# cant figure out nitrite reading



## jake5757 (Jun 17, 2012)

Nitrites have been 0 untill this am's testing which revealed this weird color anybody experienced this is it high or low? picture is what its reading. This is my total reading with my api master test kit as of this am
Ammonia 0.25
PH 8
Nitrite ????
Nitrate 10ppm


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## jake5757 (Jun 17, 2012)

*live meter for my ammonia / ph as well*

this is my live in tank reading as of this am


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## jake5757 (Jun 17, 2012)

updated nitrite reading 5 minutes ago heres what i got


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## marshallsea (Apr 30, 2012)

jake5757 said:


> updated nitrite reading 5 minutes ago heres what i got


I have to ask, are you sure you're using the right bottles and procedures? The colors almost match nitrate. Are the fish acting normally? That having been said, whatever the problem is, water changes will be at least a huge part of the solution. So do some 50% water changes daily until it comes down.


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## jake5757 (Jun 17, 2012)

marshallsea said:


> I have to ask, are you sure you're using the right bottles and procedures? The colors almost match nitrate. Are the fish acting normally? That having been said, whatever the problem is, water changes will be at least a huge part of the solution. So do some 50% water changes daily until it comes down.


I know they look identical to the ph high or nitrates test actually almost exact color match to ph high test i did today. fish are very active heres a link to a video i took 5 minutes ago of my fish and tank. thanks for your imput.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwEBmV51r6E&feature=youtu.be


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## jake5757 (Jun 17, 2012)

what i dont get is i have the fluval c3 power filter and i swapped out carbon bags for their clearmax bags which is supposed to trap phosphates and nitrites and nitrates also added nitra zorb pack for nitrites nitrates and ammonia + a double does of cycle bacteria and aqua plus to be sure.


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## rhymon78 (Mar 17, 2012)

That is not correct, the nitrite solution comes out of the bottle blue, are you sure you are using the correct bottle?? 

that is either the high ph, or one of the nitrate bottles. You are using just 1 bottle for the nitrite test right?

If not then your test kit is defective and needs returning to where you purchased it from. 

You would only get one of two readings, either a 0ppm level reading which would be that very light blue colour, or some variant of those purples. If there was higher than 5ppm nitrite it would just stay dark purple. 

If it is none of what I have mentioned then could you do a video of you testing your water, showing the bottles and your procedure?


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## jake5757 (Jun 17, 2012)

video on its way of test procedure


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## rhymon78 (Mar 17, 2012)

jake5757 said:


> what i dont get is i have the fluval c3 power filter and i swapped out carbon bags for their clearmax bags which is supposed to trap phosphates and nitrites and nitrates also added nitra zorb pack for nitrites nitrates and ammonia + a double does of cycle bacteria and aqua plus to be sure.


Can I just ask why you did all this?

Is your tank an established tank? has it cycled etc?

Adding chemicals to deal with ammonia and nitrites, unless its an emergency and you dose with Seachem prime for example is not really a good idea, the filter and the bacteria contained in your tank should be sufficient to deal with the waste produced by the fish.


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## rhymon78 (Mar 17, 2012)

jake5757 said:


> video on its way of test procedure


It could be the nitro zorb product you put in your tank, could be interfering with the testing ability of the API kit.


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## marshallsea (Apr 30, 2012)

Fish look healthy, I would think with reading off charts, they would show it in their actions. Maybe a mistake in testing. Very nice fish


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## marshallsea (Apr 30, 2012)

jake5757 said:


> what i dont get is i have the fluval c3 power filter and i swapped out carbon bags for their clearmax bags which is supposed to trap phosphates and nitrites and nitrates also added nitra zorb pack for nitrites nitrates and ammonia + a double does of cycle bacteria and aqua plus to be sure.


I am in agreement with Rhymon78 in that you have done too much ''stuff'' to try to control your water. That never works as intended.


