Hi, I've been taking care of a betta in a 6.8 gallon tank for a few months now. The tank and water are well cycled - I use an API freshwater master test kit, and never get ammonia or nitrites.
I do partial water changes when I can see excessive amounts of poop on the bottom. The reason I don't change water more than that is, I keep getting nitrate level test results between 5 and 10 ppm.
So my question is - where is all the nitrate going? Even after a partial water change, nitrate level tests show between 5 and 10 ppm. Over a period of two to four weeks, this measurement doesn't change.
I follow the test kit instructions carefully. I know that not shaking the test solution a lot is a common mistake, and not shaking the test tube a lot while mixing both test solutions is also a mistake, and both of these mistakes can cause inaccurate test results. So I figured that out back when I wasn't even getting a result above 5ppm.
So now I shake like crazy and wait 5 minutes before comparing the test tube to the color guide on the back of the booklet. I expect that from one week to the next, I should be able to see nitrate levels rising but that basically never happens.
Anyone know what's going on?
The fish seems healthy, I really don't believe that nitrates are building up to unhealthy levels. And I do change water when I can see the water is looking too dirty (too much poop on the bottom). But I've been going three and four weeks without doing water changes, and then I'll wind up changing maybe 25% of the water, because that's all it takes to suck out the worst of the poop.
So where's all the nitrate going? Why am I not measuring nitrate levels increasing?
I do partial water changes when I can see excessive amounts of poop on the bottom. The reason I don't change water more than that is, I keep getting nitrate level test results between 5 and 10 ppm.
So my question is - where is all the nitrate going? Even after a partial water change, nitrate level tests show between 5 and 10 ppm. Over a period of two to four weeks, this measurement doesn't change.
I follow the test kit instructions carefully. I know that not shaking the test solution a lot is a common mistake, and not shaking the test tube a lot while mixing both test solutions is also a mistake, and both of these mistakes can cause inaccurate test results. So I figured that out back when I wasn't even getting a result above 5ppm.
So now I shake like crazy and wait 5 minutes before comparing the test tube to the color guide on the back of the booklet. I expect that from one week to the next, I should be able to see nitrate levels rising but that basically never happens.
Anyone know what's going on?
The fish seems healthy, I really don't believe that nitrates are building up to unhealthy levels. And I do change water when I can see the water is looking too dirty (too much poop on the bottom). But I've been going three and four weeks without doing water changes, and then I'll wind up changing maybe 25% of the water, because that's all it takes to suck out the worst of the poop.
So where's all the nitrate going? Why am I not measuring nitrate levels increasing?