get to before you saw signs of stress on your fish?
I can only assume you are using the API master fresh water test kit, on the nitrate test bottles, bottle number 2 needs to have the pee shook out of it for at least 2 minutes in my book, beat on a table what ever just shake the living pee out of it, before adding the ten drops to the test vile.
lot of pinions on nitrate, i am of the school of striving to never be over 20ppm. Studies show at 23ppm long term internal dmg starts to take place. again depending on the fish. for me with Oscars i prefer to keep no higher than 20ppm at water change time.
As stated previously... if your tests reflect 0 Nitrate, your tests are not valid. Carefully read the testing instructions and follow them exactly. Make sure your test kit is not out of date. It is virtually impossible to have 0 Nitrates.
Thanks guys, some interesting comments there. I only do one 20% water change/gravel vacuum per week so i'm certainly not over egging my partials, some would say 20% weekly is not enough. My 0ppm nitrates tell me i'm doing fine. Maybe if i leave it every 10 days or so i might see some upward movement of my nitrates? Just out of curiosity, what level of nitrate would you have to get to before you saw signs of stress on your fish?
i am sorry but the laws of chemistry are not there, if you never show nitrates then the fault is in the test, as much as i would love to have magic water, it just does not exist. ammonia0, nitrites0, nitrate0. these are impossible numbers with fish in the tank, sorry not meaning to offend.
like everyone has said, either
- the measurement is incorrect and you have >0 nitrates (nitrate #2 bottle not shaken hard/long enough; I bang nitrate #1 and #2 together for a full minute then shake the test tube for another full minute AT LEAST)
- you truly have 0 nitrates. this is only possible if there is a denitrification process going on in your tank that outweighs the bioload and nitrate production. this is possible with enough plants and low enough bioload, but also many other things such as nitrate reactors, deep sand beds, algae scrubbers, etc.
for the sake of devil's advocate, I imagine if i had 5 minnows in a 200gallon tank, heavily planted with pothos etc; i can't truly imagine nitrates above 10ppm, so can I ask what your stock and tank size is?
Sorted my 0ppm nitrate problem guys. Nowhere on the API test instructions manual does it tell you to shake the bottles senseless and then batter your test sample as well. So thats what i did after heeding your advice and low and behold i have a nitrate reading of 20ppm. I'm chuffed now, i knew something wasn't right. Thanks again for your input. There'll probably be a few more questions down the line now i know i have expert advice on tap. Cheers.
Sorted my 0ppm nitrate problem guys. Nowhere on the API test instructions manual does it tell you to shake the bottles senseless and then batter your test sample as well. So thats what i did after heeding your advice and low and behold i have a nitrate reading of 20ppm. I'm chuffed now, i knew something wasn't right. Thanks again for your input. There'll probably be a few more questions down the line now i know i have expert advice on tap. Cheers.
bottle number 2 of the nitrate test in the only one that really needs the crap shook out of it, its cristalises in the bottle and needs to be broke up.
