The Puffer Forum

What are the idea readings for
Nitrate
Ammonia
Nitrite

Thanks

Nitrate - less than 20ppm
Nitrite - ZERO. Must be zero. If not zero, do a 50% or more water change, and repeat tommarow if still not zero.
Ammonia - ZERO. Must be zero. If not zero, do a 50% or more water change, and repeat tommarow if still not zero.
That should get you started

My nitrate card is in "mg" what is that equivalient to "ppm"

Also my amonia and nitrite cards don't read to 0, they read to 0.1 both

So what should I do thanks,

The solution will not change color at all if there are zero ammonia or nitrites - it will just disperse around the tube and look like you added a couple weak drops of dye to the tube. If you want to make SURE you know what zero looks like with your test kit, just test some tap water. Some tap water contains nitrates, but you should be fine basing your "zero" for ammonia and nitrites that way. Ppm is parts per million, which is the same as mg/liter. If your ammonia test involves more than one liquid, make sure you mix well before adding the second liquid - I cap and shake good. I used to just "wiggle" it a little, but I found my measurements were coming out low.

You mean the water will be clear or the color will be lighter then the color on the chart?

The chart should have a colour reading for "zero". It should match, or be even clearer, than that.

"Ideal" readings are zero for all 3.

The chart has no reading of 0 for nitrate and nitrite both have a reading of only .01, ammonia has a reading of 0... so it's it's lighter the the 0.1 reading, i would be okay? What should I do, if my charts don't have a zero reading