Nitrate and nitrite testing

[aautio1004]

just wondering if testing for these two on a regular basis is necessary much past the initial setup of a tank. The reason I ask is, that in the year+ of my tanks being up and running ive never seen these two show anything but 0's other than during my init5ial cycle period. So if they're not really necessary to test for I'd rather not spend extra cash on em right now.

 

[blacktang]

always check for nitrate....i never test for nitrite

 

[_Alex_]

nitrate more over nitrite. i dont check it a ton, but i do everey few months just to make sure its not getting to high

 

[Wy Renegade]

Yep, agree with the above; ammonia is the beginning part of the nitrogen cycle and nitrate (at least for our purposes) is the end, so if you're testing for nitrate, you shouldn't need to test for nitrite. If you're getting zero on nitrates, your nitrites should be zero as well. Unless you happen to have a big old ammonia spike that appears, but you should be aware of that from the ammonia test.