westward13
Aquarium Advice Regular
I've had my aquarium up and running now for a month. Within that first month, I've certainly had my share of problems... from Ich to a bacterial infection that required frequent and large water changes. I started with 12 fish (3 Opaline Gouramis, 3 Tiger Barbs, 3 Giant Danios and 3 Red Velvet Swordtails) and have 9 left (all 3 Tiger Barbs are no more). For those of you that weren't around when I first started posting, I've got a 75 gallon freshwater tank with playsand as my substrate.
Fast forward to today... I'm slightly alarmed by the fact that my nitrites came out to be very high when I tested the water this morning even though I have yet to show a single trace of any amonia in the tank. Are my amonia and nitrate test kits even working properly?! It's supposed to show up as a shade of yellow if it's at 0 and since day 1 it's always come out entirely clear (using the normal hydrochloric acid drops included in my test kit). I plan on bringing a sample of my water to the lfs that I got my fish at just to have them test it but I'm confused as to why this has been the case.
Fast forward to today... I'm slightly alarmed by the fact that my nitrites came out to be very high when I tested the water this morning even though I have yet to show a single trace of any amonia in the tank. Are my amonia and nitrate test kits even working properly?! It's supposed to show up as a shade of yellow if it's at 0 and since day 1 it's always come out entirely clear (using the normal hydrochloric acid drops included in my test kit). I plan on bringing a sample of my water to the lfs that I got my fish at just to have them test it but I'm confused as to why this has been the case.