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Nutrafin Ammonia testing kit?

  • 21-12-2009 6:39pm
    #1
    Jen Pigs Fly
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,770 ✭✭✭


    Hiya, I've set up a marine tank there on the 1st of December, and I've been drawing weird conclusions.

    Now the tank should be cycled ... here are some of my readings:

    Specific Gravity: 1.023
    pH: 8.0-8.5 (around that)
    Nitrates: 10
    Nitirts: 0
    chlorine: 0
    etc.

    Everything is grand, tank should be cycled, except my ammonia has not changed at all in the entire month of my testing it.
    My ammonia stays static at 0.6 all the time!

    my nitrits have spiked already, and my nitrates have gone up once nitrits have gone down.

    by that logic my tank should have been cycled, except for the fact that ammonia has not changed at all! Even during nitrit spikes, or my Carbonate going through the roof (did a water change, all good now at 8oD) and even my pH being in the 7ish range for a few days.

    so why has my ammonia not changed at all! Anyone ever experiance some problems with the nurtafin ammonia testing kits? It just seems incredibly strange to me how everything has been changing as normal except for my ammonia which seems to have done nothing.

    (I wash the test tube after every single use with pure, de-chlorinated water, and I follow the directions perfectly, water to the line and 6 drops.)


Comments

  • #2
    Jen Pigs Fly
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,770 ✭✭✭Jen Pigs Fly


    yep any help at all haha


  • #3
    star-pants
    Closed Accounts Posts: 13,429 ✭✭✭✭star-pants


    People will respond in their own time if they have info/experience


  • #4
    Pimp Ninja
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,130 ✭✭✭Pimp Ninja


    I use the same nutrafin kit on a freshwater tank and Ive never had any weird readings. Can you see the use by/best before date on the test kit ?

    I'll just get out of the way that I'm not a marine keeper at all, there are some others on here and other sites alright...

    In a freshwater tank, when you see the nitrite spike disappear and are seeing nitritate (like you are at the moment) with 0 ammonia, then the cycle has completed. I always experienced this at about week 6.

    If your tank is only running since 1st Dec, then this is only week 3 and I wouldnt expect the cycle to be complete. Perhaps the bacteria just needs to multiply a bit more ??

    Having said that I thought in a marine tank the nitrite was converted to nitrogen gas, and just evaporates off the tank, resulting in 0 nitrate ?

    What method are you using for the tank (zeo-vit/berlin/etc)?

    if you think the test kit is duff (which is possible) you could always take a sample of your water to the local fish shop and get them to test it with theirs, see if the readings match ??


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