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## jake5757 (Jun 17, 2012)

nitrite test video 1 is nitrite tests - YouTube
nitrite test video 2 is nitrite test 2 - YouTube
results r identical to pics of first one i posted sorry not a good camera


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## jake5757 (Jun 17, 2012)

k ill remove all the nitra zorb pack and quit on everything else. but i only added those packs when the reading changed.


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## jake5757 (Jun 17, 2012)

could the live bacteria have nitrite in it to feed the bacteria if so do u think thats the issue either way ill leave it for a couple days see what happens


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## marshallsea (Apr 30, 2012)

It must be because you did all the extra stuff to your water. that very seldom works out like you want it to . I'd do a 50% water change and dont do anything to the water and retest tomorrow.


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## marshallsea (Apr 30, 2012)

jake5757 said:


> could the live bacteria have nitrite in it to feed the bacteria if so do u think thats the issue either way ill leave it for a couple days see what happens


 I think you're over complicating things with the stuff. I've done the same thing and it never worked.


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## rhymon78 (Mar 17, 2012)

jake5757 said:


> k ill remove all the nitra zorb pack and quit on everything else. but i only added those packs when the reading changed.


OHH, wow well I am stumped then... I thought they were going that colour since you put the nitrazorb product in the tank.

I did notice that the first test you did right after you put the test solution in in VID 1 as you moved the tube out of shot it looked like it had gone purple already, maybe 2nd/3rd colour marker maybe? but the camera is all out of focus so its hard to tell. 

If you can tell us the whole story from start to finish, as to why you changed the filter media and the put the nitra zorb in etc. 

One of the more experienced members may have seen the test kit do that before? I haven't, but I have only been keeping fish for 4 or 5 months..


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## marshallsea (Apr 30, 2012)

jake5757 said:


> k ill remove all the nitra zorb pack and quit on everything else. but i only added those packs when the reading changed.


 When readings change , a water change is your first line of defense.


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## rhymon78 (Mar 17, 2012)

To my understanding, everything was fine right? then today the colour changed to that in the test. And thats why you added all the stuff? without the full picture its difficult to guess..


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## jake5757 (Jun 17, 2012)

rhymon78 said:


> OHH, wow well I am stumped then... I thought they were going that colour since you put the nitrazorb product in the tank.
> 
> I did notice that the first test you did right after you put the test solution in in VID 1 as you moved the tube out of shot it looked like it had gone purple already, maybe 2nd/3rd colour marker maybe? but the camera is all out of focus so its hard to tell.
> 
> ...


Ok ill start over lol. My tank is a month old so far. it did spike while cycling for a bit but then 4 weeks in it leveled out and everything was were it supposed to be so i added fish. Its been a breeze for first 2 weeks but yesterday am i noticed this color change when i tested water. So i figured nitrites went out of whack so i changed carbon out with this fluval clearmax which is supposed to remove nitrites and nitrates and also threw in the nitra zorb to get it back down. also figured the cycle bacteria i added would stabilize it abit too but its still the same so ill leave it a few days and see what happens. do you guys think i should swap clearmax back to regular carbon and take nitra zorb out too.


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## rhymon78 (Mar 17, 2012)

jake5757 said:


> Ok ill start over lol. My tank is a month old so far. it did spike while cycling for a bit but then 4 weeks in it leveled out and everything was were it supposed to be so i added fish. Its been a breeze for first 2 weeks but yesterday am i noticed this color change when i tested water. So i figured nitrites went out of whack so i changed carbon out with this fluval clearmax which is supposed to remove nitrites and nitrates and also threw in the nitra zorb to get it back down. also figured the cycle bacteria i added would stabilize it abit too but its still the same so ill leave it a few days and see what happens. do you guys think i should swap clearmax back to regular carbon and take nitra zorb out too.


Ok, makes more sense now..

But, what doesn't make sense is the colour that test has gone. I could understand it going a weird colour if you have added a load of different chemicals and that could affect things, as these ammonia and nitrite locking chemicals do weird things (which I don't understand) so the chemicals are still present but they are supposedly turned into a harmless form.. I have never used these type of chemicals so can't really comment, although I have read bad things about them.. 

