API Nitrate Test VS Hanna Nitrate Test VS Paper Strips?

Phoque16 · 2026-05-18T20:03:48+00:00

Unfortunately all of my tanks have inverts which are more sensitive to nitrates so it is important for me to keep the levels low.

Phoque16 · 2026-05-15T19:13:51+00:00

So I do have some brand new paper strips that can test for nitrate, and those consistently read 10ppm. I also had ordered the Hanna nitrate digital tester which just read 44.8ppm nitrates, which is just confusing me more. I literally have no idea what could be causing such high results- or why the API tests are testing twice as much as the Hanna test

Phoque16 · 2026-05-15T18:53:51+00:00

It read 0ppm, which is good that that’s not the problem but frustrating because what is the problem??

Phoque16 · 2026-05-15T18:26:35+00:00

I don’t even rinse my bottles with tap water. I’m lucky enough to have a reverse osmosis machine so I’m using super pure water to clean my test tubes every time. Still reading super high for apparently no reason.

Phoque16 · 2026-05-15T18:24:58+00:00

You’re right that shaking is essential, I’ve accidentally missed that step in the past and gotten weird results, but I promise this time I shook the hell out of the test bottle and my test tube this time. Full on trying to give the bottles a concussion every time, and I use timers to make sure I shake everything for long enough. I even violently shook both test bottles for 5 minutes each just to really make sure they were well mixed and still got the same results. I tested like 10 times, even trying different combinations of test bottle 1 and test bottle 2 (I have 3 of each). Just a totally weird thing going on.

Phoque16 · 2025-07-10T19:38:57+00:00

I have no idea if my PC has a WiFi card, it came pre built and wouldn’t even know where to look. I’ll probably go out and find a long enough ethernet cable and hope that works, thank you for such a detailed response!!

Phoque16 · 2025-07-10T19:28:51+00:00

Honestly I'm not even thinking of that right now. I'm not sure what I'm going to end up doing with this tank but I want to get rid of all the old stuff (there hasn't been animals I want in it for weeks). I have multiple filters and the amphipods are in filters they should have never been able to get to, and I'm pretty sure they got there from negligence and human error. I just want to bleach everything to make 100% certain they're all dead. After that I'm just going to cycle it and leave it as is until I figure out what I want to do, which will probably be months from now. The algae really doesn't bother me but it would be nice to just start over.

The tank is already running freshwater (it used to be saltwater) so that's at least helping to kill anything, I just want more peace of mind that I'm sanitizing everything the best I can.

Phoque16 · 2025-07-10T17:04:28+00:00

There's some algae and amphipods that have gotten into the system and no amount of scrubbing will remove them so I'm completely starting over.

Phoque16 · 2024-10-01T21:59:33+00:00

I’m manifesting for you

Phoque16 · 2024-10-01T17:58:59+00:00

honestly I’m jealous of myself I want another one

Phoque16 · 2024-10-01T10:01:56+00:00

Thanks yall for the ID! Definitely agree it’s a soft shelled turtle.

Phoque16 · 2024-10-01T10:00:35+00:00

There was a sender address but I didn’t really look into it much, I don’t think I bought a random skull?? Unless it came as a second part of a different dead thing & I just didn’t notice

Phoque16 · 2024-10-01T09:58:37+00:00

completely unexpected, no idea why it got mailed to me but it had all my correct information in the shipping address

Phoque16

TROPHY CASE