Fishless Cycle: No NitrAtes, Kit messed up?

[chesspupil]

No Nitrates are showing up in my API test kit after three weeks. question is:

Am I at a point where its safe to do a 75%+ water change and then add my fish? I dont understand why the NitrAtes are not climbing up.

History:
3rd week of fishless cycling with clear ammonia after a complete restart / HOT cleaning and bleaching and thorough rinsing to kill off some ICH. I have a HOB filter, 200w heater and a large air pump bubbling away the entire time. 88 deg to start. Fish have been in quanteen have been Ich free after 21 days at 90 deg temps with brackish water (salinity to less that .004) to naturally kill off ICH.

Added bacteria solution. Ammonia has been maintained at about 4+ppm, and NitrItes have been high after first week. The cycling stalled (ammonia would go down to near zero and NitrItes stayed high) and then I added a pinch of finely ground fish food and salt and dropped the temp from 88 to 85 and dropped the PH from a 8+ to a 7.5 with White Vinegar . Three days later the NitrItes started dropping off to zero. Then for good measure I added a small supply from another aquarium of some known good water and filter shakings to the tank to boost what I imagine is already a healthy bacteria bed. Every few days I stir up the substrate to get plenty of fresh surfaces for the bacteria.

week three I was expecting w/ regular 5ml-10ml doses of ammonia that kept being eaten up and the same with the NitrItes that my NitrAtes would be high doing as follows:


Daily or every other day I:

10ml Ammonia added to a 29 Gal tank which then reads about 4 PPM an hour after being added. (Messes with the PH to where the API HIGH PH actually reads RED.) 8 hours later the NitrItes are maxed out. About 24 hours later Ammonia and NitrItes read Zero and the NitrAtes are showing zero... bright yellow on the API kit.

**I suspect my NitrAte test kit is somehow messed up.**

 

[neilanh]

yeah I think I have to agree with you here, sounds like something funny's going on with your nitrAte test kit

 

[Rosenweiss]

Only other thing I can think of is: Is your tank heavily planted? That could be a reason for no nitrate reading.

 

[ejaramillo01]

Just to explore all the possibilities, be sure that you follow the test as described in the directions of the box.
The nitrates test requires an extra shaking of the second bottle before you added to the tube. I used not to shake it hard enough and my readings were off, once I followed the directions step by step, the results started to get real....

 

[Greenmaster]

I don't think it's likely but it is possible... there are bacteria that can convert nitrate to nitrogen gas... so that is possible that your tank has enough anaerobic areas/bacteria that your tank is removing your nitrates for you.

 

[chesspupil]

I have shaken the test tube itself after adding chemical one for NitrAtes, and then again after adding chemical two, but I have never shaken the chemical bottles individually prior to testing.
The lot number is 0110 so a bit over a year old as of this post.

**(I wonder how much off my tests will be after running a dozen tests without ever shaking the #2 bottle)**

I have read that with a big water change that you have to re-cycle the tank, but then I read that the bacteria are really just in the substraite and the filter media... I assume its a bit f both with a slant away from the water. That true?

Also, the 29 Gal tank has three mossballs in it and no other plants. It also has a home-made CO2 system running in it. (just yeast and sugar-water in a 2L that gets changed out every two weeks, with a line running up to an air stone.)

As for bacteria that produce notrogen only, I know only of those that are anerobic (Without oxygen) and that they must be in a O2 depleted enviroment prior to making Nitrogen. I have looked into a denitrator but I need to be sure they have nitrate or else I have read the bacter make H2S instead which stinks and can be dangerous.

I have an 18" bubble wand at the bottom of the tank and the air pump is for a 100 gal tank so I am pretty sure my O2 cant be much of a problem. I worry that it actually hurtst the CO2 unit.

 

[eco23]

I have shaken the test tube itself after adding chemical one for NitrAtes, and then again after adding chemical two, but I have never shaken the chemical bottles individually prior to testing.
The lot number is 0110 so a bit over a year old as of this post.

**(I wonder how much off my tests will be after running a dozen tests without ever shaking the #2 bottle)**

I have read that with a big water change that you have to re-cycle the tank, but then I read that the bacteria are really just in the substraite and the filter media... I assume its a bit f both with a slant away from the water. That true?

Also, the 29 Gal tank has three mossballs in it and no other plants. It also has a home-made CO2 system running in it. (just yeast and sugar-water in a 2L that gets changed out every two weeks, with a line running up to an air stone.)

As for bacteria that produce notrogen only, I know only of those that are anerobic (Without oxygen) and that they must be in a O2 depleted enviroment prior to making Nitrogen. I have looked into a denitrator but I need to be sure they have nitrate or else I have read the bacter make H2S instead which stinks and can be dangerous.

I have an 18" bubble wand at the bottom of the tank and the air pump is for a 100 gal tank so I am pretty sure my O2 cant be much of a problem. I worry that it actually hurtst the CO2 unit.

A pwc has virtually no effect on your bacteria population. There might be a couple floating around in the water, but as you said the vast majority live in the filter and tank surfaces. In fact, at the end of a fishless cycle, the first step is to do a massive (90%) pwc to get your nitrAtes low enough to have fish.

 

[eco23]

If you've already had a stall in the cycle and the pH has fluctuated, a 50% pwc is the best thing to do now regardless. The bacteria consume both the nutrients in the water (which you replaced with the fish food), and they also use ip the buffers that stabilize pH. A 50% pwc will restore both of those things and prevent another stall and can really speed things up.

 

[BldrArch]

So. Have you been shaking the #2 bottle? Did you do that and get a different result? Just curious.

 

[chesspupil]

Really VIGOROUS Shaking the number two bottle (actually all bottles now) the solution going into the tube looked different and the results were 40 ppm+ vs 0 without shaking.

 

[Greenmaster]

I would get a new #2 bottle. Some stores sell individual bottles... it's not really a big deal it will just say that the nitrates are slightly higher... I would guess between 5-15%. So when it says 40 maybe it's 30-37... but it's not really a big deal. It just means your test is more sensitive

 

[beepboop]

There are bacteria that break down nitrates into nitrogen and oxygen. Lava rock is often sold for aquariums to house the anaerobic bacteria that consumes nitrates. As long as you're still dosing the tank with ammonia, it's not a bad thing.

It's likely that by stirring up the substrate, you're releasing the nitrogen and oxygen and giving the anaerobic bacteria more nitrates to feed on.

 

[Greenmaster]

There are bacteria that break down nitrates into nitrogen and oxygen. Lava rock is often sold for aquariums to house the anaerobic bacteria that consumes nitrates. As long as you're still dosing the tank with ammonia, it's not a bad thing.

It's likely that by stirring up the substrate, you're releasing the nitrogen and oxygen and giving the anaerobic bacteria more nitrates to feed on.

Umm... Anaerobic means no oxygen... the bacteria "breathe" the Nitrates absorbing O2 and releasing N2 Stirring up the substrate may help the ammonia to nitrite, and nitrite to nitrate, but it prevents the nitrate to nitrogen. You don't need to "stir" anything to release the nitrogen. Nitrogen gas is extremely unstable in water and is evacuated quite readily.