cycled tank or broken test

[aquanoob]

quick question.

I set up my (10 gallon) tank around 6 weeks ago. A week or two ago nitrites showed up and now they are gone... I think this means that my tank is finally cycled, but I'm also not seeing any nitrates either. So what I'm wondering if 0/0/0 is a sane reading for an unplanted tank (with a fair amount of algae) or if my nitrite test kit could have gotten messed up some how.

TIA

 

[mr86mister]

i would retest everything again, and make sure you follow the directions closely

if there are no nitrates that usually means no bacteria to produce them

 

[aquanoob]

Just retested and got the same result

 

[greenmaji]

The algae is going to outcompete your bacteria for food (ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate). If your really wanting to get your cycle done you need to get rid of the algae.. it will starve-out your bacteria.
remove all the algae then test (depending on how your cycling the tank if fishless keep feeding the ammonia) Hope this helps.

 

[Jchillin]

It may be the test kits. What type are you using (strips or liquid re-agent)? What is your current bio-load (number and types of fish)?

 

[aquanoob]

My ammonia and nitrite tests are liquid reagent, made by Hagen
My Nitrate test is liquid reagent, made by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals

My current bioload is 3 Neon tetras, 2 red-lined rasboras, and 3 small shrimp (added yesterday to take care of the algae).

The algae is going to outcompete your bacteria for food

If the algae could explain the 0/0/0 result I'm not to worried since it means I don't have a bunch of hidden nitrites in the water. I added some shrimp to eat the algae... hopefully my bacteria will be able to pick up the slack as they gradually remove the algae.

 

[Jchillin]

Then it is not the tests. Although algae can consume a lot of nitrate, it shouldn't be able to consume that much of it. Even in my planted tank, I still get a trace nitrate reading (prior to a PWC) of @10ppm. You may have a trace reading but the color chart doesn't pick it up. When you test, do you get a slight yellow tint?

 

[greenmaji]

algae can consume ammonia, nitrite and nitrate and if you have alot of growth it could consume all of it..(it will consume ammonia first) and it consumes nitrogen faster then structured plants.. Im just going by the "fair amount of algae" statement.. that could mean its covering 3 walls of the tank with thick growth, if so it could be consuming all forms of nitrogen in the tank..

 

[talloulou]

With many liquid nitrate tests you have to vigorously shake the bottle.......If you don't the test won't work. (Made this mistake myself). Just a thought..

 

[aquanoob]

With many liquid nitrate tests you have to vigorously shake the bottle.......If you don't the test won't work. (Made this mistake myself). Just a thought..

yeah, I did that.

At this point I'm going to give it a few days, watching for signs of distress, to see if my nitrate level rises. If it doesn't I'll see if I can get my fish store to double check my results.

When you test, do you get a slight yellow tint

The nitrate test starts yellow and turns red as the nitrate level increases... it seems to be at 0, but it is definitely very close (less than 2.5ppm) to it if it isn't precisely 0.