Nitrate & Nitrite

Nitrate and algae growth are often used in the same sentence. It's commonly believed that elevated nitrate levels can contribute to algae. While nitrates aren't the sole contributor to excessive algae growth, we still want to monitor this water parameter. When it comes to nitrates, we recommend targeting between 1 and 20 ppm. A nitrate test kit is the only way to know for sure if you're hitting this target range in your aquarium.

Nitrite, on the other hand, is a parameter we pay a lot of attention to in the aquarium cycling process. More specifically, we usually track ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate all together to see how the beneficial nitrifying bacteria are doing their jobs in a new aquarium. Having at least a basic nitrate test kit is important to be able to confirm that your aquarium is cycled before adding fish.