confusion...?

php

php

Member
i have a slight problem. my 55 gal tank has been set up for 3 years. my frogspawn and candycane looked like crap. i found out my calcium was 125. i added calcium over a few days and now it's 420 which is great. my frog and candycane are looking loads better. however, i have been testing my water. everything is good but, some test kits show my nitrates are zero while others such as the one with the paper tab you put in the water sample said i have over 100 trates. i dida bunch of 20% water changes and the tests are the same.trates are zero with the drops and over 100 with the tab. does anyone know what is going on?
 
msd2

msd2

Active Member
take a sample to the lfs, or a buddy and get a verification. I personally dont know anyone that uses test strips. Do yourself a favor get salfert tests, accurate and easy to use. My guess is the test strips are way wrong, simply because if ur ate were 100+ for any duration of time ur livestock wouldnt be alive.
 
X

xnikki118x

Guest
I'm glad to hear that the strips were just giving you false readings and there wasn't a real problem.
If you ever do run into a nitrate problem, AmQuel+ worked wonders for me when I was first starting out. :happyfish:
 
msd2

msd2

Active Member

Originally posted by pHp
i did and that's my result...any other advice?
Im confused on exactly what u did? the lfs said your ates were over 100? You may also want to check or alk level, there is a reasonable chance its out of range of balance since your ca levels were so low. A simple way to test ur stips would be to use a sample of your new saltwater. Are you using tap water or DI water? tap water can actually contain nitrates in it at moderate consentrations.
 
php

php

Member
right some fish stores and my friends test kit said my trates are zero. then this other fish store that specializes in coral said i have trates over on the test strip he put on my water. I use R/O water. he tested his tanks and they were all zero but yet mine is over 100. all the elements i use for my corals don't affect water tests.my corals seem good to me. frogspawn could be out a little more but he has improved. I also use purigen in my filter for nitrate and yet the drops say im zero but the strip says over 100. any suggestions would be great thankyou.
 
msd2

msd2

Active Member
Id say go with the odds ;) sounds like the lfs has bad strips. Also not sure how accurate they are (the strips). If you or your friends or the other fish store use salfert then I would suggest going with that finding. If you, other lfs, and friends all find it 0 then i would guess that your readings are correct. My suggestion? go to a different lfs:)
 
php

php

Member
i raised the calcium over the course of 5 days...ph was 7.9 but i brought it up to 8.2 now
 
php

php

Member
it's just that it's wierd there trates were good with the strip but mine was bad....and the other places use salfert test kits
 
msd2

msd2

Active Member
Not to be cynical but was he trying to sale you something to clear up your 'nitrate problem'. If you have had several salferts test your water I am confident that the cheapo strips were in error for whatever reason.
 
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