Test results inaccurate

[Grumpy_Marine]

Ok I am cleaning and working on my 10 gallon tank, i changed the filter today as it needed to be replaced. I have done two water changes within two days to clean the gravel. The gravel is now clean but i am still getting false readings on tests.

I had my fish in here before moving to bigger tank. All of my tetras got white spots which i thought was ich... i treated the tank for ich and body fungus... followed directions and did water change and all that. But now ever since when i test the water my ammonia is coming out blue which is higher than the test shows... it is giving false or inaccurate readings. I have done everything short of empty tank scrub and set up. There are two fish in there so i know the levels cannot be that toxic as they would not survive in those conditions.

When i test for nitrites it still shows 0ppm but the tank has had fish and set up since september. How can i fix this false readings so i can accurately test my water.

I used jungle fizz tabs to cure the diseases... I will not use them anymore, i am moving to metafix if needed as i have heard nothing but good reviews from people on it.

 

[Lotus]

Have you double-checked your test kit against distilled water?

You could also take a sample of your water to your LFS to have it tested.

Sometimes the test kits get contaminated or stop working correctly, and it could be giving you a false positive.

 

[MissFishy]

I'm a little confused by the post...but are there any nitrates in the water? Are you using a drop test kit? or strips?

 

[Grumpy_Marine]

I am using the master test kit... i fill 5 ml of water into test tube and add drops. I use this kit for both tanks and it works for the 29 gallon one. The only problem is with the 10 gallon, i know the problem started when i treated for ich and fungus... but i don't know how to get that tank to give accurate results.

From the readings if i relied on them for the 10 gallon i would have ammonia spike higher than 8 ppm. Nitrites 0 ppm and nitrates 0 ppm. So it is as if the tanks has not even started to cycle. But prior to treating for the disease i was seeing ammonia 4 ppm nitrites 2ppm nitrates had yet to develop. So i know it was cycling but either it stopped or the meds screwed my readings for that tank.

I suppose i could do a massive w/c all but 25 percent of it... this would remove almost all the existing bio from water and provide cleaner enviornment probably (toxins i mean)

 

[Mahamotorworks]

Run some charcoal in the filter is should take out the meds. Then Have your water tested at a LFS to see if there is a diff.

MAHA

 

[Avalon]

Hmmm...you are "cleaning & working on" your 10g tank. You "changed the filter today" and the "gravel is now clean." And your fish have ich.

This tells me that you have A. disrupted the biological filter, and B. stressed the fish as a result. Since your fish now have ich, I would guess they are less than 90 days old. In other terms, they are not established, nor is the tank itself.

The problem, as many have, is that a 10g tank is very prone to diruption of natural establishment. It's so small and so easy to stick your hands in, and most equipment is so cheap($), yet so pathetically inadequate. Large tanks have lots of leeway with what you can "do" to them, while smaller tanks are the opposite. Chances are, your tank is cycling again (or still cycling, but prolonged). I wouldn't worry about the exact levels of your test kits, as they are probably wrong anyway (test kits are notroriously inaccurate).

I would do what you need to do to the tank and leave it alone. The less cleaning you do to the tank, other than wipe the glass down and small/medium but often water changes, the better.

 

[MissFishy]

Yes, it does sound like you have disrupted your cycle as a result of "cleaning" your gravel and whatever other cleaning you did. As Maha suggested, you could try using some carbon in your filter to take out the meds, as those may have messed it up a bit. But more likely, if you cleaned your gravel (exactly how did you clean it?) you messed up the bacteria in it. Sounds like the tank will have to recycle. If your fish still have ich, I try not to mess with meds and just raise the temp. Raise the temp to 82-85, slowly, and leave it at that for a week or so (what fish are in there?). Do an immediate 50% water change, then continue doing 25% water changes daily or twice daily until that ammonia level goes down. Usually drop test kits are pretty accurate, especially if the other tank is reading well, but if you doubt it, definately take the water into a store to see what they get on it. Either way, do the water changes ASAP for the sake of the fish.

 

[Grumpy_Marine]

People get confused i guess i am just that way.

1. My fish do not have ICH
2. My tank has two guppies in there
3. The filter was old and not working so i changed it today
4. The gravel had so much waste in it, i cleaned with normal suction tube thingy

The only problem i have with the tank is that my readings are wrong due to the Previous case of ICH that hit my tank about a month ago. From that point my readings have not been true. I don't care if i disrupted any supposed cycle, disrupted or not the readings are false... so i won't ever be able to tell if there is toxins in water with the kits due to this problem.

My filter media has charcoal in it so i will let the water sit as is for a few days and then test it to see if there is difference. If not i will then drain all water and start from scratch.

 

[Seleya]

The only problem i have with the tank is that my readings are wrong due to the Previous case of ICH that hit my tank about a month ago. From that point my readings have not been true. I don't care if i disrupted any supposed cycle, disrupted or not the readings are false... so i won't ever be able to tell if there is toxins in water with the kits due to this problem.

