Fishy monkey
Aquarium Advice Activist
I have googled to try and find an answer, but it seems that other people's missing nitrates are being used by live plants. I only have fake plants in my aquarium.
It's a 43 gallon, went through a fish in cycle for 2 months, when the cycle was ending I regularly got 5ppm nitrate readings. Currently stocked with 5 pearl danios, 6 congo tetras and a young bristlenose pleco.
For the past 6-8 weeks it's been cycled, I've only done water changes of 30-50% once a week, using api liquid tests and not got any nitrate readings at all. Ammonia and nitrite have consistently been 0 too, the only issue I've had is when my pH rose from a steady 7.6 to 8, for which I still don't know the reason.
I'm shaking the bottles till my arms are about to fall off, doing the tests by the book and to the letter, even bought a second test kit in case the first bottles were dodgy. Still 0 nitrates. Should I be concerned or is it just that I'm under stocked and over filtered?
It's a 43 gallon, went through a fish in cycle for 2 months, when the cycle was ending I regularly got 5ppm nitrate readings. Currently stocked with 5 pearl danios, 6 congo tetras and a young bristlenose pleco.
For the past 6-8 weeks it's been cycled, I've only done water changes of 30-50% once a week, using api liquid tests and not got any nitrate readings at all. Ammonia and nitrite have consistently been 0 too, the only issue I've had is when my pH rose from a steady 7.6 to 8, for which I still don't know the reason.
I'm shaking the bottles till my arms are about to fall off, doing the tests by the book and to the letter, even bought a second test kit in case the first bottles were dodgy. Still 0 nitrates. Should I be concerned or is it just that I'm under stocked and over filtered?