This was a question received by a customer that initially puzzled us, but after some investigative research, we thought it was a great question worth sharing. Let’s first look at the nitrogen cycle in an aquarium to understand the thought behind this question, and then we’ll let you know if our Nitrite test strips can be used for this purpose.

The Nitrogen Cycle

We found a great resource about the nitrogen cycle from LiveAquaria.com, which helps aquarium users better understand how to maintain their aquarium ecosystem. There are many different sources like this one online that can help you learn and understand the nitrogen cycle.

Basically, what we learned from LiveAquaria.com is “the process of various bacteria breaking down toxic waste into less harmful components.” There are 4 steps to this process:

  • The deterioration of waste, which results in the production of ammonia.
  • Nitrifying bacteria use the ammonia for energy, in turn producing nitrite.
  • A different group of bacteria then uses the nitrite for energy, in turn producing nitrate.
  • The nitrate requires anaerobic conditions (absence of oxygen) to become harmless nitrogen gas. These conditions are not typically present in aquariums, and thus adjustments to the water are often need to dilute the nitrate.

All these components (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) can be harmful to aquatic life if the levels are too high. Therefore, test strips for aquariums are readily available for these three factors, as well as pH, alkalinity and hardness. For example, our Aquarium 3-way test detects pH, alkalinity and hardness. This is a basic water quality test. Our Aquarium 5-way test adds Nitrate and Nitrite to those factors, and we have a separate test for Ammonia levels.

Nitrite Test Strips

nitrite test strip, nitrite, nitrite test stripsSo, in an aquarium, bacteria break down ammonia to nitrite, then to nitrate.  If you have nitrite present, it could be coming from bacteria breaking down ammonia in the water. High levels of ammonia and nitrite can be toxic to fish. The right kind of bacteria can be a good thing, since they break down toxic ammonia and nitrite to the less toxic nitrate ion.

Our nitrite test strip only detects nitrite (NO2–) ions in water, but depending on the water you are testing, in this case, aquariums, the presence of nitrite could be an indirect indicator for the presence of bacteria. Look at that! We found another use for our Nitrite test strips.