Water test

[Ruddy Roach]

Hi everyone.

What are the units in of nitrate, nitrite and ammonia in (test kits). Are they just 0 1 2 3 etc. What is good, bad etc

Thanks

Andy

 

[yvez9]

for ammonia and nitrites, it doesn't really matter what precision they give because if any ammount show up, it's too much.

That's my opinion anyway

 

[freddyk]

Most test kits tend to measure in degrees, 1,2,3... As mentioned no amounts of ammonia or nitrite are acceptable, and for nitrates it depends on the delicacy of the fish. The lower the better, in any case, but it's best not to let it go above 40 or so.

 

[FrankSlapperinni]

Usually materials are measured in ppm (parts per million), which means that for every million units of material in your tank, one of those is and ammonia particle, nitrite particle, etc. Ammonia is toxic in any concentration, and nitrite, although less toxic, should also never be present in a fully cycled tank. Nitrate can exist in levels up to 40ppm without any problems (unless extremely sensitive fish or corals are being kept).