el_jeffe
Aquarium Advice Newbie
Hi everyone - sorry for the long post I just want to make sure I provide as much info as possible as I'm still a beginner. Thanks in advance! 
My LFS tested my water and said I only have trace Nitrates however my API liquid test kit (I shook the bottles for like 3 minutes) shows 40ppm and the API test strips show 40ppm if I let it sit a minute or 2. They mentioned that the API test kits were sometimes inaccurate. They suggested I dose some nitrogen for the plants but I’m really nervous about adding nitrogen. I plan on getting slowly more high tech with the plants and fertilizers but I don’t want to do too many things at once. Just want to make sure the tank is stable for the fish first. Should I buy a different brand test kit to see what I get? I plan on doing a 50% water change tonight to bring the Nitrates down if they are in fact that high.
API liquid tests:
0 ppm ammonia
0 ppm nitrite
40 ppm nitrate
API test strips:
40ppm nitrate if the strip sets for more than a minute but at their 30 seconds according to the directions <20
LFS test (I think they’re using Fluval or Hagen liquid)
0ppm ammonia
0ppm nitrite
Trace nitrate - they didn’t give a number but said it was lowest on their scale
History:
Did a complete tear down of the tank (except the filter) 1.5 weeks ago and changed substrate to eco complete. I have 8 different live plants and a moss ball. Since I didn’t’ change the canister filter I figured I had a good amount of BB left and only did a 10% water change a few days ago. I did add purigen to clear up the tank from the cloudiness of the new substrate.
Equipment:
29 Gallon Freshwater
Eco complete substrate
Marineland 160 canister
Fluval 3.0 plant LED
Fluval co2 canister
UV sterilizer(I use this since I give the fish away I want to avoid sickness)
Stock:
2 Amano shrimp
1 assassin snail
18-20 juvenile platys (I have a guy that picks them up every time they breed so they’ll be gone tomorrow)
My LFS tested my water and said I only have trace Nitrates however my API liquid test kit (I shook the bottles for like 3 minutes) shows 40ppm and the API test strips show 40ppm if I let it sit a minute or 2. They mentioned that the API test kits were sometimes inaccurate. They suggested I dose some nitrogen for the plants but I’m really nervous about adding nitrogen. I plan on getting slowly more high tech with the plants and fertilizers but I don’t want to do too many things at once. Just want to make sure the tank is stable for the fish first. Should I buy a different brand test kit to see what I get? I plan on doing a 50% water change tonight to bring the Nitrates down if they are in fact that high.
API liquid tests:
0 ppm ammonia
0 ppm nitrite
40 ppm nitrate
API test strips:
40ppm nitrate if the strip sets for more than a minute but at their 30 seconds according to the directions <20
LFS test (I think they’re using Fluval or Hagen liquid)
0ppm ammonia
0ppm nitrite
Trace nitrate - they didn’t give a number but said it was lowest on their scale
History:
Did a complete tear down of the tank (except the filter) 1.5 weeks ago and changed substrate to eco complete. I have 8 different live plants and a moss ball. Since I didn’t’ change the canister filter I figured I had a good amount of BB left and only did a 10% water change a few days ago. I did add purigen to clear up the tank from the cloudiness of the new substrate.
Equipment:
29 Gallon Freshwater
Eco complete substrate
Marineland 160 canister
Fluval 3.0 plant LED
Fluval co2 canister
UV sterilizer(I use this since I give the fish away I want to avoid sickness)
Stock:
2 Amano shrimp
1 assassin snail
18-20 juvenile platys (I have a guy that picks them up every time they breed so they’ll be gone tomorrow)
