Bizarre readings

[Johnny M]

I have a 20g Nuvo fusion QT that is cycled. Added 2 small fish about 5 days ago - Purple firefish and tank bred Rainford's goby. Rear sump : both overflow ends use IM aqua gadget custom caddy with floss plus 2 cubes of Marine pure in another chamber. When I got the fish I added some ATM colony and an an 11oz. bag of Chemi-Pure Blue. B4 adding chemipure : pH = 8.09 ( Pinpoint monitor with probe calibrted) ; 0 NH3 , NO2 = 2ppm; NO3 = 25ppm. Day after i added fish & chemipure I tested water and no NH3 but NO2 went to 10ppm ( Hanna Checker) and NO3 went to 50-60ppm ( Nyos test kit), plus pH went down to 7.55! . On 11/30 took out chemipure and added Poly Filter cut out to fit each custom caddy, also 40% WC; 12/1 = 30% WC ; 12/2 = 30% WC. Last night checked NO2 = 10ppm (Hanna C.) and NO3 = 60ppm (Nyos). Today haven't checked parameters yet but looked at poly Filter pads and still white. I assume after 3 days they would have turned color if NO2 & NO3 were elavated. Fish appear to be doing fine, both appear to be eating - small amt. of flakes in am & some Hikari Omega-3 enriched brine shrimp in PM , remove any uneaten food after a few minutes and return pump off when feeding. Saltwater mix - Fritz Pro Reef to S.G. = 1.025. Also when mixed Alk showed 9 ( in Mixing container) after testing the QT alk on 12/1 it showed 7.6 ( Hanna checker). As of now Ph showing 7.81.
Don't understand whats going on. Can Chemi-pure blue cause NO2 & NO3 to spike, pH & alk to decrease? It's got to be the test kits? Have Lamotte Alk kit , Red Sea NO3 test kit and Salifert NO2 kit coming tomorrow for backup. Any comments appreciated!

 

[Ranjib]

none of the pH values look ver absurd, and remember you'll have daily pH cycle. Mine fluctuate between 7.8(late night/early morning) to 8.2 (late afternoon, early evening). That being said, pH probes are also notorious for anomalous readings due to several factors. I'd recommend not to chase pH unless you are visibly seeing some bad effects on corals. Instead focus on Ca/Alk levels and slowly understand you pH cycle, and do something only when you have confirmed its an issue. Definitely dont do anything within the course of a week.

 

[Johnny M]

Thanks for help. Don't have any corals just the 2 small fish in the QT. I would think ph of 7.71 would be a little low. New alk kit coming today, will check that against hanna checker. Although I have 2 other FW tanks with pH monitor using "lab grade" probes that have always been pretty accurate. Have same type probe in QT. Tested alk earlier today with HC & was 7.6.
Will do a calcium test with HC later today. Will let u know. Also making up a new batch of saltwater with Fritz pro reef . Will try another 30% WC tomorrow.

none of the pH values look ver absurd, and remember you'll have daily pH cycle. Mine fluctuate between 7.8(late night/early morning) to 8.2 (late afternoon, early evening). That being said, pH probes are also notorious for anomalous readings due to several factors. I'd recommend not to chase pH unless you are visibly seeing some bad effects on corals. Instead focus on Ca/Alk levels and slowly understand you pH cycle, and do something only when you have confirmed its an issue. Definitely dont do anything within the course of a week.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

How do you know the tank is properly cycled?

If the fish made ammonia and that converted only into nitrite, that would explain both the nitrite and nitrate readings, since nitrite shows as a big false positive in many nitrate kits.

Nitrite is also not very toxic, so there;'s no need to panic. Waiting it out may be the best bet.

 

[Johnny M]

How do you know the tank is properly cycled?

If the fish made ammonia and that converted only into nitrite, that would explain both the nitrite and nitrate readings, since nitrite shows as a big false positive in many nitrate kits.

Nitrite is also not very toxic, so there;'s no need to panic. Waiting it out may be the best bet.

Thanks. The fish appear to be healthy & eating, plus the pH is up to 8.1 now.
I added last night bacteria combo - Prodibio Bioclean vials to help reduce nitrites (if any ) & nitrates . Looked at a lot of reviews of this product & all seem to be positive.