0 Nitrite And Almost 0 Nitrate?

[zombii]

i'm new to the fish keeping hobby. i first got my 40 gallon tank set up and filled in march. its for my hieroglyphic cooter turtle (krush) and he has been happily paddling around in the 20 gallons i have filled since then. recently i wanted a pleco to put in to clean up some of the algae. i got him and put him in the tank yesterday. today i bought an api freshwater master test kit and tested the water. my results were 7.6PH 0ppm ammonia 0ppm nitrite and about 3ppm nitrAte. are such low levels of nitrAte AND nitrite common with somewhat new tanks such as mine? i never actively cycled the tank but i think i may have done it by accident with the turtle.

 

[Livewire88]

Your filter is processing the ammonia and Nitrite that is being produced so no problems there. If you are using the API test kit to read the NitrAte level it is more than likely giving a wrong reading. 
 
You need to bash/shake bottle 2 of the NitrAte test for ages to make sure the test result is even half accurate. However as long as you do regular water changes I wouldn't take any notice of the NitrAte level. 
 
Also adding a Pleco to remove your algae may well work but it would be best to solve the issue that is causing the algae in the first place, Turtles are very messy so the waste they are producing is likely contributing to the algae issue. Try and do regular large water changes and clean your filter regularly.

 

[zombii]

I used bottle 1 for nitrAte, i shook it for about 5 minutes since i read in multiple threads that the test was somewhat inaccurate. i do 15-25% water changes every weekend as well as adding about a gallon of water on wednesday (it gets to about 85-90 degrees on the turtles basking surface so the water evaporates pretty quickly) depending on how low it gets. i use a marineland c-160 canister filter rated at 160GPH for the time being, but im planning on adding a penguin 350 in the near future. i originally got the 160 because i wouldnt ever fill my tank up more than about 30 gallons, so i got a smaller filter. but i now know that i need about 1.3x the filtering for the turtle alone, not to mention the pleco. also, i thought you werent really supposed to clean your filter since that would remove the bacteria?
 
p.s. my turtle just noticed the pleco about 15 minutes ago, i cant tell if he thinks of him as food or not..

 

[fluttermoth]

The nitrate test uses two bottles; you need to use them both, in the correct order, to get a proper result. It's the second bottle that needs the shaking.
 
You do clean your filter, you just make sure you do it only with water you've taken from your tank, and not tap water; the chlorine in the tap water is what kills your bacteria. Don't go mad trying to get things sparkling, you just want to be getting rid of the solid waste.

 

[zombii]

great, ill do another round of tests and clean my filter. thank you both for the quick replies.

 

[CoryLover95]

Nitrite should be 0, and your nitrate will gradually climb as the tank gets older.  I wouldn't worry at all - it seems that your tank has cycled quickly and effectively !  I love turtles, good luck to you and your pet

 

[Noahsfish]

If it's a common pleco you do realize that it will get way too big for your tank...even a bristle nose really shouldn't be in anything less than 40gs in my opinion.

 

[fluttermoth]

If it's a common pleco you do realize that it will get way too big for your tank...even a bristle nose really shouldn't be in anything less than 40gs in my opinion.

It's not, mate; it's a rubber lip.