High Nitrate and Nitrite

[bman1985]

My nitrite and itrate are both vrey high... on jungle quick dip 5 in 1 they are showing bright pink wich is around 160-200 for nitrate and 5-10 for nitrite how do I fix this Ithink 2 of my fishies might not make it

 

[SnowyzMom]

Nitrates are GOOOD. Nitrites aren't but the usual cycle is high ammonia, then high nitrites, the ammonia falls, the nitrates start rising, the nitrites fall. Ideally the nitrites should be zero, as the ammonia. It maybe heading in that direction. High Nitrates should not hurt but there maybe an upper limit on them, check some of the permanent posts here on that...somebody else may differ on that. I just know that nitrates are where one WANTS to head for. It indicates the beneficial bacteria are working and converting the nitrites to nitrates. Are the fish showing any problems? If you have live plants they'll use the nitrates. Good luck! Believe it or not, the product Easy Balance really helps balance a tank bacterially. We were very skeptical but the danged stuff works, it really does, just squirt the suggested amount into the water. Amazing, something advertised that works. Wow. I am not saying rely on it instead of water changes etc but it can sure help in a worrisome situation by putting in the good stuff and getting rid of the bad. Hope that helps.

Hmmm, 40 ppm on the Nitrates is a good level according to one of the experts here so yours is abit high. What is in your tank? Any live plants? Bottom feeders? Are you overfeeding at all? Just trying to think what would spike the levels like that.

 

[skimpy]

Nitrates are GOOOD.

Sorry I disagree, although NitrAtes are not toxic like NitrItes are they are actually Nitric Acid and when they get too high over a period of time they reduce the PH of the water and this is harmful to the fish. You need to do water changes to reduce the NitrAte and try to keep it below 40 ppm (preferable below 20 ppm if possible) - With readings that high I would suggest you check the PH, if it is low do smaller water changes daily rather than big ones so as not to shock the fish too much.

With regard to the NitrIte reading 5-10 this is extremely high and I would do immediate water changes to reduce it, when a tank is cycled it should be at 0, if it is not then you may be overstocked or overfeeding your fish, or perhaps some problem may have occured i.e. with bacteria or pump etc. The NitrIte should be kept below 1ppm maximum.

I have never used stuff like easy balance so I can not comment, but IMHO water changes are the best way to maintain a tank, not adding chemicals. It is after all natures way, but this is only my opinion, we all have different opinions on this.

Good luck - hope your fishes will be ok.

 

[Gunnie]

I recently had an ammonia and nitrite spike and the levels were toxic, so I had to act fast. My routine had always been weekly water changes, so when this happened, I immediately did a 50% water change. The levels were still too high, and I borrowed an established filter from another tank which could spare the filter for a couple of days. I also added 2 brand new sponge filters to create more biological surface area and to make sure there was plenty of airation in the tank. I continued to do 50% water changes daily, and then after the 2nd day, I used amquel plus to treat the water and to neutralize the ammonia and nitrites so my fish weren't so stressed. Amquel doesn't remove the ammonia and nitrites, but does neutralize them so your fish are less stressed, and the bacteria can still feed from them. In about 4 days, my tank was back to normal, and the fish are doing great.

 

[ajhainey]

Those dip tests are not always too accurate (IMO) - do you have access to any dropper tests instead?

aj xx

 

[drobbyb]

Nitrates are GOOOD.

No, they are bad. Skimpy is right. They are the byproduct of fish waste breakdown (sewage for lack of a better term). Keeping them below 20ppm is best.

 

[drobbyb]

AmQuel+ does not REMOVE. It actually CONVERTS to less toxic forms. Why use amquel anyway? Seachem's Prime is cheaper to use and does a better job in my experience (having tested both). Prime does exactly the same thing as amquel and it's cheaper to use (1 ml per 10 gallons vs 1 teaspoon (5 ml) to 10 gallons). Call me crazy, but dosen't that make it 5 times more expensive to use?

 

[rdd1952]

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