5.0 to 0 over night??!!

[Meredith]

is this possible?? My nitrite reading yesterday was 5.0ppm, today...0!!! I am going to retest right now, because frankly I don't believe it. Is it possible for it to drop like that so fast?

 

[tmcpeek]

Seems too quick to me. What test kit did you use? Maybe an extra drop or extra powder (dep on test kit used) got in the first test and read high.

How long has the tank been running/cycling. What ate you other parameters?

I guess the nitrites could have converted to nitrates but seems awful fast.

 

[Meredith]

its very fast. I just tested again. I am using the AP saltwater master test kit, and just to compare I used a mardel strip test. The results as of yesterday
Ammo-0
Nitrites-5.0
Nitrates- between 80 and 160 (very hard to tell)

As of today
Ammo-0
Nitrites-0
Nitrates-40

How do I know if this is for real? I guess just wait and keep testing right? This is so frustrating.

 

[tmcpeek]

Take a sample to your local fish store and have them test it. If your nitrates shot up when the nitrites dropped it could be possible. I use the Ap kit too for normal testing but for better accuracy I prefer the salifert ones.

Also your nitrates would not go down like that without a water change or some kind of nitrate absorbing sponge/media. Have you checked the expiration date on your test kit?

 

[Meredith]

The lfs that I go to uses the strip tests to test the water. I can do that myself. Actually I did, and no nitrites showed up on that either.I was told in another post

High Nitrites can cause false elevate nitrate reading

could this be why the nitrates aren't reading so high? Has this happened to anyone else?

 

[fishfreek]

Nitrates would not drop on their own like that unless you did a water change. Given the nitrates drop I am suspecting your previous nitrite and nitrate readings where off aswell.

 

[Meredith]

I just tested again and nitrItes still 0 NitrAtes still 40. I guess perhaps I could have been doing something wrong the past 3 days, although I really don't think so, but this is the third time today I have tested and I have been following the instructions to the T. So I guess I will wait and see what happens over the next week or so.

 

[sharkbate]

My ammonia droped from 8 to 0 over night so i guess anything is possible.
And maybe the trates are down due to bacteria forming inside the lr and breaking them down?

 

[mjvincent]

My ammonia droped from 8 to 0 over night so i guess anything is possible.
And maybe the trates are down due to bacteria forming inside the lr and breaking them down?

Not so quickly or dramatically.

 

[EJS4]

Your Nitrate drop was probably a false positive due to the high nitrite. I would think that the readings are correct. Remember you had such a massive die off that your levels were way out of wack. Nitrite bacteria may have finally caught up.