Help! Nitrites are high!

[aeg5aeg]

Hey everyone!


I’m new to the saltwater side of the hobby and wanted to share my journey so far—plus get some advice and reassurance from the pros here on Reef2Reef!


I’ve been keeping freshwater tanks for a while, but about 3 weeks ago, I finally took the plunge into saltwater and set up my first reef tank. After getting everything running and cycling, my water parameters started looking good, so I decided to add 2 clownfish. They seem to be doing pretty well—eating and active—but I noticed that one of them is always hanging around the heater, and I’m not sure if that’s normal behavior or a red flag.


Just a few days ago, I added my first corals:
1 Green Star Polyp
1 Hammer Head Coral


Here are my current water parameters:

• Ammonia: 0
• Nitrite: 2 ppm
• Nitrate: 20 ppm

Since this is my first saltwater tank, I’m still trying to figure everything out. I’m a bit concerned about the nitrite still reading at 2 ppm—should I be worried at this point in the cycle? Could that be affecting the clownfish behavior?


Would love to hear from others who’ve transitioned from freshwater to saltwater—what did your early days look like, and what would you recommend I do next?


Tank Setup:

• Tank size: 10 gallons
• Light: Fluval Nano Marine 3.0
• Filter: Tidal 35
• Temperature: 80°F

Thanks in advance! Excited to keep learning and growing in the reefing hobby!

 

[TX_REEF]

Welcome. Some questions and comments to help us find an answer. If you could share some pictures of the tank and its inhabitants, that will help too.

• First and most importantly, a 10 gallon tank is too small for a pair of adult clownfish. I hope you will do the responsible thing and plan to upgrade to a 20 gallon tank at the bare minimum within the next year or so
• Did you cycle the tank before adding the fish?
  • If so, how did you cycle?
• How long was the tank set up before you added the fish?
• What equipment do you have for flow and filtration?
• Are the fish eating well? What are you feeding them?
• Bonus question, concerning your coral, what light are you using?

Patience is key in reefkeeping, far more so than freshwater tanks. I suspect you are rushing, which will yield dead creatures, wasted money, and frustration.

 

[FUNGI]

And 20ppm is not too high for concern for the damsels...
Clowns always seem to hang out in strange places...thats pretty normal....
and what TX said^

 

[topjimmy]

That's not anything to be worried about.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

The 2 ppm nitrite is no concern, and you may have little or no nitrate since a little nitrite can read as a lot of nitrate in a test kit. That’s how they work: convert a small fraction of the nitrate to nitrite, detect it, then multiply back up to get nitrate.

 

[PotatoPig]

Nitrites aren’t the same issue in saltwater as they are in freshwater. Nitrates at your level are no concern at all, and frankly should be expected unless you have algae and/or corals to consume them. Even nitrates 2-3 times this aren’t a big deal in many systems beyond algae control.

Seconding @TX_REEF : There is very low chance your clowns will accept a 10g tank as sufficient territory. The most likely outcome here is one will kill the other unless you upgrade.

Reef fish are a lot more territorial than a lot of freshwater fish, and can claim surprisingly large areas for their size. Carefully research territory demands and tankmate compatibility - if you don’t heed these then your fish will likely solve the issue of overcrowding for you by killing each other.

Don’t be deceived by how many fish your LFS might pack into their tanks for fish sales. These occupancy rates only work because the fish are either juveniles (eg clowns) or temporary residents and don’t have time to establish territory, and even then they have fatality rates that most people would not accept for their home systems.

 

[aeg5aeg]

Welcome. Some questions and comments to help us find an answer. If you could share some pictures of the tank and its inhabitants, that will help too.

• First and most importantly, a 10 gallon tank is too small for a pair of adult clownfish. I hope you will do the responsible thing and plan to upgrade to a 20 gallon tank at the bare minimum within the next year or so
• Did you cycle the tank before adding the fish?
  • If so, how did you cycle?
• How long was the tank set up before you added the fish?
• What equipment do you have for flow and filtration?
• Are the fish eating well? What are you feeding them?
• Bonus question, concerning your coral, what light are you using?

Patience is key in reefkeeping, far more so than freshwater tanks. I suspect you are rushing, which will yield dead creatures, wasted money, and frustration.

1, Yes, i am eventually going to size up in tanks to at least 100gallons in the next 2 months.
2. I put in Aquavitro seed for the first 4 days before i put in my pair of clowns
3. I have the Fluval C2 Wave Maker
4. Feeding them a mix of sinking pellets and frozen shrimp for treats!
BONUUSS: Fluval Marine 3.0 Nano

Thank you again :)

 

[aeg5aeg]

The 2 ppm nitrite is no concern, and you may have little or no nitrate since a little nitrite can read as a lot of nitrate in a test kit. That’s how they work: convert a small fraction of the nitrate to nitrite, detect it, then multiply back up to get nitrate.

how do i convert nitrate to nitrite? isn’t it the other way around? to turn nitrite into nitrate?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

how do i convert nitrate to nitrite? isn’t it the other way around? to turn nitrite into nitrate?

You don’t. The chemicals in the test kit do.

 

[TX_REEF]

how do i convert nitrate to nitrite? isn’t it the other way around? to turn nitrite into nitrate?

as far as your tank's cycle is concerned, nitrite is turned into nitrate.

Randy is explaining how the test kit works.

