Hi Everyone,
I have been dealing with high Nitrite and Nitrate for the past three months. I know there are many ways to lower Nitrate, so I am more concerned about the Nitrite but am unsure how to lower it. I have read the article by Randy Holmes-Farley on why Nitrite isn't harmful in a reef tank, but I still would like it to be zero as inaccurate Nitrate readings have been very frustrating. The tank was cycled roughly three months ago using dry rock and sand. I accidentally dosed ammonia to 8ppm and spent the first week putting three drops of AquaForest BioS into the tank daily (the tank is 75 gal, about 85 gal overall). I was recommended BioS from a reefing friend I trust, however I'm not sure if it is meant for cycling a tank because nothing happened after the first week. After the first week I added three bottles of Fitz Turbostart. The next day ammonia was reduced by 50% to 4ppm. After 4 weeks, my ammonia eventually dropped to zero but my nitrite remained at one. It has never gone bellow one since the tank cycled. I reached out to some of my reefing friends who said that because Nitrite is not harmful for fish and I should be good to go. I added CUC (snails, hermit crabs, shrimp, starfish) and they have all been fine. I also had four fish in the tank for about a month, but unfortunately lost them all to either ich or velvet (I have learned my lesson and will QT in the future). After the fish perished I expected the Nitrite to go down a little but it did not.
Here are the tank parameters:
Salinity: 1.026
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 2ppm
Nitrate: 40ppm (I realize this is most likely inaccurate since there is Nitrite in the water).
Phosphate: 0
pH: 8
Here are some things I have tried:
Testing my RO water by itself as well as mixed with salt for Nitrites and Nitrates
Dosed Fauna Marin Bacto balls as well as Bacto Blend
50% water changes
Tested Nitrite with an API test kit as well as Fauna Marin. In addition, I got my water tested from a Frag shop owner whom I trust very much. He tested with Fauna Marin as well and got the same results.
Any advice on how I can lower my Nitrite would be appreciated.
I have been dealing with high Nitrite and Nitrate for the past three months. I know there are many ways to lower Nitrate, so I am more concerned about the Nitrite but am unsure how to lower it. I have read the article by Randy Holmes-Farley on why Nitrite isn't harmful in a reef tank, but I still would like it to be zero as inaccurate Nitrate readings have been very frustrating. The tank was cycled roughly three months ago using dry rock and sand. I accidentally dosed ammonia to 8ppm and spent the first week putting three drops of AquaForest BioS into the tank daily (the tank is 75 gal, about 85 gal overall). I was recommended BioS from a reefing friend I trust, however I'm not sure if it is meant for cycling a tank because nothing happened after the first week. After the first week I added three bottles of Fitz Turbostart. The next day ammonia was reduced by 50% to 4ppm. After 4 weeks, my ammonia eventually dropped to zero but my nitrite remained at one. It has never gone bellow one since the tank cycled. I reached out to some of my reefing friends who said that because Nitrite is not harmful for fish and I should be good to go. I added CUC (snails, hermit crabs, shrimp, starfish) and they have all been fine. I also had four fish in the tank for about a month, but unfortunately lost them all to either ich or velvet (I have learned my lesson and will QT in the future). After the fish perished I expected the Nitrite to go down a little but it did not.
Here are the tank parameters:
Salinity: 1.026
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 2ppm
Nitrate: 40ppm (I realize this is most likely inaccurate since there is Nitrite in the water).
Phosphate: 0
pH: 8
Here are some things I have tried:
Testing my RO water by itself as well as mixed with salt for Nitrites and Nitrates
Dosed Fauna Marin Bacto balls as well as Bacto Blend
50% water changes
Tested Nitrite with an API test kit as well as Fauna Marin. In addition, I got my water tested from a Frag shop owner whom I trust very much. He tested with Fauna Marin as well and got the same results.
Any advice on how I can lower my Nitrite would be appreciated.
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