NITRITES NOT GOING DOWN.

[a123h]

Hi im really in need of some advice help i have setup an aqua one reefsys 326 saltwater tank it has been running for 3 plus months now and the whole time i have had constant nitrite issues i have no ammonia and i do have healthy amount of nitrates ive tried it all.. more bio media, more bacteria more flow less feeding more water changes nothing is bringing it down i test using salifert and have around 5 fish i still had this issue when there was just a pair of clown fish. Some help would really be appreciated thanks-

 

[Bitter old man]

What’s the color when you look straight down into the test? The number is multiplied by 10 when looking from the side. So if from side it shows 100 it’s 10

 

[a123h]

What’s the color when you look straight down into the test? The number is multiplied by 10 when looking from the side. So if from side it shows 100 it’s 10

Looking straight down i feel its around the 1-2.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Nitrite it not a significant factor in saltwater. Many test kits will give false readings of .25, it is nothing to be concerned about.

Once the tank is cycled, no need to test ammonia and nitrite, doing so can cause confusion such as this. I would suggest to put the nitrite test away and never bother again.

 

[a123h]

Nitrite it not a significant factor in saltwater. Many test kits will give false readings of .25, it is nothing to be concerned about.

Once the tank is cycled, no need to test ammonia and nitrite, doing so can cause confusion such as this. I would suggest to put the nitrite test away and never bother again.

Ive heard that to be the case but whats worrying is its not at a low reading like .25 its 1-2 and worried itll be an issue once i get coral ?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Nitrite is no concern. Ignore it. Don’t even test it. I’ll remove the emergency tag.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

This has more:

https://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-06/rhf/index.htm

 

[a123h]

Nitrite is no concern. Ignore it. Don’t even test it. I’ll remove the emergency tag.

Thanks for the link ill check it out ive been stressing about it thinking my cycle is messed up stalled or something is wrong, local fish stores and other online rearach telling me high nitrites means something is wrong and toxic. So even if my nitrote id at 1-2 like now i shouldnt worry and test anymore?

 

[Fish Fan]

Thanks for the link ill check it out ive been stressing about it thinking my cycle is messed up stalled or something is wrong, local fish stores and other online rearach telling me high nitrites means something is wrong and toxic. So even if my nitrote id at 1-2 like now i shouldnt worry and test anymore?

You really can't stall a cycle, it's a biological process that's quite predictable

Many reefers and even reef stores still suggest that nitrite is toxic, but I'd suggest that you listen to Randy and Mr. Mojo here, they are giving you solid advise.

Good luck!

 

[winxp_man]

You really can't stall a cycle, it's a biological process that's quite predictable

Many reefers and even reef stores still suggest that nitrite is toxic, but I'd suggest that you listen to Randy and Mr. Mojo here, they are giving you solid advise.

Good luck!

Go to Facebook and everything is backwards for so many! FroM QT, to tank chemistry. Now that’s a place of funny arguments haha! Posted on a post that nitrite under 1ppm are of no issue, and that nitrates at 10-15ppm are a good to go. A few dudes lost their marbles after my post! Haha.

 

[Fish Fan]

Go to Facebook and everything is backwards for so many! FroM QT, to tank chemistry. Now that’s a place of funny arguments haha! Posted on a post that nitrite under 1ppm are of no issue, and that nitrates at 10-15ppm are a good to go. A few dudes lost their marbles after my post! Haha.

Yeah, I don't doubt that! I think Reddit is like that too??n I'd just stick to R2R

 

[winxp_man]

Yeah, I don't doubt that! I think Reddit is like that too??n I'd just stick to R2R

A few other forums I signed with are okay aside from R2R. I also spend more time here. But Reddit I don’t even care to venture deep into hahaha! That places is nuts for all aspects of life! Haha!

 

[Fish Fan]

A few other forums I signed with are okay aside from R2R. I also spend more time here. But Reddit I don’t even care to venture deep into hahaha! That places is nuts for all aspects of life! Haha!

I really can't stand Reddit, I have no idea why it still exists

 

[a123h]

Thanks for the link ill check it out ive been stressing about it thinking my cycle is messed up stalled or something is wrong, local fish stores and other online rearach telling me high nitrites means something is wrong and toxic. So even if my nitrote id at 1-2 like now i shouldnt worry and test anymore?

You really can't stall a cycle, it's a biological process that's quite predictable

Many reefers and even reef stores still suggest that nitrite is toxic, but I'd suggest that you listen to Randy and Mr. Mojo here, they are giving you solid advise.