If you had a problem with nitrite you would have noticed a purple colour. 

The fact it has gone brown, or orange, to me doesn't suggest you have nitrite problems, although it is a possibility if you added all those fish at once. seeing as the tank is only 4-6 weeks old. 

The only thing I can suggest for spiking levels of ammonia or nitrite in emergency is to dose heavily (as per instructions on the bottle) of the water conditioner by Seachem called PRIME. This does actually make the ammonia and nitrite harmless to the fish for around 24/36 hours, and then you want to be doing good hefty water changes too, daily, sometimes twice a day. 

I would put everything back the way it was, take that zorb stuff out. do a 50% water change, make sure you use a de-chlorinator (I suggest PRIME) and leave things a day or so and observe. There is a possibility that the test has for some reason gone faulty, maybe its been near heat, or sunlight or something?? is there detergent on the test tubes maybe?


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## marshallsea (Apr 30, 2012)

rhymon78 said:


> Ok, makes more sense now..
> 
> But, what doesn't make sense is the colour that test has gone. I could understand it going a weird colour if you have added a load of different chemicals and that could affect things, as these ammonia and nitrite locking chemicals do weird things (which I don't understand) so the chemicals are still present but they are supposedly turned into a harmless form.. I have never used these type of chemicals so can't really comment, although I have read bad things about them..
> 
> ...


Yes, what he said.


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## jake5757 (Jun 17, 2012)

thanks guys i pulled out the nitra zorb and fluval clearmax bags and put carbon bags back in i cant do water change till tomorrow i gotta pick up a brand new gravel vac.


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## marshallsea (Apr 30, 2012)

jake5757 said:


> thanks guys i pulled out the nitra zorb and fluval clearmax bags and put carbon bags back in i cant do water change till tomorrow i gotta pick up a brand new gravel vac.


Im curious to see what happens next.


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## rhymon78 (Mar 17, 2012)

Yes, keep us informed. I would like to see that test go back to the right colours! 

How are the fish? everyone seem ok?


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## Termato (Feb 21, 2012)

I am almost 100% certainly bet you that what ever chemicals your putting in there is having a weird results with the API test.

It was blue out of the bottle and as soon as it went into the test tube it started going purple and then red.

That Nitrite test will not do that normally.

-----

I found this though online. I copied the most important parts...I thought. I put a link to it at the end of the quote.



> Actually, that means your nitrites are off the charts. For the API nitrite test kits, if the liquid turns purple/red and then goes to light blue, it means it's off the charts.
> ---
> WTF? I don't mean to sound rude, but where in the world did you come up with that?
> 
> ...


That is what I found though...and the link they give as reference doesn't work.

*Is your Kit Expired? Does it have a date on it? Did it when you bought it? If you can't get a 0ppm reading of Nitrite from Tap or Bottled water, then I would really look into this.*
----

Above you stated you did all that, but it didn't say you tested for Nitrite. This leads me to believe it is the stuff you put in there.

*Can you do me a favor and take a test sample from your tap water and test that with the Nitrite test.*

This will serve as a control group and see if it is the test or your water. If you get weird results, try bottled water.

Let me know what you get.

---

Also, I agree with rhymon78 on this one. Get Prime water conditioner. It will neutralize all harmful metals and Nitrogen based chemicals in the water. This will assure the safety of the fish.

---

Another point of concern:

*Ammonia 0.25
PH 8
Nitrite ????
Nitrate 10ppm*

Read more: http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/...ure-out-nitrite-reading-104509/#ixzz1yB7StMlY

You should not be reading ammonia in a cycled tank. Your water change will be essential right now.

I would test the water for Ammonia and Nitrite (once u get the nitrite solution fixed) every other day until you get 0ppm on both.

*My guess is that when you added the fish, you added too many at once.* This shocked the system and caused a mini cycle. I have had this happen. Just keep watch of the tank and its parameters.


