Nitrite Wont Drop...

[Wolfie1877]

Hi,
Have been trying to fishless cycle my first tank for around 5 weeks now. have been using the add and wait method on the forum. everything seemed to be going great in the first week or so with my ammonia dropping to 0ppm quickly. Since then i have been dosing up to 3-4ppm when it drops to 0 but my Nitirtes are way off the chart high...(drops instantly turn purple on API kit). its been around 4 weeks now and my nitiries have not shown any sign of dropping..i have checked my test kit isnt duff ...lol really thought it could be!? in tap water its perfect aqua blue.

My tank is a 24L and is planted. temp up around 29C, and my pH is ~8.2

is this normal? any ideas on how to speed it all up?

Wolfie

 

[Essjay]

There is some evidence that a very high nitrite can inhibit the growth of the bacteria, so one thing you could try is a water change to lower the nitrite reading to somewhere on the scale. Every 1ppm ammonia that you add is being converted into 2.7ppm nitrite, so until the nitrite eating bacteria start to grow, nitrite will build up pretty fast.

 

[mossonthemoon]

I definitely got a good progression in my cycling when I did a water change. It wasn't huge. I think I started conservatively and did ~25%, perhaps a bit more. I tested the nitrites and got a high, but on the scale reading, then kept on with the ammonia as normal (I waited until it was nearly 0ppm before adding any), and my nitrites dropped to 0 within a week. It may have been sooner but I went a few days without checking.

 

[Wolfie1877]

ok thanks for the advice, so ill do a water change this evening, then test the water tomorrow. ill post the numbers! is it recommended to do the water change daily?

Cheers

 

[Essjay]

Not every day, just if the nitrite reading gets way off the top again.
You could try reducing the amount of ammonia you add until you see the nitrite level starting to fall, then increase the amount you add back up again. This will stop nitrite getting quite so high. Once both levels are dropping, it won't be long to the end of the cycle.

 

[Wolfie1877]

Not every day, just if the nitrite reading gets way off the top again.
You could try reducing the amount of ammonia you add until you see the nitrite level starting to fall, then increase the amount you add back up again. This will stop nitrite getting quite so high. Once both levels are dropping, it won't be long to the end of the cycle.

Thanks very much for the response. shall i do a large or small change?

 

[Essjay]

Try about a quarter for starters, wait about half an hour for the new water to mix in thoroughly and test for nitrite. If it's still off the top, do a bit more. Don't forget to turn the heater off first (risk of it cracking if the water drops) and dechlorinate the new water.

 

[Norm_Deplume]

I have been testing and testing, and water changing and water changing, and finally it dawned on me why my nitrites might be so high. So I tested my tap water, and sure enough, it tests high in nitrites (I'm not surprised-- I'm in a small town surrounded by farms). No wonder I'm having troubles. So the next question is: do I buy bottled water for my tank until I can figure out how to deal with the city water dept? What type of water should I get? Is the self-serve water good enough, or do I need to buy some in the gallon jugs?

Grrr.

 

[Essjay]

Where do you live, which country? The UK allows 0.1ppm nitrite in drinking water, which isn't that high. If you aren't in the UK, does you country/state have legal limits for chemicals in the water supply? If it does, and your water exceeds this limit, you should complain.
Are you confusing nitrIte with nitrAte - nitrate is often high in farming areas as farmers use it as fertiliser and it gets washed in the rivers.


The trouble with bottled water is that once you start using it, you have to use the same brand all the time or the change in minerals in the water could shock your fish. This means that there is a potential for finding yourself having to do an emergency water change and not enough bottled water on hand to do it.

 

[Norm_Deplume]

Where do you live, which country? The UK allows 0.1ppm nitrite in drinking water, which isn't that high. If you aren't in the UK, does you country/state have legal limits for chemicals in the water supply? If it does, and your water exceeds this limit, you should complain.
Are you confusing nitrIte with nitrAte - nitrate is often high in farming areas as farmers use it as fertiliser and it gets washed in the rivers.


The trouble with bottled water is that once you start using it, you have to use the same brand all the time or the change in minerals in the water could shock your fish. This means that there is a potential for finding yourself having to do an emergency water change and not enough bottled water on hand to do it.

I live in the US, where the acceptable level is <1.0 ppm. I'm doing a nitrite test, with the API liquid test kit. I've been doing daily water changes in my new tank to keep the ammonia level down. That's been working, but the nitrites are consistently high. I've read and re-read the test directions to make sure I'm doing it right. I'm not sure what else to do.

 

[Essjay]

Just how high are your nitrites, are you cycling and do you have fish?

 

[Norm_Deplume]

Just how high are your nitrites, are you cycling and do you have fish?

Nitrites are reading 5 ppm.
It's a 3-week-old tank with one platy in it. (Bought fish before I knew about fishless cycling. Had two platys, but one died last week. Working very hard to keep the other one alive, but this is a whole lot of work for my kid's birthday present, you know?)

 

[Essjay]

If that's how high your tapwater nitrite is, I'm not surprised you are worried. Anything over 0.25 is harmful to fish.


Ok, can I just check right from the beginning. You said you are using API testers. When you do the test, you fill the tube to the line add 5 drops from the nitrite bottle, shake and wait 5 minutes. At the end of the 5 mins, the water in the tube is bright pinky-purple? Do you wash the tube thoroughly between tests and dry it? What is the lot# on the bottle of nitrite reagent? (API hides the date of manufacture in the lot#). Sorry, grasping at straws here, that nitrite levels seems enormous if that's your tapwater.

 

[Norm_Deplume]

If that's how high your tapwater nitrite is, I'm not surprised you are worried. Anything over 0.25 is harmful to fish.


Ok, can I just check right from the beginning. You said you are using API testers. When you do the test, you fill the tube to the line add 5 drops from the nitrite bottle, shake and wait 5 minutes. At the end of the 5 mins, the water in the tube is bright pinky-purple? Do you wash the tube thoroughly between tests and dry it? What is the lot# on the bottle of nitrite reagent? (API hides the date of manufacture in the lot#). Sorry, grasping at straws here, that nitrite levels seems enormous if that's your tapwater.

Yes, yes, yes, and lot number is 26A0612 Exp 06/2017

I just re-tested the tap water with a brand-new test tube that I hadn't used before. And the test turned bright pinky purple again. I don't want to be a jerk, but I'm thinking about taking my test down to the city water department and see what they say about it.

 

[Essjay]

You are doing everything right and the tester is well within date. I would be inclined to complain and see what they say. There is no way you can do water changes to lower the tank nitrite with water like that. If you don't get any result from your complaint, I can' see any option but to use bottled water - but change a bit at a time not all at once. The bottled water you use will be different from your tapwater, and you don't want to cause any further problems to the poor platy by altering his water too fast.
You'll still find nitrite levels building up due to the cycling process, but you'd be able to keep on top of it. Once both ammonia and nitrite stay at zero, you can get another platy to replace the one that died, but keep an eye on your levels again. Doubling the maount of fish in one go (from one to two) could well result in you seeing amonia and/or nitrite again for a few days till the bacteria catch up.

Which dechlorinator are you using? Seachem Prime claims to detoxify nitrite, though I'm not sure if it can cope with the amount in yuor tapwater. Could be worth a try though.