Good luck!

Good to hear that the nitrite is of no concern. Should i still forget and leave it if it rises above 1-2 and continues to rise ?

 

[Fish Fan]

Good to hear that the nitrite is of no concern. Should i still forget and leave it if it rises above 1-2 and continues to rise ?

Just throw the nitrite test kit out

 

[a123h]

Good to hear that the nitrite is of no concern. Should i still forget and leave it if it rises above 1-2 and continues to rise ?

Just throw the nitrite test kit out

Thanks haha definitely less stressfull now. Going to now put in my first piece of coral hope it goes well was waiting because i was told and believed nitrite is harmful.

 

[Fish Fan]

Thanks haha definitely less stressfull now. Going to now put in my first piece of coral hope it goes well was waiting because i was told and believed nitrite is harmful.

I was on my phone before, so I hope my last reply didn't found too flippant. But seriously, there is no need to test for nitrite, your stress level will go way down if you simply toss that test kit out

And just in case Facebook or your local barber shop disagrees, Randy Holmes-Farley replied above with a link to his article on nitrite toxicity (spoiler: it's non-toxic!). If you're unaware, Randy is a PhD level chemist, and has been a reef tank guru for at least 25 years. Many of us here at Reef2Reef consider him and authority on anything reef chemistry related

This is Randy's post from earlier in this thread

This has more:

https://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-06/rhf/index.htm

I hope this helps!

 

[a123h]

Thanks haha definitely less stressfull now. Going to now put in my first piece of coral hope it goes well was waiting because i was told and believed nitrite is harmful.

I was on my phone before, so I hope my last reply didn't found to flippant. But seriously, there is no need to test for nitrite, your stress level will go way down if you simply toss that test kit out

And just in case Facebook or your local barber shop disagrees, Randy Holmes-Farley replied above with a link to his article on nitrite toxicity (spoiler: it's non-toxic!). If you're unaware, Randy is a PhD level chemist, and has been a reef tank guru for at least 25 years. Many of us here at Reef2Reef consider him and authority on anything reef chemistry related

This is Randy's post from earlier in this thread

This has more:

https://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-06/rhf/index.htm

I hope this helps!

Thanks for the reassurance! I did read Randys link and the article it was great and now i know not to worry about nitrites. Phew. The last 3 months of me starting this tank has been stress just because of nitrites and the lfs telling me to try different things they even made me use redsea nopox. Which did wipe out nitrites on my salifert test kit and the nitrates too ofcourse but once i stopped using those nitrites slowly came back.

 

[Fish Fan]

Thanks for the reassurance! I did read Randys link and the article it was great and now i know not to worry about nitrites. Phew. The last 3 months of me starting this tank has been stress just because of nitrites and the lfs telling me to try different things they even made me use redsea nopox. Which did wipe out nitrites on my salifert test kit and the nitrates too ofcourse but once i stopped using those nitrites slowly came back.

Again, throw the nitrite kit away, save yourself the stress, your tank will be fine

But just conversationally, I think if your seeing nitrite at this point in your tank's life, it has got to be testing error. A cycle is a biological process, it happens predictably. We usually see ammonia zero out in about 3 weeks, which is all you need to see for a marine tank. I've seen nitrite take much longer (not that it matters), but I'm talking weeks. A three month old tank will have nearly zero ammonia and nitrite, it simply can't go any other way. You couldn't stop these microbes from doing their thing even if you tried

 

[a123h]

Thanks for the reassurance! I did read Randys link and the article it was great and now i know not to worry about nitrites. Phew. The last 3 months of me starting this tank has been stress just because of nitrites and the lfs telling me to try different things they even made me use redsea nopox. Which did wipe out nitrites on my salifert test kit and the nitrates too ofcourse but once i stopped using those nitrites slowly came back.

Again, throw the nitrite kit away, save yourself the stress, your tank will be fine

But just conversationally, I think if your seeing nitrite at this point in your tank's life, it has got to be testing error. A cycle is a biological process, it happens predictably. We usually see ammonia zero out in about 3 weeks, which is all you need to see for a marine tank. I've seen nitrite take much longer (not that it matters), but I'm talking weeks. A three month old tank will have nearly zero ammonia and nitrite, it simply can't go any other way. You couldn't stop these microbes from doing their thing even if you tried

Yeah ill stop testing it from now on. I did check with other salifert test kits to confrim mine wasnt a fault and it did give the same results but moving on from that now im nit going to stress about that! Time to look into coral. Any tips for my first coral ?