Why Am I Still Not Seeing Any Nitrite?

[marleth]

I've been testing the water daily for over a week now. The fish have been in there for two weeks. I have been changing the water daily for the last week. I am using dechlorinator. Water temp stays steady at 80 degrees F.

All fish are still alive, and I've cut back on feeding them. I am even vacuuming the gravel every 2-3 days.

It does seem that the ammonia levels are rising slower and slower, but why am I not seeing nitrite?

 

[Corleone]

With daily water changes to keep ammonia under control, you'll be keeping nitrite quite low as well. A 0 reading on the test isn't quite 0, there is a threshold before you get any visible color, and some people can't see gradients of color very well. As ammonia processes faster, nitrite will rise faster, and you'll get more and more readings, at which point you'll see the same thing with nitrate - the daily water changes will keep it so low you won't get much of a reading until near the end of the cycle.

It is possible the test kit is faulty, but I'd give it another week before I consider that.