High Or Low Nitrates, Can't Tell!?!

[AntsRule]

I have a 55 gallon tank with rummynose and blue rams. Everyone is healthy and rams show great color and rummys are shiny silver with bright red head. I have an apI master test kit. When I take a nitrate reading in my tap and tank It shows 80ppm if you hold it right against the card, and it shows 40ish if it's held an inch or so away. I tested bottled water it showed 0. I bought some apI test sticks in a panic and they read 20-30 In tap and tank. Chain fish store tested it and they said 0 but I do not trust that it was done properly there soo. Then again all fish are super healthy. My best guess is that it's around 30 and that the the liqued test is either too hard to read or faulty. What do you guys think? Thanks

 

[83jase]

First up shake the bottles well esp no2 reagent bang the out of it on the bench or against your palm otherwise will give false reading and is the kit in date and stored properly if so I'd trust those readings over strips or lfs 80ppm seems extreme for tap water heard people getting nitrates nothing like that where I am worst I see is phosphorous

 

[PoorBigBlue]

The API nitrate tests are pretty bad, in my opinion. That said, I don't trust the LFS or the strips, either. If I had to guess, the nitrates are between 40-80 PPM, and that's a bit high. Maybe change 10% more water weekly, just to be safe. Make sure you're shaking the bottles well.

 

[DuaneV]

If you're between 40 & 80, you'll want to do a 50% water change and get it to 20-40. Over 40 starts getting sketchy, and changing out 10% isn't going to make any difference. Even if you're only at 20ppm, changing out 50% is the best way to go as that will get you down to 10ppm. After a few months of testing and messing with water changes you'll figure out what you need to change every week to stay consistent.

Test strips aren't that good, the Master Test Kit is going to be dead on as long as you follow the instructions to a "T".

 

[Gone]

You're right that the tube has a much different color if you hold it right next to the chart. I hold it up about an inch.

BTW, you don't need to smash the test tube against a brick wall, or blow it up with dynamite, or anything else like that. For one, the tubes are made of thin glass and you'll end up in the ER to get shards dug out of your hand. Just shake the bottle for 30 seconds before you add the drops, then shake the tube for a minute. That's all you need to do.

 

[AntsRule]

So the thing is the test kit says the tap is the same 40-80

 

[83jase]

BTW, you don't need to smash the test tube against a brick wall, or blow it up with dynamite, or anything else like that. For one, the tubes are made of thin glass and you'll end up in the ER to get shards dug out of your hand. Just shake the bottle for 30 seconds before you add the drops, then shake the tube for a minute. That's all you need to do.

BTW clearly stated bottle #2 reagent of nitrate shake the **** out of not the tube lol

 

[Gone]

Actually the instructions say to "vigorously shake" the bottle and "vigorously shake" the tube. There's nothing wrong with adding extra drama I suppose. I just don't want someone to think you have to smash the tube against the wall to make it work. Just shake it. It will work.

 

[83jase]

My apologies I thought you where taking **** out of me lol bad day give up smoking huh lol

most nitrate reading problems always come back to #2 bottle not shaken enough all good man

 

[86 ssinit]

Yes apI nitrate test. Should be called shake and guess!! Yes you must shake the heck out of the second bottle then shake the mixture then guess what color it is on the color chart. I just learned about the aggressive shaking of the second bottle. 30 years and I never thought I had nitrates . Did it matter....NO. If you change your water weekly you won’t have a problem. If your worried add some plants .

 

[Gone]

"My apologies I thought you where taking out of me lol bad day give up smoking huh lol"

I'm rooting for you! I quit about five years ago after 40 years of smoking. I wish I had some magic words. It's hard. If you can make it a few days you'll start thinking about it a little less every day. I just thought about the money I was saving. Good luck!

 

[Kathryn Crook]

So the thing is the test kit says the tap is the same 40-80

Your tap is registering 40-80 nitrates? Did I read that right?

 

[83jase]

That's what I read too something doesn't seems right

As 86sinnit says plants plants and more plants best nitrate killer next to wc

Never go back to fake plant again

Thanks guppy it's hard to do tried few times sure you've been there before not **** easy 40yrs that's a stint and half good on you mate well done that's a top effort I mean it

 

[Hunter1]

IMO your tap has pretty high nitrates.

I think your fish will adapt and be fine but regular water changes should keep it near 80ppm.

You could use bottled water for 1/2 your water change to reduce to near 40ppm.

Some say nitrates 10-20.

My tanks are always near, just under, 40ppm.

I do at the minimum, 1 50% water change weekly. Some tanks get 2 50% water changes.

You have to work with the cards dealt to you. If your tap has high nitrates, just do regular, large water changes to keep it at that level.

Plants will help but won’t replace water changes.

 

[AntsRule]

Ok thanks guys, I'm going to get it tested by another store, if it's high I'll just be sure to drip acclimate all new fish and to keep up water changes.With it being high in the drinking water I might get an RO system which would solve both my problems, thanks!