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## jake5757 (Jun 17, 2012)

so i tested nitrite from my tap water and its blue. Funny thing is both have always been 0 ppm when tested untill the other day and those fish have been in there for awhile. think ur right on the mini cycle though but we will get this right. im working on a 50 percent water change as we speak on the 60 gallon and i have my new back up 10 gallon cycling right now today so if anything happens in near future i can temporarily put them in that one.they seem fine today besides a couple of the tiger barbs seem to swim and be rubbing on the plants here and there but dont see any signs of itch either. there is a gray hairy matter growing on the plants is that good bacteria or algae starting. my plecos are enjoying life too right now. lots of action in the tank today. when i first added fish though i only had two bala sharks (temporarily till i get a 150 gallon) and three tigers and started with the others a week ago.


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## marshallsea (Apr 30, 2012)

jake5757 said:


> so i tested nitrite from my tap water and its blue. Funny thing is both have always been 0 ppm when tested untill the other day and those fish have been in there for awhile. think ur right on the mini cycle though but we will get this right. im working on a 50 percent water change as we speak on the 60 gallon and i have my new back up 10 gallon cycling right now today so if anything happens in near future i can temporarily put them in that one.they seem fine today besides a couple of the tiger barbs seem to swim and be rubbing on the plants here and there but dont see any signs of itch either. there is a gray hairy matter growing on the plants is that good bacteria or algae starting. my plecos are enjoying life too right now. lots of action in the tank today. when i first added fish though i only had two bala sharks (temporarily till i get a 150 gallon) and three tigers and started with the others a week ago.


Glancing off of items can be a sign of water problems.


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## jake5757 (Jun 17, 2012)

yup figured so well ill do on 50 % today and one in another 3 days maybe


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## Termato (Feb 21, 2012)

jake5757 said:


> yup figured so well ill do on 50 % today and one in another 3 days maybe


At this point you should be monitoring Ammonia and Nitrite. If readings are weird or above 0ppm you should do at least a 50% that day. You should monitor this every day until it settles just to make sure the fish are ok. That's what I suggest.

Just keep check of the readings and when everying it 0ppm you can relax and switch to weekly water changes.


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## jake5757 (Jun 17, 2012)

thank u everybody for ur input we will get to the bottom of it thanks to u guys. ill keep u updated
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## jake5757 (Jun 17, 2012)

well water change complete ill test in abit fishies are happy heres video from today after water change
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvOJREZk95E&feature=youtu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvOJREZk95E&feature=youtu.be


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## jake5757 (Jun 17, 2012)

nitrite test pics after water change today. Can i do another 50% change tomorrow or is this too much shock for fish i dont want to loose one.


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## rhymon78 (Mar 17, 2012)

You could do another good water change, twice a day when things are not going well, as long as you use a good de-chlorination. Did you get some Prime? This is a good one. It will also protect your fish if there is harmful stuff present.

How are the other params as a matter of interest? Any ammonia showing at all?

I think that test is gone off or something?? 

Have you thought about buying a new kit, or just a new nitrite tester? Nutrition do a good nitrite on its own.. Could be worth a shot, just to see if is your api kit that's wrong.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## jake5757 (Jun 17, 2012)

rhymon78 said:


> You could do another good water change, twice a day when things are not going well, as long as you use a good de-chlorination. Did you get some Prime? This is a good one. It will also protect your fish if there is harmful stuff present.
> 
> How are the other params as a matter of interest? Any ammonia showing at all?
> 
> ...


Ill do another change tomorrow. No prime yet will on thursday as im 2 hrs from closest place. Iv been using nutrafin aqua plus for conditioner but thursday ill stock up on prime and stabilize one for sure. fish r very active now
Nitrates 10ppm 
ammonia is almost 0 very very close
Nitrites still weird but lighter color since change
ph is still around 8 cant seem to lower ph either.


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## rhymon78 (Mar 17, 2012)

jake5757 said:


> Ill do another change tomorrow. No prime yet will on thursday as im 2 hrs from closest place. Iv been using nutrafin aqua plus for conditioner but thursday ill stock up on prime and stabilize one for sure. fish r very active now
> Nitrates 10ppm
> ammonia is almost 0 very very close
> Nitrites still weird but lighter color since change
> ph is still around 8 cant seem to lower ph either.


