Seriously Confused By Water Results?!

[GreenLaser]

Hi Guys, i'm new to this forums so please go easy on me
 
I've been fishless cycling my 120 Litre tank for the last month or so. When it was done I added some Bronze Cory Catfish (5) that I've bred in another tank, I've had these fish in the tank for almost 5 days now however I'm a bit confused about my results from my water tests this morning. They're the API Fresh Water Master Test Kit and it is a year or 2 old.  My results seem to be Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0 and Nitrate 0. I don't understand how this can be! 
 
I've added some images of the results, to see what you guys think! 
Ammonia: 

Nitrite:

Nitrate:

What do you guys think?? Thanks!

 

[DrRob]

Not got a vast amount of experience with the API master kit as I use a different one, I do have a lot of experience of people commenting that 0 reads on nitrates happen a lot if you don't shake one of the vials so much that your arm is complaining, as the chemicals tend to precipitate out. Someone will likely come along and remember which one.

 

[GreenLaser]

Thank you for your comment DrRob! I think I did shake it enough but I'll give it another go and see if I get a different reading! 
Thanks again

 

[Ch4rlie]

Have you got any live plants in the tank?
Sometimes having a lot of live plants can result in low readings of nitrate but would have to be quite a fair amount of plants.

API Nitrate test can be inaccurate unfortunately. Test again and make sure you REALLY shake the nitrate bottles and follow instructions to the letter.

One last question, how did you exactly do the Fishless cycling?
Did you use this forums Fishless cycle article?

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/421488-cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first/

 

[GreenLaser]

Waiting for the test to finish its 5 minutes now

 
Yes! I have two amazon swords plants, some Vallis spiralis, some java moss on a piece of bog wood and some java fern. I also have a young anubias and a couple of small plants I can't remember the name of

I'm not sure if this amount would make a significant difference though! 
 
The tank was also seeded by some floss filter media from a mature tank of mine and yes, I pretty much followed that guide, using household liquid ammonia.

And here is the new Nitrate reading, looks pretty much the same as the first time

 ! It does look a little darker than the 0ppm shade but not as dark as 5ppm for sure 

 
Edit: Noticed the light from the window makes it unclear to see the actual colour.. this might be better.?

 

[the_lock_man]

Not got a vast amount of experience with the API master kit as I use a different one, I do have a lot of experience of people commenting that 0 reads on nitrates happen a lot if you don't shake one of the vials so much that your arm is complaining, as the chemicals tend to precipitate out. Someone will likely come along and remember which one.

 
And here comes the science bit. Well, sort of.
 
It's bottle no.2 on the nitrate test, it contains a powder reagent (the bit that "sense" the nitrate) which has a tendency, as Rob says, to precipitate out. When that happens, there is no reagent in the drops that get added to your water, so whatever nitrate is in there isn't detected.
 
I think the test instructions tell you to shake it for 30 seconds - I recommend 5 minutes, including bashing the bottle on a hard surface several times to seriously get that powder dissolved back into the solution, and mixed around as much as possible.
 
That said, you've had 5 bronze cories in 120l for 5 days - if you have no nitrate in your tapwater, then approx 5ppm isn't that unreasonable as a reading.

 

[GreenLaser]

Oh! I didn't know that the_lock_man! I'll give it a good shake later on and see if it changes! You wouldn't happen to now how often you should get a new test kit as mine isn't new haha
Cheers!

 

[the_lock_man]

Like Rob, I don't use API (and never have) so I don't know, but I thought there was an expiry date on the box.

 

[fm1978]

This is the reason I quite quickly changed from the API kit to another. Not that it wasn't accurate or anything, not at all, it's quite good but I started looking like an idiot when my neighbours saw me whacking a wee white bottle off various walls throughout my house. I began to think there must be something better than this shortly after my knuckles became bruised...

 

[TwoTankAmin]

The plants got the nitrate. 5 corys do not make a lot of waste. If it was all corys that tank can hold close to 15 even atfull adult size. The plants can probably handle more nitrate than the tank creates. You may even have to start adding nitrate after your weekly water change for the the plants.
 
I trust hobby nitrate kits about as far as I can throw one into a hurricane.
 
The floss did not do a heck of a lot to help with the cycle. The plants had way more bacteria on them than the floss might have provided. if you moved over anything else from the old tank that too had more nitrifying bacteria on it than the floss. Considering a normal unaided cycle takes about 5 weeks and yours took about 4, your time savings was 20%, so not too bad at all. But it was the plants that helped more than anything else.

 

[GreenLaser]

Thanks for all the responses guys!! I thought I had gone terribly wrong somewhere - what a relief!! 
 
Out of interest what water test kits do you guys use?? This kit is such a faff!! Gosh haven't even thought about what my neighbours would think!  

 

[Ch4rlie]

I actually use the API FW master test kit.
 
Find it to be a fairly decent test kit for he money, I know its shortcomings and don't take the nitrate readings as accurate, i use it more like a guide to roughly tell me if too much nitrate or not. I don't worry too much about nitrates anyway since plants and weekly water changes keeps nitrate levels at a decent level.
 
Watch your fish and especially shrimps, they'll tell you through symptoms if there is any water issues.
 
BTW I also have a Nutrafin Master test Kit as well, this is more expensive and has a more extensive array of tests. The results are almost on a par with the API test kit, so if i ever see any unusual results, I use both sets of test kits to see if any differences in results.

 

[fm1978]

Like Ch4rlie, I had the API kit and was quite happy with it, until the pain started... Now I use this one http/fishkeeper.co.uk/product/maidenhead-aquatics-aquarium-master-test-kit and considering the extra few tests I think it's excellent value.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I have used API kits for years. However, I cannot remember the last time I used the nitrate kit. I know I replaced the complete sets at least 2 twice over the years. I think the last time I tested for nitrate was in 2003. I do not think I even opened either bottle of nitrate solution on sets #2 and #3.

 

[bsilverfox]

I spoke to a representative from API Test Kits today. They are good for 5 years from the date of mfg and the date is on the bottles. I wanted to check because I have found that if you hold the test tube as little as 1/8th of an inch from the white on the color chart it can make a big difference. The tests have been designed to give the readings by holding the test tube and touching the white portion of the color chart. I have a 90 gallon FW tank with only 6 Discus-3-4 inches ea. Yesterday I added 3 sterbai corys -small ones--about an inch & 1/2 each. Prior to adding them my ammonia was 0. Today it is at about  .125PPM AND my nitrates increased slightly to a firm 40PPM (if the test is accurate). This, after a 45% water change today(my tap water contains 10PPM)
I have had the aquarium since March and I only have 6 fish as outlined above (prior to yesterday) and I have a hard time keeping the Nitrate in the 40PPM range. It's a pain. I am not willing to go through the hassle of R/O or distilled water with a 90 gallon tank. Inability to keep the Nitrates down is driving me nuts. I'm about ready to jump out the window. Fortunately, they're all at ground level.

Green Laser---your ammonia level looks to be closer to .25PPM to me.