NITRITE spike stuck.

[Harleys and tanks]

Hello all.

I posted not long ago about the issue but i wakted to bring it up in the science forum to see if there is something i can do to help the nitrification process ramp up and break this cycle.

So basically my tank cycled, went through the uglies and during the uglies i started adding some mollies and when they survived and nothing drastic changed i slowly started adding my fish and inverts a couple at a time.

Long story short I got 0 ammonia but got a sudden NITRITE spike and its been almost 3 weeks now and not going down... if anything it is going up slowly. I did find the mollies made a HUGE poop mess constantly and i gave them back to lfs and i also did figure out i had been waaayyy over feeding. So for the past week i have dialed back thr feeding and did a water change monday.

Is there something i can do besides adding BB which i have already done and been doing daily, which will help boost the nitrite to nitrate process? Adding air stone?

Thanks all

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

There's no reason to worry about nitrite in a reef tank. It never reaches toxic levels.

How long has the tank been set up? Nitrite part of cycling can take much longer than the ammonia part.

What nitrite level are you seeing?

 

[Harleys and tanks]

Going on about 4 months. I had the original ammonia, nitrite then to 10 ppm nitrates process. Then i got the diatom bloom and brown algae. Nitrate held around the 10 mark and zeros otherwise. Then suddenly i started to get nitrites again after stocking and obvious self admittedly over feeding. Was first 1 ppm to 1.5. Then bounced from 1.5 to 2.5 ppm. Now i am seeing it aroynd 5 to 6 ppm. So it seems like the block is not allowing it to reduce and is just climbing. The water changes im sure help (30 percent every week).

Every other test is spot on and stable right now. Alk, ph, cal, mag, ammonia... phos is a little high at .5ish and i obv cant get accurate nitrates while nitrite is showing... correct? Lol

I have been told by a few rhat as long as the tank is thriving, the inverts and fish look good and not lethargic, to just leave it. And the inverts are doing amazing... consrantly active, molting often enough and growning of course. The fish are eating and active for sure. And i have a kenya, zoa bunch on a frag and branching gsp which is all looking better and better after it recovered from dip and acclimation.

So im just waiting at 5ppm? No doubling up on WCs or amount per wc? Maybe get a HOB skimmer? ... no sump on this setup...

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Whether the nitrite measurement is test error, or real, I am not concerned about it. It takes more than a hundred to several thousand ppm of nitrite to kill marine fish. The studies are in my article below.

I'd personally just stop measuring it.

Nitrite and the Reef Aquarium by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

 

[Harleys and tanks]

Ok thank you. I trust you completely as i have read a lot of.your other responses or posts about things and can tell its not just bad info being regurgitation back to the masses.

Thanks a lot. I will stop measuring... but how can i accurately know where my nitrates are if i have nitrites throwing off the test? Or would the throw off be minimal? For nitrste tests i have api master or seachem kit. Seachem uses nitrite reagent as first step then you add the nitrate reagent but by then the colour has already changed due to the nitrite reagent. Or just not concern with nitrates for now either as long as i continue the wc and things all look healthy? The tank looks spotless... barely getting diatoms and zero algae growth.

Can i continue to add coral with nitrites acting up?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Ok thank you. I trust you completely as i have read a lot of.your other responses or posts about things and can tell its not just bad info being regurgitation back to the masses.

Thanks a lot. I will stop measuring... but how can i accurately know where my nitrates are if i have nitrites throwing off the test? Or would the throw off be minimal? For nitrste tests i have api master or seachem kit. Seachem uses nitrite reagent as first step then you add the nitrate reagent but by then the colour has already changed due to the nitrite reagent. Or just not concern with nitrates for now either as long as i continue the wc and things all look healthy? The tank looks spotless... barely getting diatoms and zero algae growth.

Can i continue to add coral with nitrites acting up?

How are you measuring nitrate? It is true that nitrite can confound nitrate testing, but for most nitrate kits, we cannot really just determine nitrate from readings of nitrite and nitrate.

Tropic Marin nitrate kit has a correction table, and the Hanna correction is pretty small.

 

[Harleys and tanks]

I use api and seachem nitrate test kits. I could get hanna if needed due to wanting a mixed coral reef i guess... dunno if the other one is avail here in canada.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I use api and seachem nitrate test kits. I could get hanna if needed due to wanting a mixed coral reef i guess... dunno if the other one is avail here in canada.

What do you currently read for nitrate? Acceptable levels can range very high. My target range runs up to 50 ppm, and some great tanks have 50-100 ppm.

 

[Harleys and tanks]

Oh im definately lower than that... i havent measured in the past week but last measurement was 30 to 40 i believe... i just figured if nitrite was off then not to concern with nitrates so barely been measuring. But if thats where i am and i have high nitrite then i could safely assume that i am below 30ppm prob and consider myself safe and continue to add softies, leathers and LPS? Really im thinking couple duncans and mushrooms etc for now.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Oh im definately lower than that... i havent measured in the past week but last measurement was 30 to 40 i believe... i just figured if nitrite was off then not to concern with nitrates so barely been measuring. But if thats where i am and i have high nitrite then i could safely assume that i am below 30ppm prob and consider myself safe and continue to add softies, leathers and LPS? Really im thinking couple duncans and mushrooms etc for now.

In that case, I would not worry about nitrite and I'd assume that the nitrate is OK, if not possibly low. lol

Here's that section of my nutrient article:

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/randy’s-thoughts-on-nutrient-target-ranges.1087/

• 4. What targets seem reasonable? Of course, that depends on all the other factors at play, such as types of corals, availability of ammonia, particulate foods, etc. However, for a mature mixed reef, this would be how I personally would run it:
  • Let nitrate float between 5 ppm and 50 ppm. I’d use gentle export in this range, such as growing macroalgae.
  • Above 50 ppm, I’d begin to focus more on reducing it, by organic carbon dosing, turf or macroalgae, etc.
  • Below 5 ppm, I’d begin to dose ammonia or feed more. The target level might drop lower if dosing ammonia, just like the heavy in/heavy out scenario where nitrate may not be as needed.
  • Let phosphate float between about 0.06 ppm and 0.3 ppm. This range is higher than I’ve recommended in the past. I’d use gentle export in this range, such as growing macroalgae.
  • Above about 0.3 ppm, I’d begin to focus more on reducing it, by turf or macroalgae, or a binder such as GFO or lanthanum (has its own risks to tangs). If a binder: GO SLOW. Turf and macroalgae will typically be slow enough.
  • Below 0.06 ppm, I’d begin to dose sodium phosphate or feed more to get the level up.

 

[Harleys and tanks]

Awesome! Thank you so much and that has explained it to make perfect sense and put my.mind at ease. Also i appreciate how you give the reef time for it to naturally float in a range vs trying to be super specific with tight tolerances. That is what i was hoping for in my tank so i had as little mechanical intervention as possible. I want a natural living reef as natural as i can do it (I do understand it is a closed unit and doesnt have the earth or expanse of the ocean to help balance things so filtration etc is neccesary).

Thanks again and i appreciate how you help the community so much.
Cheers!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

You're welcome.

Happy Reefing. :)