Nitrite Spike STILL- PLEASE HELP sepulatian

[dperna]

I have come to the conclusion that i think my test kits are bad. they are old, and although the previous owner said that he didnt think they had an experation date they are very out dated you can easily tell and sometimes i will test water and everythign will be fine, later in the day i will again and nitrite will be at 4. i brought a sample of my water to LFS today and they checked it and said my water was fine. I plan on ordering a whole new test kit package that includes Ammonia PH Nitrate and Nitrite. Does anyone have a recomdation? I would really like a pretty acurate but very fast and easy, i really like the powder ones that you just shake

 

[dperna]

Originally Posted by DPerna
I have come to the conclusion that i think my test kits are bad. they are old, and although the previous owner said that he didnt think they had an experation date they are very out dated you can easily tell and sometimes i will test water and everythign will be fine, later in the day i will again and nitrite will be at 4. i brought a sample of my water to LFS today and they checked it and said my water was fine. I plan on ordering a whole new test kit package that includes Ammonia PH Nitrate and Nitrite. Does anyone have a recomdation? I would really like a pretty acurate but very fast and easy, i really like the powder ones that you just shake
:thinking:

 

[sly]

I have used a lot of different test kits. I haven't seen that much difference between them. Some are easier to use and some will truely show 0 for ammonia (some NEVER show 0 due to inaccuracies). I recommend salifert test kits. Yes, kits will go old. Most don't seem to last more than 2-3 years. Lately, though, I've use the standard dip stick tests for checking my nitrate and nitrite...

 

[ocellaris_keeper]

I didn't read all the responses but if you're havig a nitrite spike your tank is cycling - you've either added something new in the tank, had too many animals or haven't waited long enough for it to settle down.
Stop doing water changes and wait for the tank to complete it's cycle. Also - the algae you're seeing is another part of the cycling process.
Since the tank was up and then restarted, it's just resettling itself.
Patience is always best - keep good water flow, good temp and let it ride for a while before you do any more water changes.