Dave1993
2500 Club Member
so been cycling the tank for 1 month nitrite not going down i have done 2x 75% water changes still showing 2ppm on salifert test kit its annoying cause if i have nitrite i can't read what my nitrates are at
nitrite not going down
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PigDaddyF15E
Active Member
First thing people are going to want to know is: Define "been cycling" ? Dry rock? Live rock? Bottled bac?
Livestock?
Next is probably "What is your ammonia reading".
Next in line is probably "Why do you care about Nitrite...as it's pretty much a non issue for marine tanks". YES - Nitrite can/will interfere with trying to get an accurate Nitrate test.
Without any further info...I'd say "Be patient". No need to add more bottled bac if that's how you started. Assuming you are processing ammonia then it sounds like you can add your first fish. Nitrite will eventually come down...and...IIRC...is not harmful to marine fish in quantities we'd see in our tanks.
Just guessing (I'm at work and can't access my logs). My nitrite took longer than "expected" as well. The key is your ammonia...
Livestock?
Next is probably "What is your ammonia reading".
Next in line is probably "Why do you care about Nitrite...as it's pretty much a non issue for marine tanks". YES - Nitrite can/will interfere with trying to get an accurate Nitrate test.
Without any further info...I'd say "Be patient". No need to add more bottled bac if that's how you started. Assuming you are processing ammonia then it sounds like you can add your first fish. Nitrite will eventually come down...and...IIRC...is not harmful to marine fish in quantities we'd see in our tanks.
Just guessing (I'm at work and can't access my logs). My nitrite took longer than "expected" as well. The key is your ammonia...
PigDaddyF15E
Active Member
Patience. I know the "pros" put tanks together for shows and plop corals into "new" tanks in a matter of hours...but that's probably not your or my experience level. At this point....you just gotta wait for it to come down. It will...eventually. Just get into your water change schedule (I do weekly 10%). Not sure of you export equipment (filter roller? protein skimmer?) but you should be trying to dial those in.
PigDaddyF15E
Active Member
I don't think so. I'm no chemist...but...IIRC they say that the nitrite interferes with the nitrate reading. Still might be worth testing it though...just as food for thought...if it's below 10 ppm then you are in good shape (opinion/experience vary on how much nitrate is "right").
PigDaddyF15E
Active Member
Well...I think I don't have enough experience to help ya much at this point. I don't think dosing nitrates is a good idea until you can confirm what you have. Sounds like the Nitrates are off the chart high so waterchanges might be the only way that's coming out.
I'll defer to the more experienced coral only reefers.
I'll defer to the more experienced coral only reefers.
reef_1
Active Member
1 Fritz turbo has a FAQ about what to do when ur cycle stuck at high nitrite, it needs a phosphate source (fish food).
2 Whats ur ph? Nitrite processing bacteria needs higher ph than ammonia processing, if you have low ph like 7.5 or below, ammonia processing bacteria might develop while nitrite processing might stall/grow very slow.
3 is your water dechlorinated properly?
4 if all of the above is fine and still no change maybe I would add a non fritz bacteria, like atm colony
5 I would not measure/touch nitrates until nitrites are 0
2 Whats ur ph? Nitrite processing bacteria needs higher ph than ammonia processing, if you have low ph like 7.5 or below, ammonia processing bacteria might develop while nitrite processing might stall/grow very slow.
3 is your water dechlorinated properly?
4 if all of the above is fine and still no change maybe I would add a non fritz bacteria, like atm colony
5 I would not measure/touch nitrates until nitrites are 0
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