Bigjwig

No, I test in the kitchen....60 seconds on the microwave timer.....I think that is probably correct...... no "perception of time" here...just a bell at 1 minute......as far as age of the package.....I just ordered these a couple of weeks ago.....only about a week old......I guess I can use them for the other tests..but I will pull out the API for nitrate......it's down between 20 and 40 this morning....after a late night 50% water change last night. The Tetra were much more accurate for me for this test....but more expensive too.

GReat suggestion Mmiller !! I did the API test with a fresh kit and it is 160 plus !! How could Cory's strips be that far off. They were hardly even showing a hint of pink !! I am doing a 50 % water change now....

I have added 4 mega doses of Easy Green today in an effort to get any kind of reading for Nitrate (4 doses of 15 squirts for a 55 gallon tank ! ) I wait a couple of hours between doses and check with Coop test strips..... That is after a 15 squirt day yesterday after my 50% water change.... As of now...it barely reads any color at all. What is up with this? Is the Speedy Green just water?? Any Advice..... Please

Mmiller2001, Sorry to be a pain but I want to make sure I am not doing the wrong thing. So, you are saying that even though 2 days after I put the 15 squirts of easy green into the water the nitrate reading was very low again (under10) that I should still hold off on putting any more easy green in until the weekend when I do the 50 % water change again because there is a cumulative effect, right? Only because last message you said to keep the tank between 12 - 20 ppm (which it still isn't from back to the second day after the fertilization) On the Monday post you had told me to stay the course and that it takes 8 - 11 weeks to "get there" so I am a bit confused on the dosing of fertilizer and when I should do it. Should I squirt to keep it at 12 - 15 or should I dose just the once per week waiting the 8 - 11 weeks for it to "get there". Thanks again for your help with a rookie plant grower !!

Thanks for getting back to me. The Platy's mustn't mind as they have all been born in that water!!! Started out with 3 of them, 3 years ago...and I have about 20 in there now!! There's even a very little one that must have made it through the last births. I was more concerned about if the very low PH or KH would be holding back the plants....or if I should put more Easy Green seeing it went down so quickly. But if it takes 8 to 11 weeks...I guess you think I should just wait until next week and do the 50 % change and 15 squirts again?? IF you don't think the test numbers are a problem...I will just leave them....if it ain't broke don't fix it,,,right?

Hi Again Mmiller, I am the original poster that you responded to. So I did the 50% water change and pumped the 15 squirts into my tank. That was on Saturday. Today, I just received my test strips from the Coop. My readings were between 5 - 10 for Nitrate, ) as usual for Nitrite, Low for KH (around 40) and low for PH ((6.4 or so) These are lower than the readings I usually get using the API test tubes...but this is the first with the Coop test strips. That Nitrate is still so low!! And how about the PH...is there something I should do about that. Maybe those readings have been low for the past 2 years and I just get lousy results from the API (or I don't read the colors of the liquid right) Any thoughts or advice would again be appreciated. I certainly expected higher Nitrate levels after the 15 squirts and only 2 days !!

Thanks for the ideas !! I will try this right away and see what happens.... Thanks again MMiller.....what do you think about the light time....is 8 hours good?? And what percentage...?? I am doing about 70% now for 8 hours......does that seem about right??

OK, hopefully I can hit them all !! LOL !! I have had no ammonia or nitrites in a couple of years. PH is 7.0 - 7.2 Total Hardness is usually around100.It is a 55 gallon tank . I have varied my Easy GReen administration. I started with 6 squirts a week. Then went to a squirt each day for a total of 7 ...only doing more when I would do a water change to make up the difference. Then I tried the 6 squirts a week with a couple of supplemental ones mid week. I tried all these for a few months at a time to let the plants catch up with the changes...but there were no changes in the plants. I have a Hygger light (LED) I used to have it on for 6 hours a day...and now I have gone to 8 hours a day. I had it at a strength of 50 to 60 percent and have tried it as high as 80 percent....again with no positive results. I do water changes about every couple of weeks now....as long as the Nitrates remain in the 40 range, I used to do them weekly....about 30 percent....but got away from that following Cory's advice of not changing as long as nitrates are under control. .The only thing I haven't really tried is supplementing micro nutrients...this has been a three year process of very little growth or results!! Thanks for any help or ideas. John Oh and water temperature is around 77 degrees.

My pklamts are slowly wasting away....certainly not growing. These have been in from 6 months to 3 years....little growth. The Valesneria from the COOP strted strong, duplicating almost every day or 2 but has not stopped and has a black edge around the leaves. You can see the others are at various stages of wasting. The Bacopa has very few leaves left...just the green stems. I feed it Easy GReen and have tried increasing frequency and decreasing frequency for a month at a time with no different results. Wondering about micro nutrients maybe?? My water tests are good...I have had the same Platy's and Neons for the three years !! Nitrate is usually around 20 to 30....PH, and HArdness are in normal range..... Any suggestions from anyone in the forum would be appreciated. I should have much more growth in the tank with what I have in there.... John