I have a 20gal tank. Six Coreys, two dwarf frogs, two Apple snails, Oto and
Beta. pH=7.8, Nitrite=0 mg/L, Nitrate10 mg/L - using Hagen test kits. The
tank is now, maybe, 18 months old.

Not successful with plants. As one solution, thought of planting Lucky
bamboo in the tank. Before planting I thought I would test it.

In a separate 3gal jug set up 6 stalks of Lucky and filled the jug with
water and vacuumings from the tank. What I hoped to see is how soon can the
bamboo _clear_ what little Nitrate there was in the water.

Instead the levels of both Nitrite and Nitrate shot _up_ so high I can no
longer measure them.

I've re-tested both tank water and water in the jug - same results as
before - good in the tank, rediculous in jug ?

What is happening ? Can a plant increase the amount or concentration of
nitrogenous waste in the water ?

I thought some of the solid waste vacuumed from the tank into the jug is
rotting, driving the readings up. However, I think that would increase
Ammonia levels in the jug but Ammonia reading is 0 (!).

Any thoughts on the subject appreciated.

TIA.
--
Poke

"Nitrate : cheaper than the Day Rate "
from Layman's Dictionary of Medical Terms