Really BIG HUGE Problem!

[Guest AbSoluTc]

Decided to get my water tested today since I have not done it for a few months (4 or so). The results are atrocious!

 

Nitrates - 200+ The test only went up that far. Guy said possibly 300.

 

Nitrites - 200+ Just as bad I beleive.

 

Amonnia - 1.5

 

Ph - 8.3

 

Calcium - 700

 

SG - 1.022 - Normal.

 

 

I can not figure this out at all. I feed every other day, a cube of mysis and brine. Thats it. Nothing died, nothing added. Nothing. What the hell is going on? Reason I did not test it- everything looks fine, growing, coralline is spreading and deep rich colors. Nothing looks stressed. Whats wrong?

[tinyreef]

maybe it's a red sea test kit

 

if it ain't broke don't fix it. would you be happier with perfect results and a mountain of hair algae? (hmm, maybe i should test too : ) my kits are all probably expired tho! X)

 

btw i think at around 100 ppm nitrites everything would probably be dead. ??? not to mention the ammonia. :

[Guest AbSoluTc]

I don't know. He always uses thos quick dip test strips. Seem accurate to me.

[Pikelet]

Sounds as though someone is trying to sell you something to me. Get your own basic marine test and retest ASAP. Get the ammonia and nitrites to zero if they aren't already when measured with your new kit. BTW ....... could your test water have been contaminated in some way after taking the sample? Was the container free from pollutants? Could the ultra high Ca concentration be messing with the other readings?

[Fant]

Sounds bogus to me. Get some quality test kits, such as salifert or lamotte. Dont rely on ghetto lab equipment.

[Metznreef]

yeah eveything in in your tank would most likely be dead, and they most definatly not have been looking good.lol.

[SLOreefer]

you have no problem and nothing to worry about....with nitrites that high nothing could possibly survive. the nitratesd that high would make your corals shrivel and your ammonia would also be either killing things or putting off an odor. your tank is fine. you may have a trace of each of these which would be believable but if everything is doing great then i wouldnt be upset or worried .

[Foogoo]

Originally posted by tinyreef

maybe it's a red sea test kit  

 

if it ain't broke don't fix it.  would you be happier with perfect results and a mountain of hair algae? (hmm, maybe i should test too : )  my kits are all probably expired tho! X)  

 

btw i think at around 100 ppm nitrites everything would probably be dead.  ???  not to mention the ammonia. :

 

So I'm not the only one who got a Red Sea test kit huh? One would think that they would have made some changes or something to fix their tests...

[Guest AbSoluTc]

All I know is, the PH, Nitrites and Nitrates are a quick dip test strip. The other tests are Redsea or Tropic Marine.

 

The quick dip test strip that he uses always shows high nitrates in most ppl's tank. Let me see if I can find a pic.

[Guest AbSoluTc]

Here is what is used for nitrite/nitrate, ph and ammonia!

 

http://www.junglelabs.com/pages/details.ph...html?item=TK400

 

Made by the same company.

[Fant]

Originally posted by AbSoluTc

Here is what is used for nitrite/nitrate, ph and ammonia!

 

http://www.junglelabs.com/pages/details.ph...html?item=TK400

 

Made by the same company.

 

 

see my above post.

[gobies]

All I know is, the PH, Nitrites and Nitrates are a quick dip test strip.

 

Those things are, IME, junk for marine applications. They *say* you can do marine tests with them, but.... do the bottles have two lines to read the values for each test, one for marine and one for fw? Did the guy read the values off the correct line? How's his color vision? The colors on these things, especially at the high end of the test range, get ridiculously similar....

 

Get this: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...d=6&pCatId=4396

$25 for 75 tests each of: pH, alkalinity, free/total ammonia, nitrite, nitrate. That's a bargain price for a good kit.

 

Personally, I don't test for ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate on my nano with any frequency. I have a nitrate test and I think I've used it once. Keep up with your water changes and you shouldn't see a problem w/ these levels unless something dies in your tank to cause a spike.

[tufty711]

unlucky m8. i dont think thoses results are possible as most things would definatley die in those conditions and if everything is fine then leave it.

i have a test kit which shows my ph is 9.5 but every thing is alright.

[Korbin]

I had results like that when a snail died in my 3 gallon. Which caused the other snails to die, which made my Tetra Test nitrate tests to turn blood red (usually pale yellow for 0 nitrates).

 

The only thing that saved it (I think) was removing the dead snails and adding macro algae. Water changes didn't seem to have any affect.

 

I would say throw in some macro and let it grow until you can pull it out by the handfull. That should remove some nutrients.

[Dave ESPI]

Test strips are best used in fresh water applications.

the only ones I use are made in UK. they are "eSHa, AquaQuick Test" pH, KH, GH, NO2, NO3 on one strip.

Jungle is notorious fer being unreliable.

 

Pick up the saliferts. Ive beenusing them as of recent (As LaMotte is freeken too expensive to waste on stupid issues) and the Paliferst refills are decent.