Is Nitrite safe?

[AlexVic]

Hello, I just did nitrite test and got a reading for 0.25. I read nitrite is not lethal to marine fish unless it’s a ridiculously large amount like 300ppm. Should I be worried for my fish?

 

[ScottJ]

Short answer, no, you should not worry about Nitrite. Longer answer I will leave to people much, much smarter than me.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Hello, I just did nitrite test and got a reading for 0.25. I read nitrite is not lethal to marine fish unless it’s a ridiculously large amount like 300ppm. Should I be worried for my fish?

Toss out your nitrite test.

 

[FUNGI]

For additional info, this is a good read: https://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-06/rhf/index.php

 

[Monad]

The only reason you would need to test nitrite is too see that your ammonia is getting processed. After that, it's useless.

 

[WaterWerks]

The only reason you would need to test nitrite is too see that your ammonia is getting processed. After that, it's useless.

Haven’t check for nitrite in about 14 years.
Only for the first 30 days on a new tank I would check. Or if adding a ton of new live stock

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hello, I just did nitrite test and got a reading for 0.25. I read nitrite is not lethal to marine fish unless it’s a ridiculously large amount like 300ppm. Should I be worried for my fish?

Niytite is freshwater specific however if sky high (like 200), you want to look at ammonia and nitrate

 

[Dan_P]

Hello, I just did nitrite test and got a reading for 0.25. I read nitrite is not lethal to marine fish unless it’s a ridiculously large amount like 300ppm. Should I be worried for my fish?

This level should not be an issue for wildlife, but your nitrate test results will indicate higher nitrate than there is.

If this is a new aquarium, maybe you just added a bunch of fish and the nitrite oxidizing bacteria have not caught up. How’s the ammonia level?

If this is an older aquarium, this situation would be a curiosity.

 

[AlexVic]

This level should not be an issue for wildlife, but your nitrate test results will indicate higher nitrate than there is.

If this is a new aquarium, maybe you just added a bunch of fish and the nitrite oxidizing bacteria have not caught up. How’s the ammonia level?

If this is an older aquarium, this situation would be a curiosity.

sorry for the late reply, it is a new aquarium and the ammonia level is less than .2ppm when testing with api test kits. Though I’ve heard they give false readings.

 

[Dan_P]

sorry for the late reply, it is a new aquarium and the ammonia level is less than .2ppm when testing with api test kits. Though I’ve heard they give false readings.

Sounds fine. The API ammonia test has troubles with low ammonia. Zero ammonia can look like 0.2 ppm.

 

[Monad]

Sounds fine. The API ammonia test has troubles with low ammonia. Zero ammonia can look like 0.2 ppm.

This happened with me. I kept getting super low levels, so I kept dosing ammonium chloride. API test barely showed any changes until one day the test went off the charts.

I will never use API for saltwater again. Their freshwater kits are decent.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

sorry for the late reply, it is a new aquarium and the ammonia level is less than .2ppm when testing with api test kits. Though I’ve heard they give false readings.

Do you have fish in an uncycled tank?

 

[AlexVic]

Do you have fish in an uncycled tank?

I started a fishless cycle 20 days ago and my nitrates are increasing and my ammonia is decreasing. But now I’m reading nitrites which I was never able to read before.

 

[AlexVic]

Sounds fine. The API ammonia test has troubles with low ammonia. Zero ammonia can look like 0.2 ppm.

So are my fish fine with .5 nitrites or should I use prime just in case?

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

So are my fish fine with .5 nitrites or should I use prime just in case?

Prime does nothing for ammonia or nitrites.
As mentioned before, stop testing nitrite. Stop testing ammonia unless you significantly increase the bioload (aka add too many fish at one time).

Good luck!

 

[AlexVic]

Prime does nothing for ammonia or nitrites.
As mentioned before, stop testing nitrite. Stop testing ammonia unless you significantly increase the bioload (aka add too many fish at one time).

Good luck!

Thx I appreciate it!

 

[Monad]

So are my fish fine with .5 nitrites or should I use prime just in case?

You do not need to worry about nitrite levels. Do not use prime.

 

[vetteguy53081]

So are my fish fine with .5 nitrites or should I use prime just in case?

Fish are fine in up to 20 on nitrates

 

[BristleWormHater]

Toss out your nitrite test.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Fish are fine in up to 20 on nitrates

Guess my fish are toast with my nitrate levels, lol! Must be mutants cuz they're all several years old (at least)