You don't want to Lower the ph, this is complicated and pretty unsafe for the fish. You can do it by mixing tap water with RO water, or rain water or some kind of pure water. But trying to do it with chemicals is not recommended I don't think, others might be able to tell you better. 

A ph of 8 is normal if you are in a hard water area, mine is 8.2 and I leave it there. If you have soft water fish then this is something you'll need to address.

The positive thing here is that if you had a problem the fish would be letting you know by now...


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## marshallsea (Apr 30, 2012)

Chemicals are bad for fish and almost never work. IMO you cant do too many water changes when the water is off.


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## jake5757 (Jun 17, 2012)

morning everybody very exciting day here!!! did another 50 percent water change about half hour ago and retested after half hour of mixing here is the new and improved nitrite level (so happy) almost retested to make sure. Primes coming tomorrow so ill add that once i get it.
Nitrite 0ppm
ammonia between 0 and .25 
ph 7.8 
Nitrate ( i knew it would be high with water change its 80ppm)
updated video of fish after change at
after water change #2 - YouTube


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## rhymon78 (Mar 17, 2012)

Thats great news man, so weird that it did that though out of the blue eh??

That colour is much better now!! bit worrying you saying the nitrate is 80ppm because of the water change?? how come its so high? do you have high nitrate in your tap water?

I have around 40ppm nitrate right outa my tap, this sucks. I do have tonnes of live plants in my tank though so I hope they use some of that up when I do my water changes.... but my tank always runs high nitrate, whatever I do..

Have you ever thought about adding live plants to your tank? thats a big old tank, and to my eye you could make that thing look super nice by throwing a bunch of plants. a good few bunches of fast growing stem plants, a few amazon swords, and a handful of crypts at the front!! Sweet.

The plants will help you no end with the quality of your water too... so many benefits to live plants, that cannot be overstated.


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## Termato (Feb 21, 2012)

*Looks like the worst is over.*



jake5757 said:


> morning everybody very exciting day here!!! did another 50 percent water change about half hour ago and retested after half hour of mixing here is the new and improved nitrite level (so happy) almost retested to make sure. Primes coming tomorrow so ill add that once i get it.
> Nitrite 0ppm
> ammonia between 0 and .25
> ph 7.8
> ...



After looking through the thread and your post I am almost certain it was some kind of chemical that is altering the test. Therefore the water changes is diluting this chemical and slowly removing it. This is good.

You should have 0 ammonia. It should be yellow.

What is your Nitrate level out of the tap?

The Nitrate test is a very hard test to take. Are you following all directions. Please make sure you are shaking Regent #2 VIGOROUSLY for 2 minutes, even though it says 30 seconds. Try it and let us know what you get. Test both the tank and the tap this way.

What is the current water conditioner you are using? Prime is not necessary, but it will help.

Doing constant water changes like this should not raise your Nitrate level. Water changes are actually meant to lower Nitrate levels and it is one of the main reasons why we do water changes....just one of them.

I think that tomorrow you should do one more water change, just to assure you get that nice blue on the nitrite test. Also, you want to make sure you get a definite reading of 0ppm of ammonia. Once you see 0ppm of Ammonia and Nitrite you will be in the clear. Then you can revert to weekly water changes.

Regardless of the outcome, I would test the water at least once every day or two just to check up on things for at least a week.

You are doing good and it seems the tank is settling so from everything you are telling us I am thinking you should be out of the woods.

----

Also I want to say that Live Plants are the best thing for an aquarium. It keeps Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate levels in check. It also looks better. It is beneficial for your fish in every way possible. I would look into these if you don't already have live plants. I forgot if you do or not.


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## jake5757 (Jun 17, 2012)

Termato said:


> After looking through the thread and your post I am almost certain it was some kind of chemical that is altering the test. Therefore the water changes is diluting this chemical and slowly removing it. This is good.
> 
> You should have 0 ammonia. It should be yellow.
> 
> ...


