I am not understanding my tanks chemistry.
Nitrate 40-80 midrange coloring between safe/unsafe
Nitrite 10+ Danger Zone
Hardness 25 very soft
Alkalinity 80-120 moderate-ideal range
ph 8.4 +

water's been cloudy for 2 days now. The tests have been staying the same for the past 3 days, nothings really changing on the test strips. The baby snails are all looking fine. Cuttlebone is floating on top, and I have foam that I've tried skimming off, but goes thru the net. Have air bubbles coming from the gravel when I moved some to take out. The air stone is half way up the side, not at the bottom to push air in the gravel. I am totally confused.

Does the tank have an undergravel filter? If so, the air stones should be at the bottom of the lift tubes to draw water through the gravel. I prefer a hang-on-tank filter over an undergravel filter any day.

It seems odd that your alkalinity and pH are high but your hardness is low. With soft water, the pH can fluctuate a lot more easily. For example, if you try to lower the pH, it could crash if you're not careful. I have soft water too. I add baking soda to bring up the alkalinity but don't bother with the hardness. The cuttlebone should help with the hardness. What are the test results in the tap water? The nitrite is definitely too high. High nitrate is not as dire. Both can be reduced with water changes (if the water is low in those). If you can get the pH down to 8, that should be ok. The cloudy water is probably from the bacteria trying to grow. Have you added some more good bacteria to the tank, maybe another brand/type?

A photo of the tank situation may help me understand it more.

http://pictures.aol.com/ap/myAlbums.do?cur...1157044769774.1[/IMG]

hope this works. It's actually more white than brown.
Yippee..it worked. Watch, I'll never remember how I did it. I bought 2 testers that stick to the inside wall to make it easier. I have a bio filter on the upper back of the tank.

I can't get into the link because it says I have to sign in.

crap...thought I finally had it. lol
I bought a ph and a NH3 in-tank monitors yesterday. Since then it says the ph is between 6.6-7.0 and the NH3 is SAFE. It's been pale (zero) yellow all day. QuickDip test strips still say off the wall. AND that the ph is 8+. I turned down the air stone, figure the cloudiness GOTTA be because of the cuttle bone. The snails are all doing fine and getting big ( most of them.lol) and the plant seed on the bottom is sprouting.

I would buy a new, liquid-based test kit. The dip sticks aren't that accurate even when they're new.

Well, it's been a few days. Gauges on the tank still say 'safe'. After a 50% water change the water is still a touch cloudy. Took the cuttlebone out today for this week. Snails are doing good. I bought one of those Python vacs....ohhh, alot easier. And easier to keep an eye on the baby snails getting sucked up. Just gotta remember to heed that 'built-up pressure' warning....got a face full of splash on that one. lol
Robyn, you mentioned something about using a pipet...GREAT IDEA in my case. I took the plastic tubing from an old cat toy..sucks up the pond snails eggs with no problem. Spot cleans too.
Anyone ever use one of those battery operated vacs? I noticed them online and at Petco. German brand..and expensive, but I was wondering if they were worth the price for the spot cleaning.

I couldn't imagine cleaning my tanks without the Python. I'm glad you were able to rig up your own pipette since they can be hard for non-scientists to purchase. I have the PondoVac which cost me over $400. I don't like it. It sucks like mad but jams with most anything, leaves, rocks. It has a mind of its own and will just as happily suck up some hapless animal as a ball of gunk. I use it when I clean out my 153 gallon once a year to vacuum up the bottom. It takes over an hour to get it out and clean it up when done (not including actually usually it). I think the vacuum is hard to control and sucks too much for most uses. When I use it, it jams almost constantly. The few fish and tadpoles I've sucked up did not survive (unlike with a regular shop vacuum).