The problem we're all having is that ich doesn't change test results. Ich MEDS can disrupt a cycle/biofilter and set you all the way back to the beginning if used in sufficient doses, which is why so many of us advocate using either heat, salt or both to treat ich instead.

How do you know the readings are false? Basing it on another tank tells us nothing -- all my tanks test differently....

To know that the test results are false, you need another person to test them -- i.e., by bringing your water to an lfs and getting the NUMBERS from them.

If you totally removed the filter and replaced it with another one without even reusing the biomedia, you'll also affect a biofilter, especially in a "young" or compromised tank. Having large amounts of mulm will cause parameter spikes even with no fish in a tank -- on the other hand, vacuuming gravel spotless in a compromised tank can disrupt the beneficial bacteria which colonised it. You're describing a number of obvious disruptions -- if your tank was stable, it would be in trouble at this point.

 

[Grumpy_Marine]

i know ICH will not cause the readings to be off. Here is what i put in my tank to cure the diseases when they hit:

Ick CLear Tank Buddies Fizz tabs
Fungus Clear Tank Buddies Fizz tabs

Once i put these in my ammonia test goes from green to blue. There is no blue on the charts so that is why the tests are bugging me.

The filter i have has a bio screen to grow bacteria on for the bio load... that i did not clean or change so i didn't destroy the filter portion. All i did was replace the bag of charcoal as the filter was not filtering anymore, the water was slow and backed up so i replaced filter and now it is working fine.

I thank you all for the help, but i just wanted to know

what has caused my tank to give me blue for ammonia rather than green. I will take to LFS as you say, but they will get the same thing i am sure of it. So hopefully i am proved wrong, i will let you all know what i do to clear this when it is gone finally.

 

[FroggyFox]

If I were you I'd test it on some tap water to see if the medicine is what is causing the funky colors.

 

[MissFishy]

Hmm, I think you didn't explain what exactly was going on with your test kit. If it is a different color entirely, that is really odd. I've never heard of that happening. What I would guess is that the fizz tabs probably put another chemical in the water that is throwing the test kit off. Keep the carbon in the filter and keep doing your water changes to get the meds out of there. Keep testing the water and see if anything changes. I would also take it into the LFS just to see what readings they get. Let us know what happens over the next day or so!

 

[Grumpy_Marine]

thanks missfishy... i tested water this morning... the color is still blue but not as dark as before the new filter was placed in. So i think it is starting to filter out and clear up. Will do 50 % w/c tonight and hope it helps.

I will also test the tabs in a bucket of tap water to see what it does to tests.

I will bring water to LFS tomorrow as i am busy tonight with other errands.

I apologize to all if i have sounded grumpy throughout this post at all. I honestly appreciate your help in this matter and understand you are looking at a post trying to imagine what i am talking of. I do not mean to sound grumpy to anyone in anway, i will post the outcome when i find the cause so that i may write a topic of this so it can be used to help others in the future who knows.

 

[dabaers]

I don't know how long ago you used the fungal fizz tabs, but they totally destory your bacterial filter which would cause you to have zero nitrates.

 

[Grumpy_Marine]

ok i did water change of 50 Percent today... big ammount for 10 gallon but i am determined to get the tests showing right. While doing water change i noticed my air tube for the bubble disc is completely green it has been dyed by the tablets... so it may have something to do with the funky results. I am going to test tap water then add tablet and do test again see if it does it. But after changing 50 percent my tests have changed slightly... i am only testing for ammonia right now as it is first thing that is whacky. I tested and it came out dark green so it is lowering the ammounts so maybe my tank is starting to clear out now... i will do another w/c tomorrow and see if it gets lighter. Right now i would say my ammonia is reading 8ppm or above... if that is testable. So i will post results tomorrow for status.

 

[Mahamotorworks]

If you Ammonia is at 8PPM then your fish shouldnt be living. That is as far as the scale goes in my test kit. If it is that high I would do another water change.

MAHA

 

[Grumpy_Marine]

i have two fish living in there... but i am working on them. thanks

 

[Grumpy_Marine]

Ok me and maha brainstormed in chat...

plain tap water reads .5-1.0 ppm ammonia
tap water +ich treatment tabs = .5-1.0 ppm ammonia
tap water +fungus treatment tabs = .5-1.0 ppm ammonia

So none of them messed up the readings. But i did not try both combined together... so that could be it but doubtful.

The fungus treatment did stain my air tube for bubble strip blue, it also stained my tub blue.

We also determined that the readings could be screwy because the LFS i was going to directed me to use ammo clear tabs, and other things to clear levels but that was ruining the cycle period. So i never gave the tank a fair chance. I am doing another w/c tomorrow and will post results. just wanted to post what i have discovered so far.

 

[Grumpy_Marine]

Ok here is the verdict on this issue... it was human error along side filter error. My filter had stopped working thus i replaced it. With that along with my stupidity... the ammonia reached critical levels... some how the fish survived and did not die. I have been doing w/c this week and done two in the last two days. My levels went from above 8.0 ppm when this thread started down to 1.0ppm now. I will be keeping a close eye on this tank and watching for the cycle to complete.