Hey thanks for your help also. you guys r a life saver here much appreciated. So tested the works today and am pleased to announce 0 readings on both nitrite and ammonia!! my Nitrate is still 80 since water change and out of the tap it runs 80 also so like i said that is the cause of high nitrates i had it at around 10 untill the change. ph is holding at 7.8 also. my emergency 10 gallon is cycling nice ammonia is running about 4 to 5 right now. i added cycle to get things moving nicely also. Looking at setting up reef aquarium what is your thoughts on them?


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## jake5757 (Jun 17, 2012)

Updates today include a new fluval Q1 air pump with 4 inch air stone, 2 huge bottles of prime, heres a new video of aquarium and new setup in action whats your feedback on this.
20120622 190218 - YouTube


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## Termato (Feb 21, 2012)

Hey Jake,

I just wanted to give you some information on Quarantine Tanks, Prime and Plants.

The QT tank is best without substrate for many reasons. You can clean and keep watch of food and poop that way. It allows for a much cleaner quarantine environment. Plastic plants are always best in a QT Tank because medicines will harm some real plants. You want to provide cover with floating plastic plants and no substrate basically. That way the fish have hiding places and you can keep watch of everything. No sharp objects for flashing. You want a contained environment. That is what I have concluded through most of my research and experience with that.

With Prime, you want to dose on the water you are adding and not for the entire tank. It will last you much longer and Prime is a very strong product. In cases of emergencies as stated then you can use the directed doses. Prime is good, just careful not to overdo it because it is powerful.

Real Plants will do great in your big 60 gallon tank. Not only will you get an different array of greens, reds and other colors from the plants but it will make your water quality much better.

Things are looking good. Did you get any readings back when you did this water change?


On a stylistic note, have you ever thought about putting a black background on the tank. You could take a black roll of paper, black sheet, paint it black or some other method. It would make the colors pop out and make the fish feel less stressed. The darkness will give them a sense of security.

I'm always a fan of the natural look so adding any kind of rocks and driftwood to create hiding places and territorial breakers always brings things together.

Just something to think about.


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## Mikaila31 (Dec 18, 2008)

I think you are over reading the nitrate kit which is very easy to do. Or you are on a private well that is not fit to drink. I know both the US and UK limit nitrate in drinking water to a max of around 40ppm. My old well had 25ppm of nitrate according to actual lab tests. On the API kit the reading looked like anything between 20-40ppm. 

It is easy to mess up tests by adding to many chemicals. IMO on a tank like yours the only thing you really need to add is just Prime or another simple dechlor(no stresscoat or slime coat crap). There is really no need for anything else in a non-planted tank.


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## jake5757 (Jun 17, 2012)

Termato said:


> Hey Jake,
> 
> I just wanted to give you some information on Quarantine Tanks, Prime and Plants.
> 
> ...


Ok great info ill pull the gravel out of emergency tank and cycle without it. as for the other im really interested in live plants but afraid to mess with that tank now that its all leveling off. i may swap for real plants here in near future. I will definitely put black plastic or paper on back wall asap on both tanks. 
My test results today were 
PH 7.8
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 40ppm
And my emergency tank is cycling at 4ppm ammonia


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## jake5757 (Jun 17, 2012)

Mikaila31 said:


> I think you are over reading the nitrate kit which is very easy to do. Or you are on a private well that is not fit to drink. I know both the US and UK limit nitrate in drinking water to a max of around 40ppm. My old well had 25ppm of nitrate according to actual lab tests. On the API kit the reading looked like anything between 20-40ppm.
> 
> It is easy to mess up tests by adding to many chemicals. IMO on a tank like yours the only thing you really need to add is just Prime or another simple dechlor(no stresscoat or slime coat crap). There is really no need for anything else in a non-planted tank.


