NITRITETEST
WhyTestForNitrite?
Nitrite(NO2)isproducedintheaquariumbythebiologicalfilter.Beneficialbacteriain
thebiologicalfilterconverttoxicammoniaintonitrite(alsotoxic).Thebiologicalfilterthen
convertsnitriteintonitrate(NO3).Testingforthepresenceoftoxicnitriteisessential,sothat
oncedetected,stepscanbetakentoremoveit.Otherwise,nitriteintheaquariumwillprevent
fishfromcarryingonnormalrespiration.Highlevelsofnitritequicklyleadtofishdeath.Even
traceamountsofnitritestressfish,suppressingtheirimmunesystemand,thereby,increasethe
likelihoodofdiseaseandsubsequentfishloss.
TestingTips
Thistestkitreadstotalnitrite(NO2)levelinpartspermillion(ppm)whichareequivalent
tomilligramsperLiter(mg/L)from0ppmto5.0ppm,ineitherfreshorsaltwateraquariums.
(Othernitriteteststhatmeasurenitritenitrogen(NO2N)willgivereadings3.3timesLESS
thanthistestkit.)
DIrections:
1.Fillacleantesttubewith5mlofwatertobetested(tothelineonthetube).
2.Add5dropsofNitriteTestSolution,holdingdropperbottleupsidedowninacompletely
verticalpositiontoassureuniformityofdropsaddedtothewatersample.
3.Capthetesttubeandshakethetubefor5seconds.Donotholdfingerovertheopenendof
thetube,asthismayaffecttestresults.
4.Wait5minutesforthecolortodevelop.
5.ReadthetestresultsbymatchingthecolorofthesolutionagainstthoseontheNitriteColor
Chart.Thetubeshouldbeviewedagainstthewhiteareabesidethecolorchart.Color
comparisonsarebestmadeinawelllitarea.Theclosestmatchindicatestheppm(mg/L)of
nitriteinthewatersample.Rinsethetesttubewithcleanwateraftereachuse.WhatTheTest
ResultsMeanInnewaquariumsthenitritelevelwillgraduallyclimbto5ppm(mg/L)ormore.As
thebiologicalfilterbecomesestablished(in4to6weeks),nitritelevelswilldropto0ppm
(mg/L).Inanestablishedaquarium,thenitritelevelshouldalwaysremainat0ppm(mg/L)any
levelabove0canbegintoharmfish.Thepresenceofnitriteindicatespossibleoverfeeding,too
manyfish,orinadequatebiologicalfiltration.Thenitritelevelisnotanindicationoftheammonia
levelammoniaisanothertoxicwastematerialwhichmustbetestedseparately.
AMMONIATEST
WhyTestforAmmonia?
Fishcontinuallyreleaseammonia(NH3)directlyintotheaquariumthroughtheirgills,
urine,andsolidwaste.Uneatenfoodandotherdecayingorganicmatteralsoaddammoniato
thewater.Anaturalmechanismexiststhatcontrolsammoniaintheaquariumthebiological
filter.Itismadeupofnitrifyingbacteria.However,aswithanynaturalprocess,imbalancescan
occur.Testingforthepresenceoftoxicammoniaisessential.Ammoniaintheaquariummay
damagegillmembranes,andpreventfishfromcarryingonnormalrespiration.Highlevelsof
ammoniaquicklyleadtofishdeath.Eventraceamountsstressfish,suppressingtheirimmune
systemandtherebyincreasingthelikelihoodofdiseaseoutbreaksandsubsequentfishloss.
TestingTips
Thissalicylatebasedammoniatestkitreadsthetotalammonialevelinpartspermillion
(ppm)whichareequivalenttomilligramsperliter(mg/L)from0ppmto8.0ppm(mg/L).The
FreshwaterAmmoniaTestColorChartistheappropriatecharttousefortestingfreshwater
aquariumstowhichsalthasbeenadded.
DirectionsforTestingAmmoniaLevels
Readthoroughlybeforetesting.Donotallowtestsolutionstogetintoaquarium.
1.Fillacleantesttubewith5mlofwatertobetested(tothelineonthetube).
2.Add8dropsfromAmmoniaTestSolutionBottle#1,holdingthedropperbottleupside
downinacompletelyverticalpositiontoassureuniformityof7dropsaddedtothewater
sample.
3.Add8dropsfromAmmoniaTestSolutionBottle#2,holdingthedropperbottleupside
downinacompletelyverticalpositiontoassureuniformityofdropsaddedtothewatersample.
4.Capthetesttubeandshakevigorouslyfor5seconds.Donotholdfingeroverthe
openendofthetube,asthismayaffectthetestresults.
5.Wait5minutesforthecolortodevelop.
6.ReadthetestresultsbymatchingthetestsolutionagainsttheAmmoniaColorChart.
Thetubeshouldbeviewedagainstthewhiteareabesidethecolorchart.Colorcomparisonsare
bestmadeinawelllitarea.Theclosestmatchindicatestheppm(mg/L)ofammoniainthe
watersample.Rinsethetesttubewithcleanwateraftereachuse.WhattheTestResultsMean
Inanewaquarium,theammonialevelmaysurgeto4ppm(mg/L)ormore,andthenfallrapidly
asthebiologicalfilterbecomesestablished.Theammoniawillbeconvertedtonitrite(also
toxic),thentonitrate.Thisprocessmaytakeseveralweeks.Inanestablishedaquarium,the
ammonialevelshouldalwaysremainat0ppm(mg/L)anylevelabove0canbegintoharmfish.
Thepresenceofammoniaindicatespossibleoverfeeding,toomanyfish,orinadequate
biologicalfiltration.Theammonialevelisnotanindicationofthenitritelevel:nitriteisanother
toxicwastematerialwhichmustbetestedseparately.Aquariumwatershouldbetestedfor
ammoniaeveryotherdaywhentheaquariumisfirstsetup,andonceaweekafterthebiological
filterhasbeenestablished(inabout4to6weeks).
