Have My Nitrites Dropped?

[Jonno]

have you got a nitrate sponge in your tank? this happened with me, i tested one day and my nitrates were high, the next time i tested they were at 10ppm. i've read that it's because the nitrate sponges contain some sort of live nitrate eating bacteria which take a little while to get working.

 

[Leitch]

Nope, no Nitrate sponge.

Just a recently added airstone.

 

[Leitch]

Yes my nitrates are at 10.

Well im off to bed, who knows, maybe nitrates will be off the scale tomoro,

Stranger things have happened...


Nite.

 

[doresy]

one last thing before you go, do you have a lot of plants (real)?

 

[Jonno]

sure your not testing some old water again?

nite.

 

[Leitch]

No plants. And no, not testing old water again lol.

 

[Leitch]

Just tested my nitrites.

When i first put the drops in, it was purple, then i shook it up and watched it, waiting for 5minutes to be up so i could check what colour it was at on the scale.

But it slowly got a lighter and lighter shade of purple, and after 5 minutes, it was clear!

I wouldent exactly say that is was the 'light blue' that the colour card said it should be if it was at 0.

It went past the light blue stage, and breifly yes, it was light blue, but then it turned clear.

Does this mean i have no nitrites?

EDIT: After making this post, i just went back to the nitrite test and it has now DEFINATLY turned light blue. So now im pretty sure i have no nitrites, which is weird, because that means its processing faster than ammonia.

 

[**sarahp**]

When your nitrItes are off the scale as yours appear to be ( the immediate purple in the bottom of the tube when you add the tester is the give-away here!) the final colour after 5 mins is always a liitle weird

When you really do have no or little nitrites you wont see the purple in the base of the tube

Have a look at this and you'll see you're not the only one

linky

On the plus side - you're not far away from cycled

 

[Leitch]

Yea but mine turns pale blue after 5 minutes, not green like yours.

 

[Leitch]

Right okay, just tested some tap water.

My nitrites must still be high

 

[Chrispixx]

May I suggest a further nitrate test as there is a little more to it than the other tests. The timings and shaking is VERY important in the API Nitrate test.

Although I've been using the API liquid tests for years, the pain in the @@% nitrAte test with its lengthy procedure and need for exact mixing to get an accurate test, makes me want to try the quick strips.

I know a lot of people here frown on the strips but its got to be better than shake,shake,shake, wait,wait,wait.

Just tested my nitrites.
When i first put the drops in, it was purple, then i shook it up and watched it, waiting for 5minutes to be up so i could check what colour it was at on the scale.

But it slowly got a lighter and lighter shade of purple, and after 5 minutes, it was clear!

Leitch: A negative nitrIte test will be light blue from the start and stay that way. If it is Light blue from the start and turns light purple even after 30 seconds well you know you have nitrIte, you just have to wait the full 5 min to see the actual level.

I'm saying this because i never seen a nitrIte test start out purple and then go light blue or clear. Sometin's fishy there.