new2fish

OK,
My levels have definitely dropped...

I tested today (water change yesterday)

I was wanting to know... how close to the color on the card is the actual water in the tube?

For instance... my Nitrite has Finlay dropped...the color is finally a blue, however it is not as blue as on the card, by that I mean when comparing the tube to the card, the card has a more aqua blue, the tube looks more like a powder blue. it is defiantly not purple or pink... so is it safe to say it is zero?

Same thing on my ammonia, it looks yellow in the tube, till you compare it to the card....then it looks like it might be between the 0 & 0.25

Am I being to picky?

Also, my PH is 7.2 & my Nitrate level is 10.. do these sound OK?? I know PH should be 7.0 or below & the Nitrate should be 40 or below.

One more thing... if all my levels are OK, or if not when they are.. should I wait till I add more fish, or would I be OK as long as the readings are OK??

Thanks for any info

vin

The colors on the card are pretty close to accurate when compared to the tube....You may have a slight trace of ammonia, but if you are using Prime or a similar water treatment that will neutralize ammonia you should be fine.....As for the nitrites, you're probably at zero. Mine doesn't test out at the exact color, but there is definitely no purple tint to mine either....

As for pH, 7.2 shouldn't be a big deal as long as it doesn't continually fluctuate....Fish will adapt to a steady pH. It's the fluctuations that they can't handle...And your nitrates are ideal. Keep them in check with water changes.

sgould

Sounds like you are good. Keep in mind as you start to add fish that you should not just go all out and fully stock your tank. Add 2-3, then wait for a week or 2, testing your water regularly. If you get a spike in ammonia or nitrite, add nothing else until you get both back to 0. If everything is staying put at 0 after a week or so, go ahead and add 2-3 more. Keep repeating until you have stocked your tank. If you were to just suddenly throw large numbers of fish in you will almost certainly throw the tank back into another cycle.

COBettaCouple

yea, the colors are often 'so close' it's a little of a guessing game because you can end up inbetween numbers on the card. I'd agree with 0 nitrites and say you have better than 50% chance of 0 ammonia. I would test that tank again for ammonia & nitrites to confirm, but your readings would sound like a cycled tank.. set a timer for 5 min and check right when it goes off for each to get the most accurate reading, although 0 should stay 0 even after more than 5 min.

new2fish

Thanks guys!

I checked it here again & also took some of the water to the pet store too & they said everything looked good. so we got a couple more fish. I will be keeping a close eye on things to make sure we don't go thru that again! I didn't think it was ever going to get over the messed up levels.

Thanks again for the info