Does Bacter ae cause false nitrate readings?

[Revaria]

I'm not too sure if this topic popped up before, but I just dosed some Bacter AE in my RCS tank and then did a nitrate test which gave a reading of roughly 90. I'm pretty sure the RCS in the tank would have been long gone before the nitrate levels got that high, so I'm wondering if its the Bacter AE thats causing it. I haven't changed the tank water in a while and have roughly 20 RCS in there who have not been eating much like usual, but I have had no casualties. 

[dao]

I don't use bacter, but nitrates will not kill shriimp instantly if their level was rising steadily. You would do good to check for nitrates regularly and intervene if needed. If your shrimps are not as active as usual then something might definitely be wrong. 

[Vpier]

Depending on the amount you added to your tank, it could cause a spike in nitrates. Adding too much AE is no different than overfeeding a tank. While its a good product there is a misconception about Bacter AE in that you can add it without affecting the water quality. The instructions says to use one full spoon daily, that is way beyond too much.  I only use it for starting new tanks and maybe a couple times a month if I see a lot new babies I will add a very tiny amount.

 

As for the nitrates it could have been high and you didnt know it. You will be amazed how tough neo's can be and high nitrates will not kill immediately.

[EricM]

agreed!  the instructions are crazy, i'd only ever use that much on a large heavily stocked tank with really good biofiltration.

 

 

[Revaria]

8 hours ago, Vpier said:

Depending on the amount you added to your tank, it could cause a spike in nitrates. Adding too much AE is no different than overfeeding a tank. While its a good product there is a misconception about Bacter AE in that you can add it without affecting the water quality. The instructions says to use one full spoon daily, that is way beyond too much.  I only use it for starting new tanks and maybe a couple times a month if I see a lot new babies I will add a very tiny amount.

 

As for the nitrates it could have been high and you didnt know it. You will be amazed how tough neo's can be and high nitrates will not kill immediately.

 

ZZZ I used the wrong abbreviations sorry, they are actually crystal reds which make it even more surprising to me cause they should be fragile. 

 

I don't feed my crystals much and just dose half a spoonful twice a ones for the shrimplets. I only checked the nitrates cause I saw a youtube video where the speaker likes to change water based on the amount of nitrates present within the tank. It seems logical, so I checked the tank and it had a surprising level of 90 and the test was super red. I even did a second test immediately to make sure the first wasn't contaminated. The shrimp are active, but they never really tend to eat, they just tend to forage and do other shrimpy things. That would probably be because I think I just found out I was overdosing the bacter AE lol whoops. Anyway they are actively breeding, I have no casualties and I did a 30% water change yesterday and another 20% today. I am gonna hold off on another 30% til next week so the parameters don't change too much. Thanks for the help everyone!