 

[stella1979]

I'm in the same boat, my tap's Nitrates are regularly about 40ppm. And yes, the API nitrate kit is less than perfect... I'd recommend Salifert or NYOS instead. I also got a filtration system that produces RO for the freshwater tanks, (and our drinking water), and RODI for the reef tank. Just want to point out that highly filtered water is not safe for fish in its raw state because it's been stripped of not only the 'bad' stuff but the 'good' stuff too, so it must be cut with tap water, or dosed with buffers to achieve healthy and stable levels for KH, GH, and pH.

 

[AntsRule]

Ok thanks, so I've done some more testing, I used half bottled water and half tank water. When I did this I got a reading of 30, now I double it to get what only the tap would be and you get 60, so it could be worse but it could be better, do I need to dose the water if I just mix it with normal tap to get the good stuff back? I'm thinking I just need to find the ratio, so is 60 a bad number? Then again I was holding the tube flat against the card, if I pulled it off I read 10-20, I'm just so frustrated with this.

 

[stella1979]

I fully understand the frustration with API's nitrate test and think a good first step is to get a different test kit. Actually knowing your nitrate number will change your life! lol Seriously, after the frustration, it feels good to use a kit you feel you can trust. I use Salifert currently but have heard good things about NYOS and will try that next.

60ppm sounds kinda high to me but I'm no freshwater expert.

Yes, you can mix pure water with tap water to get all the good stuff back. You'll want to do some testing before using your new mix in a tank and be very sure your new water will achieve a stable pH. A TDS meter is a handy, necessary, and cheap tool for using RO water. TDS measures the total dissolved solids in water and this will offer you the quickest way of 'testing' your mixed water and making sure you're always offering the same water.

 

[Sunnynicci]

You're right that the tube has a much different color if you hold it right next to the chart. I hold it up about inch

Yup, I found that out the hard way! The instructions tell us to hold it against the white background, but really we should be holding it LOOKING THROUGH to the white background, not against. Also, try standing by a really good light source; all my black-out curtains mess with the colors. And, when in doubt, I use the color reader on my AquariumNote app.
I feel your frustration, really!

 

[86 ssinit]

Ok in my opinion your worrying about nothing. Nitrates need to be very high for a long time to kill fish. Ammonia and nitrite are the killers. Your first post says your fish are fine. Fish do adjust to different levels of nitrate. How often do you do water changes and how much do you change? What are your other readings? Ammonia and nitrite? Yes live plants do reduce nitrate and look nice (my opinion). Is your ph still 7.8?

 

[AntsRule]

I'll check my ph when I get home, I change 50% per week, my nitrites and ammonia are always 0. This made me feel a lot better thanks, I'm going to get some live plants keep up the water changes and get a new test kit.

 

[camste]

Yeah, I'm not too happy with the test tubes in the API kit. Being cylindrical it's always difficult to see properly which colour they are. A couple of times I've tipped them over as well, and they break really easily. I also find that the lids sometimes leak because they don't have a snug enough fit. Especially when you're shaking the nitrate test like crazy. I've used the tetra test kit in the past, and there the tubes are plastic and rectangular. It makes it a lot easier to see if it's got a tint of something, and they won't break.

 

[AntsRule]

Ok guys, so here's what's going on now, doing the test 50% bottled water and 50% tank water I see with my best guess to the color that that solution had 10-20 my tank would be double this, my tank water strait up has 40 or maybe even a little less if I have good lighting, I think my fish will be okay since there fine right now, when I get new fish I will make sure to acclimate them for at least and hour. Sound good?

Also I'm getting more plants.

 

[AntsRule]

So I came up with a solution. I remembered that my fridge had a nitrate filter which I tested to be 0. So I SLOWLY filled pots of 34ﾟ water and heated them on the stove. In till they were 82ﾟ like my tank. I changed about 75% of the water. It took a total of 2 and a 1/2 hours but I brought my nitrate levels down to 5 or 10, thanks so much for the help guys, I would not have thought of that without you. btw we will be getting an ro water system for our health that I will also use for the tank in the future so it won't take nearly as long.

 

[Fish0n]

So I came up with a solution. I remembered that my fridge had a nitrate filter which I tested to be 0. So I SLOWLY filled pots of 34ﾟ water and heated them on the stove. In till they were 82ﾟ like my tank. I changed about 75% of the water. It took a total of 2 and a 1/2 hours but I brought my nitrate levels down to 5 or 10, thanks so much for the help guys, I would not have thought of that without you. btw we will be getting an ro water system for our health that I will also use for the tank in the future so it won't take nearly as long.

RO water can have it's own challenges as it removes good things as well. Especially since you plan to get plants make sure to look into remineralizing your water.

 

[AntsRule]

Yep was planning on doing that, thanks for the heads up.