Weird Nitrite Reading

[Amunet]

Been fishless cycling our newest tank.... had a bit of a pH problem, but got that worked out today.
Nitrite has been coming down for the past 2 days, and being paranoid about the pH, I've been testing everything every few hours just to make sure that everything is ok.
When I first tested today (at around 10:30am) like I usually do, nitrite was at 0.50 (the 2nd test)

Tested just a little while ago (4:40pm), and this is what I got. It's like a dilluted aqua color. Def not the 0 reading.

When I did the test, the drops instantly turned to that purple color like it has been since there is a nitrite reading. And then changed to this color after a couple of minutes.

So I tested one of our established tanks just to see if maybe the test was defective.... and everything is normal. Regular aqua 0 reading color.

Anyone know what that color means?
I'll be testing again tonight like I've been doing... so guess we'll see what color comes up next

 

[Truck]

sure there was no residue of other reagents? or did you add another re agent by accident?

 

[Amunet]

Nope.... it was def just the nitrite test. I don't have the master test kit. All of my tests are seperate in their own boxes so no chance of me accidently using a different one or using another tests tube. And I wash out the tubes after each use. And before each use, rinse out again in the tank water.

 

[-SPB-]

Give the test another try, see what colour it comes out. If it has changed then it might have been something in the tube, but if it's the same, maybe something has got into the bottle of chemicals

Looks closest to 0 than any other colour though.

 

[pammy172]

If the drops turn purple as they hit the bottom of the tube then the nitrite is off the scale. The colour your are left with after the 5 mins is not a true reading and you do not need to wait. It is off the scale and that's all there is too it. In tim it will not be purple as you add the drops and then you will wait the 5 mins and see it go through the card colurs to the pretty pale blue

You look to have a ph problem there though as it is the lowest on the card. That's likely to stall your bacs.

 

[Truck]

if the PH has been at that level constantly during the cycle then the bacs are fine

 

[fatheadminnow]

Are you sure you added 5 drops of the Nitrite solution?

If the NitrIte WAS off the charts, then the dark purple would of stayed a dark purple, no matter how long you let the tube sit, trust me, I know from experience...lol.

It looks either though you accidentally added too many or not enough drops, or that the reading is right between the 0 and .25 ppm mark.

All and all, I would not worry about it, minor hiccups like this are prone to happen, while some just cannot be explained.

I would test again and see then.

-FHM

 

[Amunet]

The pH dropped to that reading in the first photo... it's been at 7.8... the pH has been fixed though.
I'm positive I added the correct number of drops.

Anywho... just did another test.

The 5 drops added.... turned pruple almost instantly

Test right after it was mixed

And the test 5 mins later... this time it looked closer to the 0.25 reading.... but still.. not quite. Def not what it was before when I first started to get nitrite readings.

*shrugs* I'm sure everything is ok... just thought it was weird.

 

[WILDER]

Steralise the glass tube in boiling water than test again.

 

[fatheadminnow]

Check the date which it was made.

If it is over 3 years old, it may not be good.

-FHM

 

[BenPursglove]

Looks like the funny test colours are closer to being between the 0.5 - 0.00 mark after the 5 mins wait period from the pics. Igonre what happens when you put the reagent in at first as the wait period to develop is essential for any test.

IME API tests are not great as the result and colour chart represenation of the colours are not good. Nutrafin tests FTW I think.

 

[Amunet]

During the 5 mins... it went from that purple color to around 0.50 that it was earlier today, then finally settled at that gray color. I'll test again in a few hours.

 

[fatheadminnow]

If I was at home, I would test my nitrite quick and see what happens.

-FHM

 

[StatMan]

In my experience the colours never go to a higher level then revert back, they will always go further up the scale.

It could be off the charts or some problem with the tests though if the other tank stayed steady it rules that out.

What sort of Nitrite readings had you been getting before ?

StatMan

 

[Schmill]

I can ASSURE you that is an API chart going off of the top end of the NitrIte scale.

That is EXACTLY what it does when the reading is very very high. Drop go in and immediately turn deep purple, then after shaking everything is purple, then as you wait 5 minutes (if you bother) then the colour WILL fade to that grey.

The first thing I would say is if you put the drops in and they go purple, tip that test away and class it as 'off the scale'. There is no need to wait for the result as you already know what it will be.
When you are cycling, (or at any other time for that matter), only 2 colours REALLY matter, that is pale yellow on the ammonia, and pale aqua on the nitrIte, anything else and the water isn't ready yet.

For the doubters on this thread, (and I see there are a fair few above), you can perform the following test if you are getting the purple drops that then turn the water grey after 5 minutes:

Instead of taking 5ml of tank water, take just 1ml, (or roughly a fifth of what you need), then top the tube up the rest of the way with tap water, (which should be nitrIte free).
THEN do your nitrIte test, if your nitrItes are REALLY high then even this test might go offscale, but you have effectively diluted the nitrItes by 5x, so there is more chance of you seeing something on the test.

NOTE: The above is only a 'double check' to reassure you that your tests are working, and that all is doing as it should during a cycle, it doesn't give you a particularly 'useful' reading. Then again, as I've written above, at the end of the day all you REALLY care about is the fact that it isn't light aqua