"*muffin*" wrote in message
...
I wonder if anyone can help me with this one.

I just got new test kits, brand of Laguna.

the nitrite test kits shows results as 0.1 to 3.3 mg/l (ppm)
& the nitrate test as 5-110 mg/l (ppm)

now the nitrate results look they read right. but what am I missing on
the
nitrite one? shouldn't that also be in the 1-100 range? not a 0.1?

No. Nitrite is orders of magnitudes more harmful to aquatic life than
nitrates are. Ideally, you should be getting a reading of 0 ppm. This is
why this test is much more sensitive than the one for nitrates.

my results show:
nitrite 0.4
ph 7.5
ammonia 0
nitrate 5-10
kh 60.. yup I know that is low, I just added baking soda

2 weeks ago I emptied my pond, to clean out the sludge in the bottom,,
put
back 1/2 the original water ( saved in a BIG container) the rest was rain
water from cistern ( figure that is where the low kh is)

The nitrite should taper off in the next few days. I would monitor it
carefully, especially if you have any fish in your pond.

I was trying to do research on here about nitrites & nitrates, and cannot
get a definitive answer on it in my case. I don't have ammonia ( but then
I
am testing with the nessler (one bottle kind). & have read that if I had
nitrates things should be cycling ok.

any suggestions?
(gotta check oxygen tomorrow)


The nitrogen cycle is thus: For a new pond/aquarium, you will usually see
ammonia at about 3-5 days. It usually spikes at 7 to 10 days, then tapers
off as the ammonmia is converted to nitrite. The nitrite usually starts to
show up at 10-14 days, and will begin to taper off as it is converted to
nitrate. After 21-30 days you should see no ammonia or nitrite, only
nitrate. Having said this, since you used some of your old water (which is
good), you aren't seeing the same levels that you would normally see with a
brand new set up. Since you are seeing nitrate already, either it was
already in the old water (likely) or any nitrite build up has already
passed and you should see it drop off in the next few days. I would
monitor it very closely. If it goes higher (say to 1 ppm or higher), you
may consider doing a 5-10% water change. If your fish are showing no signs
of distress, for now, I'd watch and wait. You might also considering
adding aquazyme or similar product to the water at this time.