False test results.....

Question
I have a 35 gallon Amazon tank that is pretty densely stocked but stable for over a year with no "mystery" fish loss. I was using quick dip test strips and my nitrites and ammonia readings were always Nil- my Nitrates were consistently on the upside tho. I read this was often because of sludge build-up in the gravel and filter ( I have a penguin 330 with 2 bio-wheels)so I cleaned out the intakes and rinsed out alot of the sludge and replaced the filter packs. At that time, I also added some Tetra Blackwater extract. I had used other Blackwater extracts before- some said on the bottle they can mess up certain Nitrate/nitrite tests- but this one failed to mention that. (Before I tested before adding them) I tested again after my "housecleaning" and the Nitrites were at 5 ppm and rising! I totally panicked! I added Amquel+, did a 20% water change, added stress-zyme bacteria, aquarium salt- anything I could think of...the next day they were at 10 ppm!!!!I thought in rinsing the filter sludge out with tap water I had destroyed the bio filter and that all my fish were dying. More water changes, added Prime this time and bought "Cycle" and a bunch of new plants hoping these things would help. Still 10 ppm! The strange thing was- my fish were not acting stressed (aside from the fact that I had stopped feeding them and they were doing the hungry eye thing to me).My Danios even started spawning! Then I read that the test strips measure nitrogen too...so I bought a single test liquid test- with a tube- that measures JUST nitrite...and got a zero ppm result. Tried the quick dips and again got 10ppm. I began to suspect a false reading from the test strips. Should I relax and feed my fish?? Should I get ANOTHER test kit? I really love my fish- I have a 9 inch Pleco I have had for 3&1/2 years- since he was a little baby and would hate to have anything happen to the critters.....

Answer
Dear Diane,
It sounds like you are doing everything right for your tank. I don't  see how you could really have high readings. It seeems that  your water conditioner is causing a false high reading with the test strip. I have heard that alot of test kits will have problems with that. I would still watch the fish closely just to be sure they seem ok. If it makes you feel better, get another type of test kit.  I just don't see how you could be doing anything wrong with your tank that could cause it to read so high. Best of Luck!
Karen