Regarding your responses, see below

1, Yes, i am eventually going to size up in tanks to at least 100gallons in the next 2 months. great, it probably would have been better to just do that in the first place, but we're past that now :)
2. I put in Aquavitro seed for the first 4 days before i put in my pair of clowns 4 days is almost certainly not long enough to cycle the tank. In other words, you added the clowns before your tank was done fully establishing the biological filter, which can certainly cause the clowns discomfort in the short term until the bio-filter is fully established. When you set up your new tank, you should ensure it is fully cycled BEFORE you add fish.
3. I have the Fluval C2 Wave Maker do you mean the filter? I know there is a C2 fluval filter, not aware of a c2 wavemaker. You should ensure the flow in the tank is sufficient to prevent detritus from settling on your coral or other surfaces
4. Feeding them a mix of sinking pellets and frozen shrimp for treats! what pellets? be certain not to overfeed. If you add more food than your fish can fully consume in 1-2 minutes, you are feeding too much. pellets are especially dense in nutrients and can foul the water quickly if you overfeed.
BONUUSS: Fluval Marine 3.0 Nano This is fine for most soft corals and some LPS corals. I'd like to see pictures so I know what a "hammerhead" coral is.

 

[aeg5aeg]

as far as your tank's cycle is concerned, nitrite is turned into nitrate.

Randy is explaining how the test kit works.

Regarding your responses, see below

1, Yes, i am eventually going to size up in tanks to at least 100gallons in the next 2 months. great, it probably would have been better to just do that in the first place, but we're past that now :)
2. I put in Aquavitro seed for the first 4 days before i put in my pair of clowns 4 days is almost certainly not long enough to cycle the tank. In other words, you added the clowns before your tank was done fully establishing the biological filter, which can certainly cause the clowns discomfort in the short term until the bio-filter is fully established. When you set up your new tank, you should ensure it is fully cycled BEFORE you add fish.
3. I have the Fluval C2 Wave Maker do you mean the filter? I know there is a C2 fluval filter, not aware of a c2 wavemaker. You should ensure the flow in the tank is sufficient to prevent detritus from settling on your coral or other surfaces
4. Feeding them a mix of sinking pellets and frozen shrimp for treats! what pellets? be certain not to overfeed. If you add more food than your fish can fully consume in 1-2 minutes, you are feeding too much. pellets are especially dense in nutrients and can foul the water quickly if you overfeed.
BONUUSS: Fluval Marine 3.0 Nano This is fine for most soft corals and some LPS corals. I'd like to see pictures so I know what a "hammerhead" coral

Sorry! I meant the CP2 Fluval Wavemaker. There is a good amount of flow!.
Could potentially be from overfeeding, but i like to leave some for my emerald crab.
i meant a hammer frag lol

 

[TX_REEF]

could you share a youtube video link of the tank? The hammer is definitely not happy, probably unstable nutrients and possible too much flow, I'd wonder if the flow from your pump is deflecting off the glass and slamming into the hammer directly, which they hate.

you don't have to overfeed so they emerald crab has extra food, his job is to eat leftovers that the fish do not eat, and to eat algae, which it looks like you have plenty of right now.

 

[aeg5aeg]

could you share a youtube video link of the tank? The hammer is definitely not happy, probably unstable nutrients and possible too much flow, I'd wonder if the flow from your pump is deflecting off the glass and slamming into the hammer directly, which they hate.

you don't have to overfeed so they emerald crab has extra food, his job is to eat leftovers that the fish do not eat, and to eat algae, which it looks like you have plenty of right now.

I will try, I actually made sure that the flow was not doing that... The hammer is definitely not getting slammed by the flow. not sure what to do. I added it around 5 days ago. I bought it basically with this colour, feeding it reef roids after lights out. My Gsp's polyps are also not opening up completely, short and stubby polyps. Thanks for the insight about the crab.

 

[TX_REEF]

I would not be feeding any reef roids in a tank this new. Just focus on maintaining stable water parameters right now.

 

[aeg5aeg]

I would not be feeding any reef roids in a tank this new. Just focus on maintaining stable water parameters right now.

Thank you for your help! Should i preform a water change when they’re high?

 

[TX_REEF]

Thank you for your help! Should i preform a water change when they’re high?

Yes. 10-20 is a generally safe range, above that can start to cause problems, especially if it is not in balance with phosphates. Weekly 10% water changes are prudent and generally preferable to larger water changes, again to avoid changing any water chemistry too quickly.

 

[aeg5aeg]

Also forgot to mention i used this in the filter as well… Is this why my ammonias are 0, Nitrites are SUPER high, nitrates are mid. Is this the thing????

 

[AgentKooper]

Good luck with your tank! FWIW, I’ve had two clownfish and a clown goby in a 13.5 gallon for more than two years now, and everyone is peaceful. The clowns hang out together constantly in neighboring corals that host them, and the clown goby perches nearby. I’m now cycling a 50-gallon that the clowns will move into within the next couple months. You should be fine for a while.

 

[TX_REEF]

Also forgot to mention i used this in the filter as well… Is this why my ammonias are 0, Nitrites are SUPER high, nitrates are mid. Is this the thing????

i have never heard of that and I'd recommend you stop using it. You are trying to do too much too soon. Just let your system stabilize, stop adding chemicals and livestock. Just feed carefully, do 10% weekly water changes and observe your tank until everything is under control. This isn't the same as keeping freshwater fish, you need to go slow.