Nitrates Reading 0?

[saz_jam]

Hi there. We have had our tank for 6 weeks now (with fish), at the start we did water changes every other day and the ammonia finally dropped to 0 about 2 weeks ago. The nitrites reading went really high for about 1 week afterwards, with the ammonia staying at 0 and nitrates being fairly low, and now a week later all of the readings are at 0 - including the nitrates? Is this normal? I have read different things about this so I just wanted your opinion on it. It is a freshwater tank.

Many thanks for your help!

 

[Curiosity101]

If you have the liquid testing kit then it may be that you're not shaking the testing solution bottles vigorously enough before adding them to the tank water. And (If you have the API kit), aren't shaking for 30secs after adding solutions #1, THEN adding solution #2

Just an idea.
What test kit do you use?

 

[saz_jam]

Yes I use the API kit. I will try it again tonight (as I last tested a couple of days ago) and make sure I shake the bottle well before adding it to the water in the test tube. If the results are still reading 0 I will put up another reply to see if there are any other suggestions!

Thanks for your reply

 

[gaz gun man]

have you tested your tap water for nitrates? Is there alot of live plants in the tank?

 

[saz_jam]

I haven't done no, I shall do that tonight as well. I have 2 live potted plants in the tank (48 litres). I don't know what type of plant it is, it reaches the surface of the tank and looks like thick, long stems of grass!

 

[waterdrop]

Yeah, sounds like it could either be the typical flakyness of the Nitrate test or it could be that these two plants are big enough and like nitrate enough to be removing it all. Your fish-in cycle results sound pretty typical of the feedback you'd get during that type of cycle I'd say.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[saz_jam]

I assume it isn't anything to worry about then if it's because the plants are removing all of the nitrate? Does this mean that my tank has cycled?

I appreciate your help on this!

 

[Curiosity101]

I'm pretty sure incredibly low levels of nitrite 10ppm or below promotes BGA algae. I'm not trying to say you WILL, have an algae problem, I just wanted to make you aware.

Blue-Green Algae: This is actually Cyanobacteria. Commonly referred to by the initials BGA. BGA is a green shiny slimey algae. It's got a nasty smell to it. It tends to grow in sheets. It is very different from most algaes. BGA is a bizarre combination of bacteria and algae.
It is common in two different circumstances:

In very low nitrate situations, BGA will sometimes form. It is able to get nitrogen from the air. I've seen BGA several times right near the surface, under the filter return. In this location, it can obtain nitrogen from the air. Adding Nitrate to maintain a 5-10ppm nitrate level often eliminates the BGA.

BGA has also been found to occur in situations where poor water currents in the tank result in low O2 levels in portions of the tank. In these cases, increasing water movement will often eliminate the BGA.
No fish will eat BGA. As stated above, BGA is a bacteria. Some studies suggest that BGA contains toxins. This would explain why nothing will eat it. As a last resort, antibiotics have been used to clear BGA. But antibiotics should be used carefully. They can damage bio-filter bacteria, and mis-use of antibiotics can be harmfull to the fish.

But yep it sounds like your tank has cycled if ammonia and nitrites are holding at 0

 

[saz_jam]

Right after testing the aquarium water this evening the readings are: ammonia 0, nitrite 0 and nitrate 10 so it is all looking good and looks like my tank has cycled, yippee! Thanks for the tip on making sure the bottles were properly shaken in the testing kit Curiosity101, I am sure that may have been half the reason why I wasn't getting an accurate reading!

 

[Curiosity101]

Well I only thought that might be the case as I've done it myself before.
Got to the end of the week, ready to do my water change and it seemed my nitrates had gone down. I set there looking a bit , for awhile. Then realised I hadn't given the bottles a good shake. And when I'd added solution #1 I hadn't shaken the test tube for the 30secs recommended. So re-tested, n voila!