This is strange.

Usually I take my samples to the local fish store to have it tested but I finally broke down and spent the money to get test kits of my own.

I did my water today and it appears as if my nitrite is 0 but my nitrates are very high.

I will do a series of water changes this week to get that down - but I begin to wonder in the microbiology/chemistry sense if there is something up with this.

Apparently I have bacteria working hard so I don't have nitrites... but not so hard getting rid of the nitrate. Is there something wrong with my cycle/bacterial load?

There might be a relationship here maybe... I nearly killed my filter this week (I was adding salt and usually I add it between my sponge and carbon filters so it will slowly diffuse out but this time... well I got to into the mechanical part and the filter went insane - never again!) so I had to take it apart and rinse it which probably killed all the bacteria in there. I was worried about my tests then because that could have thrown my cycle off!

~Adrienne

Oh no your okay nitrates are only the end of a cycle. So the only thing to get rid of them is water changes, or plants.

I would do is do a 40% water change then 24 hours check the level. Write it down , then next week do a 50% one if its still the same level if lower then try doing a 40% again, test again and keep doing that until you get it to 20-30ppms this is the high limit of goldfish keeping.

Thanks Koko! I have a microbiology book right here but I thought I would ask rather that going to the horror of actually looking something up

Will follow your suggestions

~Adrienne

I know that, sometimes just trying to find an answer in a book is not the funnest thing to do.......any time you need help just ask