Another Nitrate Spike!!!

Sir Alex

Sir Alex

Dragon the eel (below)
So I got home from a 5 say trip on Saturday. I tested the nitrates and they were incredibly low (about 12). So earlier today I did quick check on things and everything was fine. The protein skimmer was quite empty. So a couple hours later I looked and the skimmer was almost full. :confused::confused::confused:

I tested the nitrates and they were close to 80?????? :shock::shock::shock::grumble::grumble::frustrat::frustrat::shock::shock::death::death::pooh:

So how could the nitrates have shot up like that in such a short period of time?? The only thing that changed is that yesterday, I put some carbon I got at petco in the filter bag. Anyway, today I decided to clean the filter which I can't do with the carbon in it so I got another bag which had been laying on the floor for a while and I cleaned it in the washing machine on hot with no soap. Then I pored the carbon in the new bag and put it in. If there were some chemical that got on it it wouldn't have triggered the skimmer would it?

I did a %20 water change tonight and I plan on doing two more tomorrow. I guess there's nothing else I can do but I really want to know what happened.
 
I wasn't sure about the original test because it seemed a more bright red than anything on the paper. So now, after the water change, I did about %80 tap water (nitrate free), and %20 tank water. It came out at about 30 ppm. This is terrible. :sad:
 
i think you got some soap or something from the wash,did you put it in a wash machine?
you do realize there are traces of who knows what in a washing machine?
they are not very sanitary when your needing reef tank kind of clean,there is resadue of soaps,among other stuff that may have been caught in the bag you couldnt see,i would remove the carbon bag asap!
 
So after doing a %40 water change I did a test and it came out as 30. :bounce::mrgreen::^::mrgreen::^::bounce:

So I guess I ms-calculated yesterday. :?
 
I've had some API tests that give irregular results, so I wouldn't put it past the test kit. Even after going 3 weeks without a water change and feeding 2-3 times a day, I cant get a Nitrate test to read more than 0 in my tank. I've tried several different brands and several different tests
 
The thing about the nitrate test kits is that you HAVE to really shake it up good or it will give a false reading. My instructions on my API says you must shake the bottles for 30 seconds and then shake the tube of water for another minute.

I actually tested it by doing 2 tests at once.
Not shaking one just drip and shake a little gave me no nitrates
Shaking the other one as instructed gave me 20
 
I tested the nitrates today and they were below 20?? :shock::confused::D:confused:

What am I going to do with 30 gallons or RO/DI water? :12:
 

Similar threads

F
New to marine.
Replies
2
Views
1K
kbuser92
kbuser92
J
Help with Nitrates!
Replies
0
Views
1K
Jeff P.
J
J
PULLING-OUT MY HAIR!
Replies
0
Views
2K
Jeff P.
J
Mike
Software Updated
Replies
0
Views
402
Mike
Mike
Mike
We're Back!
Replies
0
Views
655
Mike
Mike
Back
Top