80% Water Change on recently established tank?

[Empti]

So I have a 52L/13G tank with a couple of trochus snails and 1 clown fish. Cycle was a bit of a mess but as per another thread shouldn't be too much to worry about at this point as its nearing completion.

Ammonia is consistently 0.25/Non-existent (have been told not to trust API test kits, especially when using prime) but I have an issue with trying to drop my nitrite, it's been around 2 weeks since I've put my clownfish in (originally had 2 but they were fighting too much) and nitrites have been >1ppm the entire time. Nitrates have been produced the entire time - raising to 40ppm quite quickly but I've read elevated nitrites can interfere with the test.

I've been doing 40%ish water changes every day/two but its still elevated, the tests do take a little bit longer to go purple after I shake them so at least its going down I'm using much more salt then I'd like with these daily changes. Considering the nitrites are likely far above what is readable by my test kit as it goes purple very quickly after shaking would it be possible to do a 80+ % water change just to cut it down.

 

[Enderg60]

95% is fine. Only reason I didnt say 100% is because you dont want to suck ALL the water out with fish in there. Just try to match the temp and ph.

 

[Empti]

95% is fine. Only reason I didnt say 100% is because you dont want to suck ALL the water out with fish in there. Just try to match the temp and ph.

Awesome, would it be better to pop them into a bucket with existing tank water and just drain down to substrate or less stress to just leave a lil water in the bottom of the tank.

 

[brandon429]

You need to cease measuring nitrite and not own the kit. It's neutral in saltwater, your concern is only from freshwater rules. See any post by reef chemist randy for proof. Don't own a nitrite test kit in reefing you'll just torture yourself reacting to it

The only impact nitrite presence has is it messes up nitrate testing but there's no other harm, no burn, it's neutral, cease caring about nitrite. Your water change won't hurt but it's not needed either.

Every rule you've read about nitrite harm opposite to Randy's rules came from a bottle bac seller trying to sell you a cure to a non problem

 

[Empti]

You need to cease measuring nitrite and not own the kit. It's neutral in saltwater, your concern is only from freshwater rules. See any post by reef chemist randy for proof.

Haha yeah, I really am stressing too much about it. I knew it was pretty much non-toxic in salt water till ridiculous concentrations (330ppm for clownfish killed 50% in 3 days was the study I read). As far as monitoring (in case a snail/something dies and I don't notice or other screw ups which can cause bacterial die off/insufficiency) without the test kit should I just get one of those ammonia stickers?

 

[Timfish]

I can't remeber when I last had a nitrite test kit, let alone actually tested. Somewhere I'm pretty sure I've got an ammonia test kit, I think I used it last year sometime. Corals prefer ammonia over nitrates so that's something I don't worry about much either. The test kits I do use frequently are (in order of use) alkalinity, pH, calcium, magnesium, PO4 then nitrate.

 

[brandon429]

Empti

Even that ammonia badge isn't needed you're in high surface area the ammonia will be fine even if a fish dies

We use the badges in low surface area quarantines

Ammonia can't creep up to kill things and minor losses will be absorbed by the tank. I've never owned an ammonia kit or a nitrite kit in 20 years of reefing. The only time ammonia rises uncontrollably in a display is when disease or hardware issues kill multiple fish and an ammonia kit can't help at that point, only removing the carcasses will work