Yea i have a private well thats unfit for drinking on a farm so thats the cause of high nitrates. tank is leveling off today nitrates down to 40ppm now so its slowly getting there. As for chemicals thanks for your guys advise iv thrown all the old chemicals in a box and strictly gonna use prime at water changes and in emergency. Thanks for your help


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## Termato (Feb 21, 2012)

Mikaila31 said:


> I think you are over reading the nitrate kit which is very easy to do. Or you are on a private well that is not fit to drink. I know both the US and UK limit nitrate in drinking water to a max of around 40ppm. My old well had 25ppm of nitrate according to actual lab tests. On the API kit the reading looked like anything between 20-40ppm.
> 
> It is easy to mess up tests by adding to many chemicals. IMO on a tank like yours the only thing you really need to add is just Prime or another simple dechlor(no stresscoat or slime coat crap). There is really no need for anything else in a non-planted tank.


Yeah I finally got my tap water tested by a lab as well and it came back as 7.68ppm of N03-N and 33.8ppm of N03. The API Master test kit was reading in at 40ppm to 60ppm so I absolutely agree with Mika on this. Urgh on Nitrates!



On the addition of plants, you can always start out with low light plants and a few of them. Something like Anubias, Java Fern, Java Moss or Anarchis would work well in low light situations.

If you can find any of these you could get one or two and put it in the tank. Try it out and see what happens. Adding the plant will help with the bio load so it will help in every way possible. You will want to put the plants under the light, and now in dark areas of course.

One thing to keep in mind is that Algae likes nitrates, it will thrive in it. Adding plants will help reduce the Nitrate in your tank slowly over time. Plants will soak up Ammonia and Nitrates in the water as food. They use other nutrients as well but those are the most important because those can be harmful to your fish and the plant will consume it.

If you get Java Fern, don't bury the roots or the Rhizome stem. The Anubias you can bury the roots but don't bury the Rhizome. 










That is the Rhizome, the leaves and roots come out of it.

Good luck and keep us updated on the tank.


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## rhymon78 (Mar 17, 2012)

jake5757 said:


> Ok great info ill pull the gravel out of emergency tank and cycle without it. as for the other im really interested in live plants but afraid to mess with that tank now that its all leveling off. i may swap for real plants here in near future. I will definitely put black plastic or paper on back wall asap on both tanks.
> My test results today were
> PH 7.8
> Ammonia 0ppm
> ...


Its great that with a bit of guidance on here things seem to be going in the right direction for you! I learned so much from coming here, its so invaluable to be able pick the brains of folks that have been doing this for a long time and have a fountain of knowledge to share.

Can I just add about the black background, I tried using black construction paper, more paper thank card really, and it looked ok but because it didn't form a seal between the glass and the background it showed up a lot of algae that was starting to gather at the back, and you could see light leaking between the paper and the glass too, in my opinion didn't look to great. You can buy those plastic poster backgrounds that are jet black, and if I was to go that route again I would buy one of those and use the cooking oil method of attaching the poster background, that way it will be much more black, as it will be sealed to the glass. I know others have suggested just using card, and this is fine but I think unless your gonna completely cover the back of the tank with bushy plants it'll look better if you use one of those glossy posters. Just an idea.

and the API test kit, although its pretty much the standard test kit most of us use, I have found it to be notoriously hard to read, and IMO its probably more of a warning system than a scientific analysis of water parameters. Differentiating between 0ppm and 0.25 ammonia is sometimes unbearably difficult, that in the end I just took it as 0ppm as there was no way I could always have 0.25ppm. its all dependant on background light etc. and the nitrate is also a guessing game. the three top results are RED, my tests always go that colour, but who knows what the actual level is???????? it goes red right outa my tap, so I'm guessing its around 40ppm but I really have no idea. At the end of the day, the tests alert you to a potential problem, and should be viewed as an alarm. 

Do not fear plants, ok they may not be for everyone as they do sometimes need some love and attention but they look so much better than fake IMO, and as stated previously the benefits for the fish and water is a selling point in and of itself. Once you get going with plants, you may find that you fall in love like many of us have, and they can become just as fun and satisfying as keeping fish.


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