nitrate question

[THQ]

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.

Mystery solved.

You must have an old instruction sheet or something. This is the one for nitrate I have from my master test kit, identical to the one on their website.

4. Vigorously shake the Nitrate Test Solution Bottle # 2 for at least 30 seconds. This step is extremely important to insure accuracy of test results.

6. Cap the test tube and shake vigorously for one minute. This step is extremely important to insure accuracy of test results.

7. Wait 5 minutes for the color to develop.

 

[Mr Pleco]

Nitrates at zero in a closed loop system , like an aquarium is like chasing the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow or winning the 1.5 B powerball ..something is always decomposing.. throw the test kits away most hobby kits are useless... just enjoy the hobby ....IMO

 

[convict360]

Nitrates at zero in a closed loop system , like an aquarium is like chasing the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow or winning the 1.5 B powerball ..something is always decomposing.. throw the test kits away most hobby kits are useless... just enjoy the hobby ....IMO

they're invaluable for establishing the health of a tank though, or ruling out factors in problem scenarios such as disease

 

[xraycer]

I would disagree that these test kits are useless. I check my nitrates maybe once a year, or I'll check all the parameters if my fish appears "off"

 

[esoxlucius]

As well as my big tank which i'm glad to say is under control now nitrates wise, i also have a small tank in the kitchen for the kids. When i tested my nitrates on this tank the colour was leaning towards the not so good red as opposed to the acceptable orange colour. Problem is the red for the borderline 40ppm is almost identical to the next red up which is the not very good at all 80ppm. The fish look as happy as larry, no stress signs whatsoever. I'm going to do a partial to fetch it down anyway but my question now is, if my nitrates are nudging the 80ppm mark why are my fish not keeling over. Or could it be, as a lot of you are saying, that the API test kits are indeed a load of inaccurate crap?

 

[rodger]

I was usiing an API test kit and kept getting readings of 80PPM+ I would so 75% changes daily for weeks on end, and would get it down to about 50PPM for a day. I bought some Lamotte nitrate test strips and started testing daily. The strips say that I am keeping the nitrates at 20PPM and below. I generally don't like test strips, for no document-able reason, but the liquid test just seems very unreliable as you can regularly see on MFK.

 

[xraycer]

The fish look as happy as larry, no stress signs whatsoever. I'm going to do a partial to fetch it down anyway but my question now is, if my nitrates are nudging the 80ppm mark why are my fish not keeling over.

Nitrate is no where as toxic as ammonia or nitrite so even at super high levels (100+) most fresh water fish will not exhibit any stress symptoms. Nitrate is detrimental in terms of a cumulative nature, so it could easily take a year to finally succumb to this toxin whether it be directly or indirectly

 

[THQ]

I was usiing an API test kit and kept getting readings of 80PPM+ I would so 75% changes daily for weeks on end, and would get it down to about 50PPM for a day. I bought some Lamotte nitrate test strips and started testing daily. The strips say that I am keeping the nitrates at 20PPM and below. I generally don't like test strips, for no document-able reason, but the liquid test just seems very unreliable as you can regularly see on MFK.

That is unusual, because unless the API test kits have expired, they are usually a lot more accurate than strips. Have you tested your tap water? What nitrate level does it have?

 

[pops]

Attitude over reality, it never works out well,

 

[esoxlucius]

I once read that our hobby is nothing to do with keeping fish, more a case of keeping water. Get your water spot on and the rest looks after itself. There's a hell of a lot of truth in that unless you're keeping fish that have very unique requirements. So we've already deduced that test strips are useless in a lot of cases and now it seems we've all had problems with inaccurate readings with the API liquid test kits too. If the hobby is all about keeping water, and yet we can't rely on either test to assess our water then what chance have we got. Then we're told, well sod the tests, just look at your fish, if they're happy and showing no signs of stress then don't worry too much. But we're also told that nitrate stress is a creeper, your fish won't show no signs until it's too late. The question now is are there any test kits out there that are consistently reliable?