My tap water has nitrites and nitrates

[Mustangfreak]

Hello everyone, Friday I picked up an API Master freshwater test kit and was excited to test my tanks (had been using test strips till now). I also tested my tap water and saw that it had 5ppm Nitrites and 20ppm Nitrates. I tried searching for nitrites in tap water but most of the stuff I found was about nitrates.


What should I do? My local gov's page says the water has .26 of Nitrates, but does not list Nitrites.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

Hello everyone, Friday I picked up an API Master freshwater test kit and was excited to test my tanks (had been using test strips till now). I also tested my tap water and saw that it had 5ppm Nitrites and 20ppm Nitrates. I tried searching for nitrites in tap water but most of the stuff I found was about nitrates.


What should I do? My local gov's page says the water has .26 of Nitrates, but does not list Nitrites.

Greetings.
Congrats on the test kit...way better than strips.
Have you tested your tap water after you've added the right amount of the water conditioner you're using?
A fully cycled tank should be able to break down those nitrites into nitrates, (you want zero nitrites in your tank, or you have a problem) and 20ppm Nitrate would be okay.

 

[Essjay]

Nitrate - American water providers use a different scale from our test kits. Converting that 0.26 gives 1.15 which is still a lot less than your test.
Nitrite - in the UK, the maximum nitrite permitted in drinking water is 0.5 ppm. The US will probably have a similar limit.



Can I check with you how you are using the API testers?
Nitrite - fill the tube to the line with water, add 5 drops from the nitrite bottle, shake, wait 5 minutes and compare the colour to the chart.
Nitrate - fill the tube to the line with water. Add 10 drops from nitrate bottle #1, put the cap on and shake the tube. Then shake nitrate bottle #2 vigorously for at least 30 seconds (preferably longer), then add 10 drops to the tube , put the lid on and shake the tube vigorously for 1 minute. Then wait 5 minutes and compare the colour to the chart.

Many people do not realise that the shaking is an important part of the test and if it's not done it gives a false result.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Yes, the 2nd bottle of nitrAte testing reagent needs to be shaken like mad, especially if it is new or as not been used in a while.

Shake hard for at least 1 minute, bang it on a desk, shake some more, throw it against a wall, then shake again...

 

[Mustangfreak]

I have not been doing my Nitrate tests properly then. I had been adding bottle 1 and then bottle 2 right after then shaking for a minute. I'll be sure to properly shake the bottles next time and the vial before going to #2.

 

[Essjay]

Nitrate bottle #2 has an ingredient which settles on the bottom of the bottle, and if it's been a while since it's been used it solidifies into lumps. The shaking it to get this ingredient evenly distributed though the liquid again. Tapping the bottle on a hard surface breaks up any lumps so it mixes in better.

 

[Slaphppy7]

The instructions that come with the kit leave a little to be desired, IMO....I made a quick reference sheet for testing, see below

AMMONIA:
8 DROPS FROM BOTTLE 1, 8 DROPS FROM BOTTLE 2, SHAKE 5 SECONDS, WAIT 5 MINUTES.

NITRATE:
10 DROPS FROM BOTTLE 1, INVERT TO MIX, SHAKE VIGOROUSLY BOTTLE 2, 30 SECONDS OR MORE, 10 DROPS FROM BOTTLE 2, SHAKE HARD FOR 1 MINUTE, WAIT 5 MINUTES.

PH:
3 DROPS, INVERT TO MIX, RESULTS ARE IMMEDIATE.

NITRITE:
5 DROPS, SHAKE 5 SECONDS, WAIT 5 MINUTES.

HIGH PH:
5 DROPS, INVERT TO MIX, RESULTS ARE IMMEDIATE.

 

[Mustangfreak]

Ok so I've been testing my Nitrite tests correctly, so I do indeed have 5ppm in my tap water. What should I do about this?

 

[Byron]

Ok so I've been testing my Nitrite tests correctly, so I do indeed have 5ppm in my tap water. What should I do about this?

I would contact your water authority and discuss this. I believe I read somewhere that the EPA in the US considers nitrite at 1 mg/l to be the maximum for human safety. Nitrate and nitrite are connected, so the nitrite may be "high" but not actually that high. The water authority will know, and should also confirm the actual nitrite level (our aquarium tests are not the most scientific ones, but should be close).