The Puffer Forum

Hey guys
I have had fish for ohhhh...5-6 months now? YOu all helped me with the DPs and now have more fish. One question on my nitrates. Whenever do tests nowadays, ammonia and nitrites are 0 which is very good, properly cycled and also frequent water changes. My nitrates however with the API fresh water test kit always seems 0...

At the beginng when cycling saw the readings go to 5 and 10 but after cycling have not seen since, so know the kit works with these earlier readings. Also I have run out on my first kit and now have new one and still 0 nitrates, is it me but reading around there usually is always some low nitrates in the water? I change weekly abnout 30%.

Also I got given some dip test strips and these read nitrates as 25 so really not sure. My inkling is to test the more accurate API shake test kit over the stripes but just worried on this nitrate business?

Yeah I would expect to see nitrate as any nitrite in the tank will be broken down into it and tapwater generally contains it as well.

One thing i do know is that one of the bottles of my nitrate test kit requires a good shake. Have a look at the test kit instrutions and see if yours is the same - or do you know this already?

Well after testing both tanks, one came up with 5 nitrates and the other zero, I will try that tank again, perhaps I am not shaking enough. Shall I just ignore the dip tests entirely? As they always say very very high

Are you shaking the testing chemicals thoroughly?

Well really shook the out of it on second tank and got reading so will try again shortly on first

If I'm not mistaken the API instruction cards show you are supposed to do a 60 second vigorous shake on the chemical bottles.

30 seconds for the second bottle, and 60 for the test tube.

Strip tests are known for lacking the accuracy of proper bottled tests. Sometimes high nitrate levels are unavoidable depending on your local tap water; your 30% weekly water change schedule sounds fine though so it should keep things down if not at '0'.