nitrites STILL won't go away

[sevenyearnight]

This was the information in which I was referring:

Quite a number of the chemicals involved in our hobby test kits are the same for FW and SW, but, big BUT, the color scales are not the same. In BW and SW, the increasing mineral content of the water distorts the colors of our colorimetric tests. SW test kit charts correct for this discrepancy, but linearity is not perfect. That means that we have a hard time getting exact info at varied BW levels. The tests are pretty good and highly reliable or repeatable (if your techniques are OK) at FW & low BW, and again at very high BW and low SW to full SW. In between we have problems but we deal with them. The manufacturers do not give us a lot of support in mid-BW, but that is not callous, it is just too expensive for then to make a whole set of test ranges accurately. Very, very few folks would buy 3-5 full sets of tests to cover FW through BW to SW, so the manufacturers don't produce them.

The best suggestion I can offer is to use both SW and FW kits and guestimate the mid-range results, knowing that neither kit is going to do the job alone, but together will get through the range where it is uncertain. Because the nitrification switch-over is ~ 1.008 -1.012, that is the single most worrisome area. We generally suggest that folks go very slowly through that range. Outside of that, the accuracy of the other readings in less critical.

HTH

[volcomkrew4life]

do i need live sand?? and how much do you think it would cost to turn my brackish tank into full marine??

[Pufferpunk]

This only refers to testing, not the stability of nitrite.

[sevenyearnight]

He mentions toward the end that because of the nitrification switch over is between 1.008 -1.012, that is the single most worrisome area. We generally suggest that folks go very slowly through that range.
I interpreted that as a stability issue, and not just the testing involved. I may be interpreting this wrong, but that's what I thought he meant by that.

[volcomkrew4life]

okay so i took out all the ornaments and smelled them and nothing smelled rotten but there was a good amount of food in them so i got that all out but as i was shaking the old food out my puffer ate a piece. will he be okay? it was probably really old. i also did another 50% water change. we'll see what happens later when i test.

[Pufferpunk]

See??? He'll probably be OK. I bet your nitrite problem is over.

[volcomkrew4life]

i REALLY hope so. i mean it wasn't a whole lot of food. hopefully that was it though. also, should my biological filter insert be black and dirty looking? is that the "good bacteria" ? also, should i ever scrub it in like old tank water after doing a water change or anything like that??

[Pufferpunk]

I just rinse that in tap water but tank water is good too.

[xrayjeeper83]

next water change clean the sponges in the old tank water is about all you need to do. They arent going to be "clean" looking

[volcomkrew4life]

should i actually like scrub the grime and stuff off the bristles or just like dip it in the water and swoosh it around?

[xrayjeeper83]

Cant wait to set up my ten this weekend most likely

[Pufferpunk]

What bristles?

[Pufferpunk]

What bristles? What kind of filter is it?

[volcomkrew4life]

http://www.tetra-fish.com/sites/TetraFi ... px?id=2416

[Pufferpunk]

That filter won't nearly handle the waste of a GSP. Do you only have one puffer?