I Claim Ignorance... Where Is My Nitrate Going?

[rgrrmg]

I guess I don't get it yet , if from what I have read the Ammonia turns into Nitrite and the Bacteria in turn turns the Nitrite into Nitrate. OK I am in day 60 I get double zeroes every 24 hrs., and my Nitrate level does not seem to be changing ( That I can tell). So where is it going if the Nitrite goes to 0??

Thanks.

 

[-Nemo-]

confused by what you said, what are your current levels?

 

[waterdrop]

If you have an API kit and are doing the full shakedowns (or more) per the instructions and still getting zero ppm all this time and aren't heavily planted and not doing water changes then perhaps it would be good to figure out and do the expiration checks on the NO3 test, that's all I can think of other than the nitrate test is just flakey and is somehow telling you the wrong thing. But usually having nitrite in there, if there is any, will just add to the nitrate and the nitrate test will give an even higher reading than is accurate, not a zero reading.

Still, I have to say that starting a couple of years ago when I started taking advice from MW and other experienced ones here at TFF, they always continued to remind me that the nitrate tests are just plain flakey and not to be relied upon, especially during fishless cycling. They usually get more reliable after the cycling when the tank has fish and is more stable. So in a way, we often are not very logical in our use of them - we accept what they say when its a positive result and reinforces what we're hoping for but we tend to ignore the results when they don't make sense if that makes any sense!

~~waterdrop~~

 

[-Nemo-]

To add onto what waterdrop said, the nitrate test for API is very sensitive. If done incorrectly it will more than likely read 0. Make sure the bottles are shaken very well, even hit them against something to knock any potential particles free in there, and also make sure to shake the vial very well and wait a full 5 minutes before even bothering to look at the color.

It makes all the difference.

 

[fatheadminnow]

up, shake bottle #2 for at least a minute. I always hit the bottle against something solid to help shake it up. Nitrate bottle #2 tends to "solidify" up, so hitting it against something will help it break apart inside.

-FHM

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, agree, good point nemo, I've been doing this so long I tend to forget not everyone takes the shaking thing seriously. For bottle #2 its well known that the important ingredient precips out and sometimes sticks in the bottom of the bottle, so whacking the bottle against something will usually break it loose and allow it to then mix with a lot of vigorous shaking. This is also the same bottle where sometimes the little stuck together bits will clog the drop forming tube. Same cause. These same tests are well known to analytical chemists and dye chemists in particular and are notorious for various problems.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Bobtastic]

Do you have any live plants in your tank whilest you're cycling fishlessly? If so, they could be using it.

 

[rgrrmg]

Thanks for all the input...No the tank has no plants in it, just 2 ornaments. I will try hitting bottle #2 against something next time because I am getting a reading of about 80, but that never seems to change regardless of the fact that I get double zeroes every 24 hrs., I'm actually getting an ammonia reading of 0 at 12 hrs. now.

Thanks

 

[loraxchick]

ive read elsewhere that really high nitrate readings will give false low results, regardless of shaking the bottles,tubes,waiting the 10 mins,etc...id go by ammonia/nitrites as far as your cycling goes and look less at how much nitrate you have. the nitrate test is the least accurate of the 3 anyway.
good luck.
cheers

 

[rebrn]

Hello,

agree with all above, but as mentioned before you should check the expiration dates. The API does not list the expiration dates so you have to calculate it using the lot #. You may already have this info, but if not this is what I was told by API:

Lot #: Last 4 digits = month/year of manufactured date, i.e lot number ending in 0209 means manufactured in Feb 09

Expires 3 Years from manufactured date
Ammonia
High pH
NitrAte
Copper
Calcium
GH
Phosphate

Expires 4 Years from manufactured date
NitrIte
KH

Expires 5 Years from manufactured date
pH

Hope that helps

 

[rgrrmg]

Hello,

agree with all above, but as mentioned before you should check the expiration dates. The API does not list the expiration dates so you have to calculate it using the lot #. You may already have this info, but if not this is what I was told by API:

Lot #: Last 4 digits = month/year of manufactured date, i.e lot number ending in 0209 means manufactured in Feb 09

Expires 3 Years from manufactured date
Ammonia
High pH
NitrAte
Copper
Calcium
GH
Phosphate

Expires 4 Years from manufactured date
NitrIte
KH

Expires 5 Years from manufactured date
pH

Hope that helps

Thanks Rebrn all the lot#'s are from 04, 06, or 07 of 2009. So I should be OK. I will be testing the Nitrate soon and will shake bottle #2 up real good, and knock it up against. We'll see how it goes.
Thanks.

 

[grumpysteve]

as loraxchick mentioned, if theres excessive nitrate in the tank you'll be given a false reading of low nitrate. do a big water change, continue to add ammonia, then test for nitrate again after 24-48 hours. if the nitrate levels are currently so high they're giving you a false reading this will give you a truer result, but wont effect the cycle, as essentially it's already cycled.

 

[rebrn]

Hi again, yep you should definitely be OK for expiration dates. Make sure you give it a really good shake, if your arm feels like it is about to fall off then you can stop shaking If you haven't given it a really good shake for a while you may want to shake it for 2 or even 3 minutes. I had to do that because at first I had not been shaking it enough. Also, after you add the 10 drops from bottle #2 make sure you shake the tube as well for 1 minute, but shake it up really good, don't just turn it over a few times ... as the instructions say, shake the tube vigorously for 1 minute. It does make a difference. The only time I got false low readings is when it went over 160 (the highest on the chart) got 160 one day and the next nitrates dropped to 80, so I knew I had a false low. But it still showed a positive result. The only time I got a false negative was when I did not shake Bottle #2 for at least 1 minute and/or I did not shake the tube after adding the final drops for one minute. On the bright side it is a very good arm workout